Köroğlu epic has a great importance in the folklore of the Turkish World. Köroğlu is a folk hero protecting the oppressed and fighting the injustices. He is not only the subject of the Turkish epics and stories, but also the subject of an opera work titled “Köroğlu” by the famous Turkish composer, A. Adnan Saygun. It was performed for the first time at the 1st International Istanbul Festival on 23 June 1973 and directed by Niyazi Tağızade, the famous Soviet composer and orchestra conductor who came to Turkey from Azerbaijan SSR. At that time, he was one of the Soviet composers greatly respected in USSR. Tağızade did not merely conduct the opera “Köroğlu” but considerably contributed to the work. Unfortunately, this fact has been mostly overlooked, although it has been touched upon in newspapers, magazines and memories of that era. Tağızade’s contribution to Saygun’s work has been taken up in interviews of Saygun as well as in a personal letter by Saygun addressed to Tağızade with gratitude. The same opera was going to be staged again in Istanbul in 1977 under the direction of Tağızade, but it failed. This failure has been expressed with regret in various memories written about Saygun and Tağızade. Although “Köroğlu” opera is one of the most important examples of the first cultural contact between Azerbaijan SSR and Turkey during the Soviet era, and despite its importance in our music history, it seems that this opera work has been shelved up to now. Since the year 1973, it has not been staged. The purpose of this study is to review briefly famous conductor of the Soviet Union Niyazi Tağizade’s role in “Köroğlu” opera of Ahmed Adnan Saygun and significance of the said opera in Turkish music history. Particular emphasis was placed on the aspect of the contribution of Tağızade to the opera work “Köroğlu” of Saygun to bring into the forefront the importance of this work in Turkish-Azerbaijani cultural exchange along with its special place in Turkish and Azerbaijani music history. In this connection, such Turkish and Azerbaijani sources as memories, newspapers and radio interviews have been searched. Consequently, this work of Saygun is of particular importance among Turkish opera works. It must earn its rightful place in Turkish, Azerbaijani and Turkic world’s music as well as culture.

A. Adnan Saygun’s “Köroğlu” operası, A. Adnan Saygun, Niyazi Tağızade, redaction, rehearse.