Background
Ahmadbey Badalbeyli was born on January 5, 1884 in Shusha, Azerbaijan.
Ahmadbey Badalbeyli was born on January 5, 1884 in Shusha, Azerbaijan.
He attended circles of theater-lovers and participated in national spectacles from his childhood.
Scenic activity of the actor began in 1910, with attendance of a theatrical troupe of “Nijat” charity union. He was famous for his performance of women roles in various operas in the early history of Azeri Opera, when women"s appearance on stage was strictly forbidden by religion and tradition. But later he began to play male parts, too.
Besides all these he also was engaged in pedagogic activity.
He was always persecuted because of playing women's parts. Ahmedbey changed his surname and address.
Foreign several years he was known as Miri. At the beginning of 1920's he returned to Karabakh, where he established a theatrical troupe in Agdam city, in 1923.
In 1934, he moved to Agdash.
In 1943, Ahmad Agdamski was conferred “Honored Art Worker of Azerbaijan” title. He died on April 1, 1954. In the 19th and 20th centuries, there were no women-actress in Azerbaijan and this is why men played female parts.
Ahmed Agdamski, whose nice voice and fine constitution helped him in creation female roles, was one of them.
In “Shah Abbas and Khurshid Banu” he acted as a poetess Khurshidbanu Natavan. In 1916, Agmed Agdamski was shot in “Arshin mal alan”, the first Azerbaijani comedy-film, which was based on motifs of an opera of the same name written by Uzeyir Hajibeyov.
Agdamski also played the female role of Gulchohra in the 1917 Azeri film The Cloth Peddler. Baku, Ishyq, 1988. (in Azeri).