“Leyli and Majnun” opera puppet show to go on stage in Azeri in Tehran

TEHRAN,April 10(MNA) -- Iran’s Aran Theater Troupe plans to perform the opera puppet show “Leyli and Majnun” in Azeri based on an opera of the same name composed by Azerbaijani musician and playwright Uzeyir Hajibeyov (1885-1948). The opera puppet show will be staged at Tehran’s Ferdowsi Hall in June or July, Aran director Behruz Gharibpur said in a press release on Tuesday. “Leyli and Majnun” was Hajibeyov’s first opera, which was composed in 1908 based on a Turkish rendition of the Persian masterpiece by the 15th-century Turkish poet Fuzuli. The Islamic folktale Leyli and Majnun (also known as the Story of Leyla and Majnun) was originally composed by the Persian poet Nezami Ganjavi. “‘Leyli and Majnun’ will be comprehensible both to all Persian speakers who have already read Nezami’s masterpiece and those Iranians who speak Azeri,” Gharibpur stated. He said that the opera has previously been staged in other countries several times, but some weak points in the performances have prevented the work from attracting strong attention in the world arena. Gharibour staged a “Macbeth” opera puppet show in the Italian language at Ferdowsi Hall in 2007. The show was performed using one of the operatic works of Italy’s famous composer Giuseppe Verdi.