THE FIRST OPERA OF THE TURKISH WORLD "LEYLI AND MAJNUN’’

The Turkish world's opera history gave its first example in 1908 with the opera "Leyli and Majnun" by Azerbaijani composer Üzeyir Hacıbeyli. According to many sources, "Leyli and Majnun" is described as the first opera of the Turkish world and the Islamic world, and the east. The most important feature of this opera is the masterful synthesis of classical western music and folk music. The opera, which was composed for the first time in this way, influenced the east with its staging and ensured that the art of opera was adopted by the public. The great composer Uzeyir Hajibeyli was born in the city of Shusha in Azerbaijan, which was developed in the field of literature and music and called the "natural conservatory." He developed his existing talent here and built it on solid foundations. He was interested in music and literature, wrote many books, articles, and was a writer for newspapers. The subject of the opera Leyli and Majnun is taken from Fuzuli's "Leyli and Majnun" poetry of the same name. At the age of 13, the composer decided to write this opera, influenced by the theater show "At the tomb of Majnun Leyli'' which he watched in Shusha, his home city. He started working on opera in 1907 when he was only 22 years old. By bringing a different perspective to opera, he used the tonal structure of western music with 'mugham,' also known as Azerbaijani folk music. This type of opera is also called "Mugam Opera.'' The opera, which was composed and performed despite the conditions of the period, preserved its originality by combining two cultures and was performed many times in other countries. Operas from the Turkish world are rarely staged in our country, and there is a need for such an article because the opera "Leyli and Majnun" has not been staged much in Turkey and there are very few theses, articles, and books about it. In this study; Different titles have been created such as the history of Azerbaijan opera, the life of Uzeyir Hajibeyli, the composer's process of creating the opera, and the content of the opera Leyli and Majnun