NEWS

Azerbaijani State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater will stage Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Aida" on March 14.

The theater invited the leading soloist of Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Music Theater Nikolay Erokhin to play the role of Ramzes.

The role of Aida will be performed by the Honored Artist of Azerbaijan Afag Abbasova.

The opera singers will share the same stage with the leading soloists of the Opera and Ballet Theater, People's Artists Ali Asgarov, Akram Poladov and Gulnaz Ismayilova, Honored Artists Sabina Vahabzadeh, Jahangir Gurbanov and others.

The opera will be conducted by the chief conductor of the Odessa National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, People's Artist of Belarus  Vyacheslav Volich.

Verdi wrote his Egyptian opera Aida in response to a commission from the Khedive of Egypt for the opening of the new Cairo Opera House, after rejecting requests for an anthem to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal a year earlier. The first performance was conducted by the famous double-bass player Bottesini.

Synopsis. Aida, an Ethiopian princess, is captured and brought into slavery in Egypt. A military commander, Radames, struggles to choose between his love for her and his loyalty to the Pharaoh. To complicate the story further, Radames is loved by the Pharaoh’s daughter Amneris, although he does not return the feeling.

Famous Azerbaijani writer and poetess Narmina Mammadzadeh has been awarded  with "Anton Chekhov 160 years" medal for her contribution to the Russian literature.

Her story "The Door" entered the Anthology of Russian Prose 2019, Trend Life reported.

The anthology of Russian prose is an annual multivolume book edition of the Russian Writers' Union.

In 2019,  Narmina Mammadzadeh received "Vladimir Mayakovsky 125 years" medal in special nomination for citizens of foreign countries. She was awarded for her merits in strengthening friendship between peoples, mutual enrichment of cultures and propaganda of the Russian language abroad.

Narmina Mammadzade is a graduate of the faculty of international law of Baku State University. She is a member of the Azerbaijan Writers' Union. Narmina is a winner of the Golden Pen Award and the German international literary contest "Best Book of the Year". She is the author of the books "Four Seasons of One Soul", "Memoirs of Celsius", "Taroki", "The Seventh Doll of Doura", etc.

An event dedicated to the poetry of prominent Azerbaijani poet Imadaddin Nasimi has been held at the UCLA Library in Los Angeles.

The evening was co-organized by the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles and the UCLA Library. 

The event brought together the Library leadership and staff, UCLA faculty and students, representatives of culture and science and other guests.

In his speech, Associate University Librarian for Special Collections and International Collaborations, Dr. Sharon Farb  expressed his satisfaction in co-hosting a celebration in honor of Azerbaijani poet Nasimi.

Speaking afterwards, Librarian for Slavic, Eastern European, and Central Asian Studies Dr. Alena Aissing stressed the successful partnership between Azerbaijan and the UCLA Library.

The Memorandum of Understanding between Azerbaijan National Library and the UCLA Library signed in 2018. The document allows to exchange experience of the two libraries on a regular basis.

Dr. Alena Aissing also shared her impressions of Azerbaijan following her visit there last September to attend the 6th Baku International Book Fair.

In his remarks, Azerbaijan’s Consul General Nasimi Aghayev emphasized that Nasimi is considered one of the greatest Sufi poets of the late 14th and early 15th centuries and one of the most prominent early representatives of Azerbaijani and Turkic literature.

"In his works, Nasimi promoted the ideas of unity, peace and tolerance among all people, without attaching any importance to differences between religions or ethnicities. In general, Azerbaijan was historically one of the major centers of Sufi movement that preached the same ideals of interfaith and intercultural understanding and peace," said Aghayev.

"It is no coincidence therefore that for thousands of years different religions, cultures and civilizations have enjoyed peaceful coexistence in Azerbaijan. Today Azerbaijan which is a 95 percent majority-Muslim nation, is home to over half a million Christians of various denominations, 30,000 Jews, thousands of Bahai’s, Hare Krishnas and many others, who continue to live together with their Muslim brothers and sisters in harmony and mutual respect," he added.

