Abrar Khidoiatov

Born Aug. 14, 1900, in Tashkent; died there Oct. 3, 1958. Soviet Uzbek actor. People’s Artist of the USSR (1945). Member of the CPSU from 1922.

In 1918, Khidoiatov joined a drama company headed by M. Uigur (known as the K. Marx Uzbek Theater Company from 1919). He then studied at the Uzbek Studio in Moscow from 1924 to 1927. In 1927 he became a leading actor with the Central State Theater Company (now the Khamza Uzbek Academic Drama Theater).

Khidoiatov achieved great success in roles from the Uzbek repertoire, such as the farmhand Gafur in Khamza’s Landowner and Farmhand, the title role in Alisher Navoi by Uigun and Sultanov, and Arslan in Iashen’s Two Communists. His roles in Russian and Soviet plays included the Mayor in Gogol’s The Inspector-General, Shvandia in Trenev’s Liubov’ larovaia, Granatov in Faiko’s Man With a Portfolio and Gai in Pogodin’s My Friend. His interpretations of the title roles in Hamlet (1935) and Othello (1941) were major contributions to the gallery of Shakespearean characters.

Khidoiatov possessed a voice of rare beauty and wealth of intonation. He was a master of the art of monologue. Khidoiatov combined noble romantic emotion with psychological depth.

Khidoiatov was awarded the State Prize of the USSR (1949), the Order of Lenin, two other orders, and several medals.