One hundred years since the birth of Maya Kulieva
Her sonorous voice could not be confused with any other. When Maya Kulieva appeared on the stage, magical silence reigned in the auditorium, and the admiring audience trembled with interest to the singing of the opera diva.
She lived a long, fulfilling, creative life, not having lived only a couple of years before 100 anniversary.
Remembering Maya Kulieva - Mamadzhan, as her friends and colleagues called her - one cannot but say about the difficult fate of the folk artist. Her childhood was in the 20s of the last century, the girl lost her parents early and was brought up in an orphanage. At the age of 17, she got to see amateur performances held in Ashgabat, where she performed the song “Garibym”.
After this iconic performance for her, the musical path of Maya Kulieva began. The Moscow Conservatory opened a faculty of national music, where the girl entered. She mastered the intricacies of musical science along with future famous composers Veli Mukhatov, Ashir Kuliev, conductor Hidir Allanurov, who stood at the origins of the opera art of Turkmenistan.
Maya Kulieva returned to her homeland as a professional opera singer and immediately plunged into work with her head. In the Turkmen opera and ballet theater, they were preparing to stage the “Zohre and Tahir” destan, in which Kulieva played her first role - Princess Makhym. The premiere of musical drama by composer Adrian Shaposhnikov took place in November 1941, marking the birth of the national opera in Turkmenistan.
Popularizing the Turkmen song and music art, Maya Kuliyeva made a world tour in which the Bolshoi Theater applauded the favorite of the Turkmen public. Maya Kulieva worked with creations of various composers. She sang the parts of Martha in the opera The Tsar’s Bride by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and Tatyana in Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin.
The European repertoire also added fame to the opera singer - she performed the part of Margarita in the Faust of the French composer Charles Gounod. And in the opera Madame Butterfly by the Italian Giacomo Puccini, Maya Kulieva was lucky to play the part of Cio-Cio San.
Unlimited talent, vitality and strong character allowed Maya Kulieva to succeed in everything she did. The singer starred in films, staged opera performances, participated in the artistic formation of the young talents of the opera scene.
People's artist Maya Kulieva had many awards, and in 2008 she was awarded the title Hero of Turkmenistan. Today, she is remembered by many people belonging to very different generations. Infinitely devoted to art, Maya Kulieva made a huge contribution to the development of national culture.
