Abror Hidoyatov

Abror (in Russian sources Abrar) Hidoyatov was born in 1900 in the Degrez mahalla of Tashkent. Sources disagree on the exact day: 14 August in the old style (27 August in the new) or 31 December. He learned the dutar at ten and soon became known as a singer. He first went on stage in 1918 in the Turan troupe led by Mannon Uyghur; the troupe became the K. Marx Troupe in 1919 and the Exemplary Regional Drama Troupe in 1920.

From 1924 to 1927 he studied at the Uzbek State Drama Studio in Moscow under R. Simonov, L. Sverdlin and I. Tolchanov. From 1927 until his death he was an actor of the Central State Exemplary Uzbek Troupe, which became the Hamza Uzbek State Drama Theatre in Tashkent in 1929 and the Uzbek National Academic Drama Theatre in 2001.

Hidoyatov played more than 70 roles. His art was marked by heroic-romantic elevation, tragic temperament, psychological depth and a beautiful voice, and he was especially strong in monologue. The core of his repertoire was Shakespeare: Hamlet (1935) and Othello (1941). His other parts include Harpagon in Molière's The Miser, Calaf in Gozzi's Turandot, Frondoso in Lope de Vega's Fuenteovejuna, Gafur in Hamza's The Rich Man and the Servant, Muqanna in Hamid Alimjan's play of that name, and Alisher Navoi in the play by Uyghun and Izzat Sultan. He played Timur-Malik in Shaykhzada's Jaloliddin and also sang folk songs at concerts.

He was named People's Artist of the Uzbek SSR in 1937 and People's Artist of the USSR in 1945. In 1949 he received the Stalin Prize, second class, for the title role in Alisher Navoi, and he also held the Order of Lenin and two Orders of the Red Banner of Labour. He appeared in one film only: Sardor in Tahir and Zuhra (1945).

Abror Hidoyatov died in Tashkent on 3 October 1958 and was buried at the Chigatai Memorial Cemetery. A documentary about his life and work, directed by Bobo Khujayev, appeared in 1967; a street in Tashkent was named after him in 1986, and in 1991 the Uzbek State Drama Theatre in Tashkent took his name. In 2000 he was posthumously given the Order of Outstanding Merit (Buyuk xizmatlari uchun). His wife Sora Eshonto'rayeva (Sara Ishanturaeva) was also a People's Artist of the USSR and played Desdemona opposite his Othello.