Victor Isidores dze Dolidze (ვიქტორ ისიდორეს ძე დოლიძე, 30 July 1890 – 24 May 1933) was a Georgian classical composer. Practically unknown in the West, in his home country Dolidze is best remembered for his opera Keto and Kote, which premiered in 1919 during the First Republic. The composition, which remains popular to this day, follows th
story of forbidden love
between an impoverished prince and a wealthy commoner's daughter.

Biography

Victor Dolidze was born on 30 July 1890 in the city of

Ozurgeti Ozurgeti ( ka, ოზურგეთი ) is the capital of the western Georgian province of Guria. It was formerly known as Macharadze or Makharadze (named in honor of Filipp Makharadze). It is a regional center of tea and hazelnut processing. ...

, Kutais Governorate, in what is now Georgia, then part of the Russian Empire. He came from a poor peasant family.Большая советская энциклопедия. Гл. ред. Б. А. Введенский, 2-е изд. Т. 15. Докеры — Железняков. 1952. 652 стр., илл.; 60 л. илл. и карт. In 1902, Dolidze's family moved to

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...

, where entered a commercial school. In 1910, he won his first prize at a local

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

contest. After his high-school graduation in Georgia, he attended the

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...

Commercial Institute, and concurrently began to work in a music school for violin and composition. In 1917 he graduated from college and returned to

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

and dedicated himself to music full time. Victor Dolidze is the author of several operas, including the first Georgian

opera buffa ''Opera buffa'' (; "comic opera", plural: ''opere buffe'') is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ''commedia in musica'', ''commedia per musica'', ''dramm ...

'' Keto and Kote'', with his own libretto based on the comedy ''Khanuma'' by

Avksenty Tsagareli Avksenty Tsagareli (Georgian: ავქსენტი ცაგარელი; Russian: Авксентий Цагарели) (February 9, 1857 – August 12, 1902) was a Georgian playwright particularly known for his comedies. He was described i ...

. Following the forced absorption of Georgia into the Soviet Union, some of Dolidze's later compositions faced scrutiny from Soviet censors. For example, Dolidze's lesser known opera, "Leila", was removed from repertory because one of its main characters was a Georgian monarch, which the Soviet authorities feared would encourage " monarchist sentiments".თალაკვაძე ნ. "მოქალაქე მღვდლის დღიურიდან“, ქართული ლიტერატურის სახელმწიფო მუზეუმი, 2013, p 798, Victor Dolidze died on 24 May 1933 in Tiflis and is buried at the

Didube Pantheon The Didube Pantheon ( ka, დიდუბის მწერალთა და საზოგადო მოღვაწეთა პანთეონი) is a cemetery in Tbilisi, Georgia, where some of the most prominent writers, artists, s ...

.Victor Dolidze's biography (Russian)
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolidze, Viktor 1890 births 1933 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century male musicians Burials at Didube Pantheon Classical composers from Georgia (country) Male classical composers Male opera composers Opera composers from Georgia (country) People from Kutais Governorate People from Ozurgeti

Biography

See also

References