Consul General mentioned that last year Nasimi’s 650th birthday was celebrated all around the world, and that the year of 2019 was declared as Nasimi Year in Azerbaijan by the Order of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

Following the speeches, Nasimi's poems were recited by renown  American actors Lisa Cirincione and Satiar Pourvasei, wearing Azerbaijani traditional costumes. The actors were  accompanied by renowned musicians Burak Besir and Dimitris Mahlis, who performed spiritual Sufi music.

Moreover, "Nasimi" music piece by the world-famous British musician of Azerbaijani descent Sami Yusuf first performed in Baku last year was presented to the guests. The event was highly appreciated by the audience.

The role of Nasimi was played by the young soloist of the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, Taleh Yakhyayev, who brilliantly demonstrated his vocal range. The performance totally captivated the audience.

Seyyid Imadeddin Nasimi was a great Azerbaijani poet and eminent figure in the poetry and philosophical thought of the Orient. He was the founder of the school of philosophical poetry in the Azerbaijani language.

The poet created myriads of works in Azerbaijani, Persian and Arabic. The poet wrote about 300 poems, including ghazals, gasidas ("lyrics"), and rubais (quatrains). Nasimi’s Turkic Divan is considered his most important work, which contains 250-300 ghazals and more than 150 rubais.

His poetry is rooted in the social, political and cultural development of the countries of the Near and Middle East, and especially of his homeland, Azerbaijan.

After his death, Nasimi's works continued to exercise a great influence on many Turkic language poets such as Fuzuli (1483–1556), Khatai (1487–1524).

In connection with the 650th anniversary of the great Azerbaijani poet, President Ilham Aliyev declared 2019 the Year of Nasimi. Numerous scientific institutions, cultural centers, institutions and organizations are holding a series of events dedicated to the poet.

The Nasimi Festival of Poetry, Arts, and Spirituality was held for the second time from September 28 to October 1, 2019 in the country. The festival was organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation with the support of the Ministry of Culture.

World-famous scholars and poets, philosophers, artists, music, dance and theater groups took part in the festival.

The third World Harmony International Competition of Young Performers was successfully held in Baku on February 17-24.

The large-scale event brought together young talents from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Russia and Ukraine.

The winners of World Harmony Contest will perform at the State Philharmonic Hall on March 12.

The musicians will be accompanied by the State Chamber Orchestra, conducted by People's Artist Fakhraddin Karimov.

Founded in 2017, the contest aims to discover young talents and promote classical music and folklore. 

The competition was held for the second time in Vilnius, Lithuania  in 2018. Next February, the 4th World Harmony competition will be held once again in Vilnius.

The event was co-organized by the Georgian Union of Folklore and Classical Music "Harmony" and "Gənclərə dəstək" (Youth Support) project with the support of the Culture Ministry as well as Baku Music Academy and the National Conservatory.

Azerbaijan State Academic Musical Theater intends to cooperate with volunteers.

The initiative was approved at the meeting held between the theater's director Aligismet Lalayev and volunteers.

The newly created structure will be led by a young pianist  Aluda Shakarova, who has extensive experience as a coordinator for working with volunteers in many significant international events held in the country.

A number of trainings will be organized for volunteers within three months.

Volunteers will be involved inthe theater's activities, taking part in theater's promotion campaigns, stage design, preparation of performances and much more.

At the end of the theatrical season, program participants will be handed internship certificates.

Azerbaijan takes necessary steps in order to promote volunteer movement. 

Azerbaijani volunteers successfully participated in holding such large-scale international events as the Eurovision Song Contest, First European Games, Formula-1, 4th Islamic Solidarity Games, etc.

The year 2020 is declared as the Volunteer Year in Azerbaijan. The Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan Republic was  charged with preparation and submission to President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev within one month of the plan of activities related to this announcement. 

Colorful paintings by famous artist Rami Meir are on display at Italy's Florence Art Deposit Gallery.

