The mezzo-soprano Evlin Örge was a student at Ankara State Conservatory, in the 1940s, when she met the Persian composer and fellow student Samin Baghcheban. They fell in love, married and moved to Tehran to start their careers. Now ‘Evlin Baghcheban’, alongside countless recitals in various countries, she became a singing teacher and, later, choral conductor at Tehran Conservatory of Music.
Following the inauguration of Tehran Opera Company, Baghcheban became one of its stars and also conducted the Tehran Choral Group in the most prestigious venue in Persia, Rudaki Hall. Evlin was assigned to conduct the choral music for the coronation ceremony of the Shah in 1967 and was supported, by Empress Farah Pahlavi, to establish a conservatory for orphaned children in 1973. However, the victory of the 1979 revolution, which brought Islamists to power, ended her entire career.
October 2020 marks the 10th anniversary of Evlin Baghcheban’s death. Funded by the Toos Foundation, the Persian Dutch Network presents rare photos and documents of Baghcheban’s career from the private family archive, along with a CD, never before released, of her live performances at Tehran Opera House: an organisation whose archive was destroyed after the 1979 revolution.
BBC Persian Reviews “The Days Tehran had Opera”
“The Days Tehran had Opera: A Tribute to Evlin Baghcheban” is available on Bol.com, Amazon and PayPal. More info: info (at) persiandutch.com
See Also:
First-Ever Release of 1978 Farah Choir
THE FAIRIES: An opera banned in Tehran is released in Amsterdam
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