Today is the memorial day of Muslim Magomaev

Today is the day of remembrance for the outstanding Azerbaijani opera and pop singer, composer, and People's Artist of the USSR, Muslim Magomayev.

He was one of those who enjoyed incredible popularity both among the people and among the powers that be. Most often he is written about as a darling of fate who was favored by the authorities and had everything one could dream of. The general public is unlikely to know that in reality he was reluctantly allowed to go on foreign tours, and that he considered his final years a price to pay for his former glory and success.

Muslim Magomayev was born on August 17, 1942, in Baku.

Almost everyone in his family had a connection to the arts — his grandfather was a renowned Azerbaijani composer, his father was a theater artist, and his mother was a dramatic actress. The boy's musical talent was noticed in childhood, and he studied at the music school affiliated with the Baku Conservatory. Muslim's father was killed in the war, his mother soon remarried, and he grew up in the family of his uncle Jamal. In 1959, Magomayev graduated from the Baku Music College and began performing on the stage of the Sailors' House of Culture.

His musical career developed rapidly and very successfully. In 1962, he was awarded a gold medal at the World Festival of Youth and Students in Helsinki. That same year, he performed successfully at the Kremlin Palace, and in 1963, the first solo concert of the 21-year-old singer took place at the P. Tchaikovsky Concert Hall.

Magomayev became a soloist at the Azerbaijan Opera and Ballet Theater, and in 1964, he was sent for a two-year internship at Italy's La Scala theater. At 31, Muslim Magomayev became the youngest singer in the USSR to receive the title of People's Artist.

He had many envious people and ill-wishers who blamed him for leaving the opera stage for pop music. They said he had no other choice — that he felt he was too weak for opera, and that's why he left. The artist reacted very painfully to such rumors. And after a 10-year break, he decided to return to the opera stage to refute them.

Having triumphantly performed "The Barber of Seville," Magomayev left opera for good: "I sang in it for a sufficient time, but then I decided that I wouldn't become such a great opera singer. And in my view, it's better to be the top guy in the village than the last one in the city."

His popularity was simply overwhelming. Fans carried not only the singer himself but also the car he was in — once after a concert, they lifted it up and carried it all the way to