It has been 110 years since the birth of the outstanding singer Rashid Beybutov

Today marks the birthday of the outstanding Azerbaijani singer, actor, People's Artist of the USSR, Hero of Socialist Labor, recipient of the Stalin Prize second degree and State Prize of the Azerbaijan SSR, Rashid Beybutov.

BAKU.WS reminds that he was born on December 14, 1915 in Tbilisi. His father Mejid Beybutov, who was a famous singer-khanende, was from Shusha.

In the 1930-1940s, Rashid Beybutov gained wide popularity in the country. His voice - a high tenor (tenor-altino) with a gentle and warm timbre, wide range, combining European technique, vocal breathing, and the free guttural manner of singing characteristic of mugham.

In 1945, the film "Arshin Mal Alan" was released, in which the outstanding singer played the role of Asker. The film was shown with great success on screens across the USSR and many foreign countries.

From 1944 to 1956, Rashid Beybutov was a soloist at the Azerbaijan Philharmonic, and from 1953 to the 1960s - at the Azerbaijan Opera and Ballet Theater named after Mirza Fatali Akhundov, where he performed the main roles in Fikret Amirov's opera "Sevil" (Balash) and in Uzeyir Hajibeyov's musical comedy "Arshin Mal Alan".

In 1957, he created a concert ensemble at the Azerbaijan Philharmonic that combined jazz stylistics with Azerbaijani folk instruments and served as its artistic director (1957-1959). In 1966, Rashid Beybutov organized the Azerbaijan Song Theater (now bearing his name) and was the artistic director and soloist of this theater until the end of his days.

He toured extensively and successfully throughout various regions of the USSR and foreign countries, always including songs in the languages of the peoples of the countries where he performed. There is a known case when residents of an Indian village blocked railway traffic and wouldn't let the train carrying Soviet artists leave until Rashid Beybutov performed for them.

The singer's song repertoire was very broad. Works by Azerbaijani composers and Azerbaijani folk songs occupied the main place in it.

Rashid Beybutov passed away on June 9, 1989 in Moscow. He is buried at the Alley of Honor in Baku.