Maria Titarenko

Maria Titarenko was born on 27 March 1917 in Sevastopol, Russian Empire.^[2] At the age of 3, she became an orphan after her father died and her mother remarried living her and five other children.^[3] At the age of 14, Titarenko graduated from the seven-year school, where she studied the language of the Crimean Tatars.^[4] After that, she graduated from a factory school and began to work at the factory.^[5] Working at the factory Titarenko fulfilled 300% of the norm and nobody could break her record.^[3]

In 1936, Titarenko married the head of one of the factory shops, Nikolai Naida who was soon recruited to the Baku Shipyard.^[3] Together with her husband, Titarenko came to Azerbaijan in 1937.^[2]

In February 1938, Titarenko was admitted to the Baku Musical College without exams.^[5] During her study at the college, she separated with her first husband Nikolai Naida, who was recruited to work in Murmansk, and met a military pilot Vasily Koretsky, who soon went to the war and died.^[2]

While working at the factory Titarenko participated in amateur performances, singing Oksana in the opera by the Ukrainian composer Semen Hulak-Artemovsky “Zaporozhets beyond the Danube”.^[2] She won three times in city amateur competitions in Sevastopol and in the All-Crimean Amateur Olympiad in Simferopol.^[5]

After graduating from Baku Musical College in 1942, Titarenko was transferred to study at the conservatory.^[3]

In 1943, Titarenko became a soloist of the Baku Opera House.^[5] She appeared on the stage of the Baku Opera House in the role of Nigar.^[2]

In 1945, Titarenko voiced Gulchohra performed by Leyla Badirbeyli in the film "Arshin Mal Alan".^[6]

In the 1950s and 1960s Titarenko became the prima of the Baku opera scene.^[3] During her 25 years of stage work she sang 36 leading roles, including Nigar, Tatiana, Iolanta, Mikaela and Snegurochka.^[2] She performed six roles in Azerbaijani language.^[1]

In 1961, Titarenko was awarded a title of an Honored Astist of Azerbaijan SSR.^[2]

She left the stage in 1969, but her voice of the prima remained until the age of 84 when she still performed a part in the opera Vagif.^[2]

Maria Titarenko died on 26 September at the age of 85 in Baku, and was buried in Baku.^[2]