page_title: If Not That One, Then This One
section_title: The operetta as satire
hierarchical_section_title: If Not That One, Then This One / The operetta as satire
caption_attribution_description: Azərbaycanca: يوزي اچيق مسلمان عورتي جارشولي مسلمان عورتي English: Muslim woman in chador (left) Muslim woman with exposed hair (right) Русский: Карикатура «Мусульманка в чадре и мусульманка с открытым лицом» (يوزي اچيق مسلمان عورتي جارشولي مسلمان عورتي) из журнала «Молла Насреддин» (№ 11, 1911 г.), показывающая положение азербайджанской женщины того времени
context_page_description: If Not That One, Then This One, also known as Mashadi Ibad, is a 1910 operetta in four acts written by Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibeyov. The comedy reflects social and everyday life relations in prerevolutionary Azerbaijan. It is the composer's second work written in this genre, and is considered a national classic alongside the same composer's Arshin mal alan.
context_section_description: If not this one, then that one is considered one of the major comedies of prerevolutionary Azerbaijan, ranked with the satirical works of Mirza Fatali Akhundov and Jalil Mammadguluzadeh. Hajibeyov describes social and everyday reality in Azerbaijan at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. According to musician Elmira Abbasova, the characters are typical representatives of that time.
  Hajibeyov ridicules commonplace family prejudices of his time, when a woman had to agree with demands of her father, such as marrying to an old man, or sitting under lock and key if her husband wants, and who can be disowned for her disobedience. According to Matthew O'Brian, support of woman rights is the central point of Uzeyir Hajibeyov's comedy. Gulnaz and Sarvar are real heroes of the comedy. They are new people, without prejudices and thirst for money. Unlike other heroes of Hajibeyov's operas, they are characterized as active persons, who do not accept a passive approach to their destiny. They understand that the old pressures are now weak. The servant Senem also understands this, intercepting the dispute with Rustam bey and supporting Gulnaz.
  According to Elmira Abbasova, Mashadi Ibad is a respectable person in a high society. His power is his money, and he feel no pangs of conscience for the ruined lives of his wives. Indeed, he can ruin Gulnaz's life, too. Her beauty and youth do not dissuade him; his attitude to love is "if not this one, then that one". But in the comedy it leads to his downfall.
  The images of the nobility-merchant classes are sharply drawn. Rustam bey, who wants to sell his only beautiful daughter to Mashadi Ibad is characterized by immorality, idleness and fear when facing inevitable downfall. similarly as regards Rustam bey's friends:
  Rza bey, the journalist, who writes any libel fon money. His speech is hardly intelligible, as he mixes Azerbaijani with a Turkish-Ottoman accent when he speaks.
  According to Jamila Hasanova, the nationalist Hasangulu bey neglects the interests of those about him for the sake of his own benefit.
  The 'intellectual' Hasan bey, is characterized as alcoholic, idle talker and brawler. He is a pro-Western Azerbaijani who mixes Azerbaijani, Russian and French when he speaks, continually disrupting conversations and showing off.
  Gochu Asger is the leader of a local gang, who are brave only in front of the simple student Sarvar, but fear policemen.
  The libretto displays many neat and aphoristic expressions. Musicologist Elmira Abbasova notes that Uzeyir Hajibeyov records the speech of representatives of various sectors of society of that time with precision and artistry.
  The theme of satire of everyday life relations in prerevolutionary Azerbaijan, in which spongers, rich men, and rogues from various sectors of society were ridiculed, was familiar to audiences from other countries, for example, to Tajik and Uzbek spectators, and it found a keen response among them.
caption: "Veiled Moslem woman and Moslem women with open face" from Molla Nasraddin magazine (No. 11, 1911)
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