Rashid
Behbudov (December 14, 1915 - June 19, 1988) was an
Azerbaijani singer and actor. He sang in Azerbaijani,
Russian, Persian, Turkish, Armenian, Hindi, Urdu and
Bengali among other languages.
Born in Tbilisi, Georgia, he worked in Yerevan's
Philharmonia and Opera House from 1938 to 1944. He moved
to Azerbaijan SSR after Tofig Guliyev's invitation in
1945. He became popular when he played the lead role of
Askar, the wealthy peddler, in a movie Arshin Mal Alan
("The Cloth Peddler") which was based on a 1913 musical
comedy by Uzeyir Hajibeyov.
Rashid's father, Majid Behbudlu was a well-known singer
too.
He toured and performed concerts in several countries
including: the United Kingdom, Finland, Iran, Turkey,
China, Albania, Bulgaria, Belgium, Ethiopia, India,
Iraq, Chile, Argentina.
In Azerbaijan, the name Rashid Behbudov is automatically
linked to the history of Azeri popular music. His vocal
masterpieces range from proud hymns devoted to the
beauty of the Motherland to tender, lyrical confessions
of love.
He is especially remembered for his portrayal of Askar,
the rich, merchant in search of love in the 1945 movie
version of Uzeyir Hajibeyov's music comedy, "Arshin Mal
Alan." Rashid Behbudov's rare talent did not develop
overnight. However, once he was discovered, his fame
spread like wild fire, and he toured tirelessly, giving
concerts one after another all over the world. Even
though travel for those who lived behind the "Iron
Curtain" was generally restricted, exceptions were made
for Rashid.
In 1966 he created the State Song Theater and became its
soloist and Artistic Manager. |
