Boborahim Mirzayev

Boborahim Mirzayev was born in 1907 in Margilan. A baritone, he was a soloist of musical drama and opera; his voice was marked by depth of feeling, a smooth flow of word and melody, and a skilful command of vocal ornament.

He began his career in 1926 with the Uzbek State Concert and Ethnographic Ensemble and stayed with it until 1929. In 1929–1939 he served at the Uzbek State Musical Theatre, and in 1936 he studied at the Uzbek opera studio in Moscow.

From 1939 to 1949 he was a soloist of the Navoi opera and ballet theatre, and from 1949 to 1955 he performed as a soloist of the Uzbek State Philharmonic.

In musical dramas he played Asqar in Hajibeyov’s “Arshin mal alan”, Ne’mat in “Halima”, Farhod in “Farhod and Shirin” and Qodir in “Gulsara”. In operas he sang the title role of Brusilovsky’s “Er-Targ’in”, Hasankhan in Magomayev’s “Nargiz” and Escamillo in Bizet’s “Carmen”.

Uzbek classical vocal modes — “Tanovar”, “Dugoh”, “Chorgoh”, “Bayot” — and folk songs held a large place in his repertoire. In 1942 he was named People’s Artist of the Uzbek SSR. Boborahim Mirzayev died in 1957.