"Leyli and Majnun": True love story on Baku stage - PHOTO

By Rustam Gasimov 

Love is passion, harmony, sadness, separation, and ... the list is endless. But yesterday's ballet, “Leyli and Majnun" staged on Azerbaijan’s State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, was about eternal love, a feeling that does not go away even after death.

Kamilla Huseynova (Leyli), Gulagasi Mirzayev (Majnun) and Farid Ibrahimov (Ibn Salam Last) starred in the ballet. The orchestra was directed by Ayyub Quliyev, a decorated conductor at the State Academic Opera. 

In the Muslim East, love has been associated with "Leyli and Majnun" for centuries. Great Azerbaijani writers and philosophers Nizami Ganjavi, Fizuli and others wrote poems on this true love story. The “Leyli and Majnun” ballet by prominent Azerbaijani composer Qara Qarayev is quite popular with locals and guests.

As a regular visitor to the Opera and Ballet Theater, I know that the theater has a contingent of permanent viewers which do not miss any show, be it a pre-planned ballet or a grand premiere. These are people of all ages and professions. But they have one thing in common – love for art.

The theatre’s staff is always very kind and friendly to each and every visitor, which is really nice to see. The very atmosphere itself is quite attractive, making you to visit it again and again.

Let us go back to the story of the play. It is about a mad love between two young people from “different worlds” - Leyli, daughter of a wealthy nobleman, and Geys, son of a poor father. They had to overcome countless obstacles in their path. The feeling does not go away even after Leyli’s death. Geys, devastated by Leyli’s death, is called by people around him Majnun, meaning mad in Arabic. He starts wandering around the desert in search of Leyli. 

Yesterday’s ballet demonstrated once again that beauty has come from nowhere but the East. Colorful costumes that made ladies look like angles were really admirable. 

When the lights were switched off and a beautiful oriental melody started playing, dancers took the stage and the show began. 

The music reflected the mood of the main characters and what they had to go through. At times it was loud or quiet, disappeared somewhere and then started playing again. 

The bright make-up of the dancers and their gestures added to the liveliness of the show. 

In short, I had a very good impression of "Leyli and Majnun". I think everybody else at the hall had the same feeling. It once again reminded us of the existence of eternal love.

Bakudaily.az