Video: The bitter happiness of Konstantin Simonov and Valentina Serova: How the most lyrical poems about the war were born
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
November 28 marks the 104th anniversary of the birth of the famous Soviet writer and poet Konstantin Simonov. He became known throughout the country after the publication of his poem "Wait for me, and I will return …". These lines became a spell for millions of his contemporaries during the Great Patriotic War. And they were dedicated to the actress Valentina Serova, who became his wife and muse. True, after 15 years, the poet removed all Serova's dedications from the reprint of his works … Why he called this marriage the greatest happiness and the greatest grief in his life - further in the review.
The relatives of Konstantin Simonov said that it was this love that made him a poet. Prior to that, he twice tried to build a family, but the meeting with Valentina Serova became fateful and fatal for him at the same time: she destroyed his marriage with Yevgenia Laskina, who a year before had given him a son, Alexei, but inspired him to the best poems. The actress, before meeting with Simonov, was also married - to test pilot Anatoly Serov, but a year after the wedding, her husband died.
For the first time, the poet saw Valentina Serova on the screen, in the film "Girl with character", which made her famous. A personal acquaintance took place when Simonov brought his play "An Ordinary Story" to the Lenin Komsomol Theater, where the actress worked. Since then, he began to show her attention - he did not miss a single of her performances, passed notes backstage, waited at the service entrance after the performances, escorted her home. Serova accepted these advances with cold detachment, but the poet's stubbornness soon melted this ice.
When in the summer of 1941 Valentina Serova accompanied him to the front, he first heard a declaration of love from her, but then he did not even dare to believe these words. As a war correspondent, Simonov went through the entire war. But separation from his beloved seemed to him more terrible than all the horrors of war. The belief that one day they will see again helped him withstand these tests. In the fall of 1941, the poet wrote a poem "Wait for me, and I will return …", which became a hymn of love and hope, dedicated to millions of women who had waited for their husbands from the war.
Maria, the daughter of a poet and actress, later talked about how this poem was born: "". The whole country knew these lines by heart:
The most powerful lyric cycle, created by Simonov in 1941, was inspired by and dedicated to Serova. In 1942, a collection of poems by Simonov "With you and without you" was published, one of the copies of which he presented to Valentina Serova, signing it like this: "". It was impossible to get this collection during the war years. Poems were copied by hand, read to each other aloud, sent to the front. No other poet enjoyed such deafening popularity at that time.
Valentina Serova played the main role in the play based on the play by Simonov and in the film "Wait for Me" according to his script. In the summer of 1943, after 4 years of dating, the poet and actress got married. After that, he again went to the front, from where he regularly wrote letters to his Vaska - so he called Valentin because he did not pronounce the letter "l". These letters have not survived - in his declining years, the poet himself destroyed them.
Valentina Serova played the main role in the play based on the play by Simonov and in the film "Wait for Me" according to his script. In the summer of 1943, after 4 years of dating, the poet and actress got married. After that, he again went to the front, from where he regularly wrote letters to his Vaska - so he called Valentin because he did not pronounce the letter "l". These letters have not survived - in his declining years, the poet himself destroyed them.
It would seem that in peacetime, the spouses could finally enjoy family happiness and forget about separation. But the talented poet and journalist Konstantin Simonov went up the career ladder, his popularity grew, he became a figure of a state scale, and often traveled abroad. At the end of 1945 he was sent to Japan for several months, then to the USA. Leaving on business trips, Simonov often left boxes of wine at home - "so that Vaska would not be bored." Then no one could have imagined that this habit would develop into addiction …
In the post-war years, Valentina Serova was a real movie star. She had a luxurious apartment and a car, and noisy companies often gathered in the house. Feasts became more and more frequent, alcohol turned into the only consolation of the actress during periods of her husband's absence. In the late 1940s. Valentina wrote in her diary: "".
Serov tried to replace her disappearing love with work, which for a while became an incentive for her to give up alcohol. In 1950, the couple had a daughter, Masha. But the child did not save their marriage. Serova moved from theater to theater. She was no longer able to fight her addiction and her film career was ruined. In the mid-1950s, 15 years later, the marriage between the actress and the poet fell apart.
In the 1940s. each publication of Simonov's poems was preceded by a dedication to the muse - Valentina Vasilievna Serova. When asked to talk about their relationship with the actress, the poet replied: "". In the last lifetime editions of poems, Konstantin Simonov removed all dedications to Valentina Serova, except for one - "Wait for me, and I'll be back …". But even there he left only her initials. Even in the collection With You and Without You, the mention of Serova's name disappeared. And after years, the poet confessed to their daughter Masha: “”.
The further life of the actress was tragic: The broken fate of Valentina Serova.
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