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July 21 marks 83 years of the famous Georgian singer, People's Artist of the USSR Nani Bregvadze. In the 1970s. She revived the genre of romance on the Soviet stage after a long oblivion and achieved recognition not only in the USSR, but also abroad - she repeatedly performed at the Paris Olympia, she was called the “queen of romance”. Her most famous song "Snowfall" is still remembered by millions of listeners. She was applauded all over the world, but she herself was never pleased with herself and admitted that she could not listen to her songs performed until she was 50 years old.
Looking at her, many often said: "Blue blood!" And they were not far from the truth - to become an aristocratic and good manners, she inherited from her mother, who came from a noble princely family. Olga Mikeladze sang well and played the piano, her love for music was passed on to her from her grandmother-singer. Nani's father, theater and film actor Georgy Bregvadze, also loved to sing. His daughter adopted artistry and the ability to present herself on stage. And the girl owed her unusual name to cinema. The fact is that the name Nani never actually existed. It was invented by the Georgian director Nikolai Shengelaya for the main character of his film "Golden Valley". The main male role in it was played by Georgy Bregvadze, and when the director found out that the actor would soon have a daughter, he asked to name her Nani.
Georgian stars who conquered the world
Music was often played in their house, and from childhood Nani also began to study vocals. True, at first, her parents hoped that she would become a pianist, and sent her to a music school to learn to play the piano. After that, she graduated from a music college. At the same time, Nani continued to study singing, and her mother was the first to notice her extraordinary talent and decided that her daughter should do it professionally. Nani began performing in the amateur pop orchestra of the Georgian Polytechnic Institute, and in 1957 she became a laureate of the 6th World Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow. The jury was Leonid Utesov himself, and he then said: "".
At the same time, Bregvadze never received a special vocal education. In 1963 she graduated from the Tbilisi State Conservatory, piano, and then sang for 5 years at the Tbilisi State Variety Orchestra "Rero". Once the representatives of the Moscow Music Hall drew attention to her, and the singer was invited on a tour to Paris, where she performed at the legendary Olympia concert hall.
After returning to the USSR, Bregvadze became a soloist of the Orera ensemble, with which she toured for 15 years, having visited 80 countries of the world. "Orera" was recognized as the best musical group in Georgia of the 20th century. Together with her, Vakhtang Kikabidze performed in this collective, who became her friend for many years. They appeared on stage together so often that many fans considered them husband and wife, but in reality they were family friends. Nani called him "Buba", like everyone close to her, and always spoke of him with great tenderness: "".
She was already about 40 years old when she began her career as a solo singer and became the "queen of romance". The artist admitted: "".
A humble legend
When she is called a star, the singer is embarrassed. Even her loved ones, she never allowed to call her that. "", - admits Bregvadze. According to her, she was able to maintain a childish attitude towards life and still remains as shy as in her youth. And she does not think that this somehow interferes with her profession - rather, on the contrary, it allows her not to lose face.
The singer says that she was never pleased with herself and her songs - this is what helped her move forward and develop in creativity. She did not dream of fame, and therefore she is very calm about her finest hour and the period of decline in popularity. Although she was replaced by completely different artists, with whom the queen of romance cannot even be imagined on the same stage, she never spoke badly about any of her colleagues, did not condemn anyone and did not complain about the change of eras. This became her life credo: do not get angry, do not envy, do not complain.
And after 80, the artist continues to perform - her pension is too small, and Bregvadze agrees to sing at private events in Russia. She still lives in 2 countries and often visits Moscow because her grandson is studying here at the university. The artist cannot imagine her life without work also because she sees in this the highest meaning of her existence - to work, to give people joy, to give more than to receive in return.
Her professional life was very happy, but in family life everything was very difficult: Glory and loneliness of Nani Bregvadze.
