Mamajan Gulyýewa was born on 1 May 1920 in the city of
Buzmeyin (annexed and made part of the city of
Ashgabat in 2013). She was orphaned at age 8. Beginning in the latter year, she was a member of the company at the ; she was the first to perform roles in Western operas on the Turkmenistan stage. She also created roles in numerous operas by composers from the
Turkmen SSR and other Central Asian republics; among these were roles in
Shasenem and Gharib,
The Rose and the Nightingale, and
Zohre and Tahyr by
Adrian Shaposhnikov and
Abadan by . Other roles in her repertoire included Marfa in ''
The Tsar's Bride by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Marguerite in Faust by Charles Gounod, and the title role in Madama Butterfly'' by
Giacomo Puccini. For her work, she received multiple awards during her career; she was named an in 1943, and became a in 1952. In 1955, she was awarded the title
People's Artist of the USSR. In 2008 she was named a
Hero of Turkmenistan. During her career she also received the
Order of Lenin, the
Order of the Red Banner of Labour, and the
Order of the Badge of Honour. continued to receive recognition from the
government of Turkmenistan after the break-up of the
Soviet Union. In 2010, it was reported that she still had final say over all matters of opera performance in Turkmenistan. She had two children. == Legacy ==