The exhibition features art works "Queen of Sheba" from the series "African Beauty" and "Caucasian Beauties" from the famous series "Mountain Jews".

For Rami Meir, women are an ultimate God's creation. The artist is very pleased to share his attitude to female characters through art.

The painting "Caucasian Beauties" reveals the history of the peoples living in Azerbaijan and presents it to the European public. Rami Meir portrayed two women dressed in stunning traditional dresses embroidered with jewelry.

"This is the wealth of traditions of our peoples, which I absorbed in Baku. And I consider myself, first of all, a Caucasian," he said.

For his painting "Caucasian Beauties", Rami Meir looked for historical documents and pre-revolutionary postcards to know more about traditional dresses of the peoples living in the Caucasus.

Working as a documentary filmmaker, the artist wrote about forty paintings that reflect the traditions, nature, cities and cultures of peoples.

The exhibition "Woman's Character" will be open until March 21.

Rami Meir is an Israeli artist who was born in Azerbaijan. He is also a poet, singer, author of song lyrics, idioms and parables. Nowadays he lives and works in Moscow.

Meir is the chairman of Russia's Mountain Jewish Union of Artists. Lots of his paintings are in private hands in Russia, the United States and Israel.

Rami Meir creates paintings in various art styles from realism to impressionism. The plots of some of his pictures are realistic, but set out by means of profound characters and symbols. That is the language Rami Meir uses to share with audience his great life experience.

Winner of Azerbaijan Design Award have been awarded in Baku. The project was implemented with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Creative Azerbaijan portal.

In his speech, the Minister of Culture Abulfas Garayev emphasized that the competition aims at increasing the level of design sphere in the country and identifying talented representatives of this industry.

The project organizers involved world-famous design specialists from around the world as members of the jury. The jury members voted online  anonymously. The jury was composed of professionals in this field from six countries.

Founded by two young designers Rahim Ismayilov and Ramin Nasirov, the competition, which is held for the second time, aroused great interest.

In total, more than 400 designers submitted 611 works at the competition. Designers presented their projects in 10 categories: branding, packaging design, illustration, web design, industrial design, mobile application design, interior design, exterior design, print design, outdoor design.

The finalists were awarded with Azerbaijan Design Award Cup, diploma and gifts.

In addition, designers also submitted works in the nomination for the development of the special logo "Baku - City of Design", in connection with the inclusion in 2019 of  Baku in UNESCO Creative Cities Network. The winner in this category was awarded a special gift - Apple Macbook Air (2019).

Azerbaijan is likely to open its next, but first Trade House in Kazakhstan in 2020, president of Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) Yusif Abdullayev told local media.

Reminding the activity of AZPROMO under the Azerbaijani Ministry of Economy at the press-conference in Baku, he mentioned the promotion of the “Made in Azerbaijan” brand and forthcoming tasks.

He also said that this Trade House will likely to commence operating in Nur Sultan, the capital of Kazakhstan.

Adding that AZPROMO will participate in the International Exhibition “MosBuild-2020” in Moscow between March 31 and April 3, he emphasized that it is also planned to take part in several various exhibitions including China, France, Russia, South Korea and other countries.

“Export missions will be also organized in the Eastern European, CIS countries, Turkey and other countries," Yusif Abdullayev said.

Azerbaijan has already opened several Trade Houses under the “Made in Azerbaijan” brand in different countries of Europe and Asia. The first Trade House of Azerbaijan was opened in Belarus in 2017. Commencing from this year, several Trade Houses of Azerbaijan started to be open in Latvia, Ukraine, the UAE, China, Russia, Poland, China in 2018 and 2019.

In Trade Houses, the permanent exhibition of various types of products made by Azerbaijani companies is operating. These Trade Houses contribute to promote vine and brandy, fruit juices, compotes, mineral waters, vegetable, jams, pickles, canned foods, plant oils, tea, carpet, textile, silk and cosmetic goods, electric equipment, plastic products and others.