2024-02-12 02:18:18
People’s Artist Rafiga Akhundova took with her an entire era. As Day.Az reports, People’s Artist of Azerbaijan Kamilla Huseynova told Trend about this.
“Those artists who had the good fortune of working with Rafiga Akhundova, learning from her, are orphaned today. Love, respect and a feeling of deep gratitude to Rafiga khanum will forever remain in my soul. After all, it was she who once upon a time believed in me and brought me to the big stage and opened the world of real ballet. My memory will forever preserve those days when Rafiga Khanum was around. I will remember all the details: her gestures, her voice, what a wise and kind person she was, how she endlessly loved her profession and taught this to the artists. The only thing, “What can at least somehow console the ballet world today is that she will live in our hearts. As long as we remember Rafiga Akhundova and continue her work, she will be with us!” – noted People’s Artist of Azerbaijan Kamilla Huseynova.
People’s Artist of Azerbaijan, outstanding ballet dancer and choreographer Rafiga Akhundova died at the age of 93 after a long illness.
Rafiga Akhundova was born on August 7, 1931 in Baku. She graduated from the Baku Choreographic School (now the Baku Academy of Choreography), where her teacher was the legendary Gamar Almaszade.
In 1951-1952, Rafiga Akhundova took courses at the Bolshoi Theater of Russia. Since 1952, she began working at the State Opera and Ballet Theater (now the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater). Since 1971, she has been a choreographer, and since 1990, the theater’s chief choreographer.
Rafiga Akhundova performed roles in such productions as “Seven Beauties” by Gar Garayev, “The Maiden Tower” by Afrasiyab Badalbeyli, “The Sleeping Beauty” by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, “Walpurgis Night” by Charles Gounod, “Gulshan” by Soltan Hajibeyov, “The Legend of Love” by Arif Melikov , “Bakhchisarai Fountain” by Boris Asafiev, “Giselle” by Adolphe Adam, etc.
Together with her husband, the famous choreographer and choreographer, People’s Artist of Azerbaijan Magsud Mamedov, she staged the ballets “Caspian Ballad”, “Shadows of Gobustan”, “Kaleidoscope”, “Path of Thunder”, “Seven Beauties”, “Azerbaijan Suite”, “Yalli”, “Mugham”, “Babek”, “Nutcracker”.
Over the years, Rafiga Akhundova worked as a choreographer and teacher in Algeria, Sweden, Egypt, Belgium, Russia and Turkey, where she staged ballets of Azerbaijani classics.
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