Lost happiness of Ivan Kozlovsky: Why the first tenor of the country and the idol of women doomed himself to loneliness

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

26 years ago, on December 21, 1993, the famous Soviet opera singer, People's Artist of the USSR Ivan Kozlovsky passed away. He always had a huge number of fans who were ready to fight for him in the literal sense of the word - they fought with fans of his main rival on the stage, Sergei Lemeshev. They said that with one glance, he killed women on the spot. He was married twice, but after a divorce from his second wife he spent more than 40 years alone, left the Bolshoi Theater and even thought about going to a monastery …

Ivan Kozlovsky was the same age as the century. He was born in 1900 into a peasant family in a village near Kiev. These are commonly referred to as nuggets from the people. At the age of 7, Ivan entered the Mikhailovsky Monastery, where he sang in the monastery choir. Later, the singer said: "".

But the young man had other plans - after 10 years he escaped from the Bursa, wandered around the villages for several months, earning money by singing, and then came to Kiev. He decided to try to enter the Kiev Institute of Music and Drama. His natural talent impressed the admissions committee so much that he was admitted after the first round of exams. In 1920, Kozlovsky was drafted into the army. But even while serving in the engineering troops of the Red Army, Kozlovsky continued to do what he loved - he directed the musical amateur performances and participated in the performances of the Poltava Mobile Music and Drama Theater.

After completing his service, Ivan Kozlovsky performed at the Kharkov Opera House, a year later he moved to the Sverdlovsk Opera House, and in 1926 he moved to Moscow and was accepted into the troupe of the Bolshoi Theater. From that moment on, his triumphant career began on the opera stage. The performance of the roles of the Fool in Boris Godunov, Lensky in Eugene Onegin, Berendey in The Snow Maiden brought him incredible popularity and adoration of the audience. They say that Chaliapin himself, who considered the tenor "a physical handicap", upon hearing this unique timbre, exclaimed: ""

In 1938 Ivan Kozlovsky became the organizer and director of the USSR State Opera Ensemble. The authorities were supportive of him - he was even called Stalin's favorite singer. He listened to Kozlovsky not only at the Bolshoi Theater - sometimes the tenor was brought to the Kremlin at night and he sang especially for Stalin. But at the same time he was not allowed abroad - in 1919 his brother Fyodor, who sang with Ivan in the monastery choir and also became a singer, went on tour to Europe and did not return back.

During the war years, Kozlovsky worked in Kuibyshev (Samara), where the Bolshoi Theater was evacuated, more than once traveled as part of concert brigades to the active army, performed in hospitals, and gave concerts at the National Defense Fund. His career at the Bolshoi Theater lasted 28 years. During this time, Kozlovsky performed more than fifty parts from famous operas. In 1954, the singer, to the great regret of his many thousands of fans, suddenly decided to leave the theater. He remained in great shape, continued to sing, and for many this decision came as a complete surprise. But the singer had personal reasons for this …

At the age of 20, the singer married the leading actress of the Poltava Theater Alexandra Gertsik, who was 14 years older than him. Together they moved to Moscow, where Kozlovsky's career took off, while his wife's star was gradually fading away. However, she did not complain about fate - for 17 years, Alexandra remained not only a wife, but also a devoted friend, who surrounded him with almost maternal care. Putting an end to her own career, she was engaged in the economy and everyday life, selflessly devoting her life to the "first tenor of the country."

In the last 3 years, the relationship between the spouses has deteriorated noticeably - in 1934 Kozlovsky met the actress Galina Sergeeva and lost his head from her. She was 14 years younger than him and in many ways turned out to be the complete opposite of his first wife - she was far from operatic art and completely focused on her own theatrical and film career, because after starring in the 1934 film "Pyshka" she became a real star and herself young honored artist of the RSFSR.

Thousands of fans showered her with flowers, gave gifts and dedicated poems to her. At the same time, she was insanely jealous of Kozlovsky for his fans, although there was no reason for this - the singer was so in love with Sergeev that other women simply ceased to exist for him. For her sake, he was ready for any madness - once a famous artist climbed the drainpipe into the room to his beloved on the second floor. But the actress reproached him for insufficient attention and, unlike Alexandra Gertsik, did not know how to make concessions at all.

In 1937 they got married. Both left their previous families for this marriage. They had two daughters, but with the advent of the younger, their relationship, which was too violent, full of quarrels and scandals, finally deteriorated. After the war, the actress got into a car accident, injured her throat, and underwent several operations. Due to health problems, she had to leave the theater. She had not been called to the cinema since 1942. A new problem was added to the problems of personal lack of fulfillment. The youngest daughter was diagnosed with congenital scoliosis, she could develop a hump, she needed a complex operation. Professor Vasily Chaklin agreed to conduct it. Unable to resist the charm of the actress, he also lost his head from her and left his wife and three children for her. Sergeeva left Kozlovsky and married Chaklin.

The singer was so upset about parting with his wife that he fell into a severe depression and after 4 years decided to leave the theater. He even thought about going to a monastery. Although his wife's new marriage did not last long, Kozlovsky, continuing to love the actress, did not offer her to return - he was never able to forgive her betrayal. The singer was so sad that after a divorce he spent more than 40 years alone. At the same time, "goat women" (as his fans were called) constantly lived in his apartment, who were engaged in the household - in everyday life he was absolutely helpless. Realizing that none of them could replace Galina for him, they were already happy that he allowed them to be near. At the same time, rumors about his romance with singers and the wives of party officials never died down, but he himself did not comment on them.

But leaving the theater did not end his career - he went with concerts throughout the country, performing romances. It was he who found the notes and was the first to record the romance "I met you …" on the verses of Fyodor Tyutchev. But more than once it happened that he was forbidden to perform this or that song, and Kozlovsky fell into despondency. His daughter said: "".

In adulthood, Kozlovsky rarely allowed strangers into the house, especially journalists. Art critic and publicist Inga Karetnikova told about one of the rare meetings in her memoirs: "". Even in adulthood, he has not lost his charm and ability to impress women. The singer remained not only in excellent physical shape (even at the age of 70 he did a gymnastic cross on the rings and did not drink drugs), but also did not lose his professional skills - he continued to give solo concerts until he was 87!

There were legends about the antics of the fans of Ivan Kozlovsky and Sergey Lemeshev: Why fans of two great tenors got into fights.