Bikel Matatova

Bikel Matatova was born in 1928 in Derbent

Bikel Matatova was born in Derbent in 1928 and grew up on Tagi-Zade Street, near a synagogue. She was the eldest of four children. Her father, Pisakh Matatov, died in 1933, and her mother, Istire-Melke, raised the children alone while working in the Caspian fishing industry.

In 1936 her mother took a role at the state drama theater in Derbent, and Bikel became drawn to the stage. She studied at the Maxim Gorky school in Derbent, where lessons were in Judeo-Tat. After school she attended rehearsals and learned the roles by heart.

Her first role was in the play Shah Abbas, and she toured with the theater among Mountain Jewish communities. During World War II the troupe performed in villages, towns and hospitals. For her role as Gogo in a play by Djumshud Ashurov she received an honorary diploma from the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

After the theater closed in 1946 she worked at the Azerbaijani theater until it closed in 1949. She later worked in Khuchni, where she became artistic director of the House of Culture. Back in Derbent she played Gulnaz, Shahsenem and Naz-Naz, and in 1961 she played Leyli in Leyli and Majnun.

In 1963 she played the lead in Ayhanum, and the state theater closed in 1964. In 1990 she received the title Honored Worker of Culture of the Dagestan ASSR. She died in 2013.