Hagigat Rzayeva

Biography: Hagigat Ali qizi Rzayeva (Azerbaijani: Həqiqət Rzayeva) was an Azerbaijani actress and singer (folk, opera, and pop). Hagigat Rzayeva was born in a small village near Lankaran (southeastern Azerbaijan). In 1917 she started attending Maryam Bayramalibeyova's secular Uns School for Girls in Lankaran, where a variety of activities helped her acting and singing skills improve and develop. After Sovietization, Rzayeva moved to Baku to receive a post-secondary degree in teaching. While acting in an amateur on-campus theatre she took interest in opera and professional dramatic arts. After being tested by composer Muslum Magomayev she was hired to the Azerbaijan Opera Theatre against her family's will. It was then, at age twenty, that Rzayeva decided to completely abandon religious tradition and dedicate herself to acting despite uneasy terms with her relatives. She was admitted to the Azerbaijan State Conservatoire to study professional mugham (Azeri folk music genre) and opera. For fifteen years she performed with opera singer Huseyngulu Sarabski. In 1930 and 1934 she also appeared in three films. Hagigat Rzayeva was recognized as the People's Artist of Azerbaijan in 1943 and continued acting in the Opera Theatre until her retirement in 1952. Her most famous roles are those of Arab Zangi (Shah Ismayil by Muslum Magomayev) and Sanam (O olmasin, bu olsun by Uzeyir Hadjibeyov).