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Video: Imre Kalman and Vera Makinskaya: The Late Happiness of the King of Operetta
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
It seemed that there could be nothing in common between the Russian emigrant and the famous Hungarian composer. Imre Kalman at first only showed a friendly attitude towards the poor young girl. Then no one could have imagined that Vera Makinskaya was destined to become the last happiness of a genius. The history of their relationship could form the basis of one of the operettas of that time.
No coincidence meeting
For the first time Vera Makinskaya saw Imre Kalman behind the scenes of the Berlin Theater in 1926. Upon learning that she was Russian, the composer sympathized with the girl forced to wander in a foreign land from a young age.
The next meeting took place two years later. Vera was 17, she lived in a Viennese boarding house and passionately wanted to become an actress. But there were enough statisticians in the theater, there was only hope for a lucky break. Together with her friends who shared a room with her, she went out to a nearby cafe after dinner. The same institution was often visited by representatives of the musical and artistic elite. Every aspiring actress dreamed of meeting here a person who has the opportunity to help in the career of a young talent.
Imre Kalman and Vera at the same time approached the counter to pick up the coat, the cloakroom attendant gave preference to Kalman, contemptuously abandoning that the girl did not pay anywhere. And Kalman suddenly offered her his help. Vera made up her mind. Even the role of a statistician in his new operetta suited her.
In the theater, he took care of his young protégé and every day fed her a bun with ham, giving Vera his simple breakfast. He bought her the first decent outfit.
And then his beloved Agnes Esterhazy came to the theater for the premiere. Probably, it was then that the young actress realized that she had fallen in love. And in the morning I threw a real scene for him, not even realizing that this was giving out her feelings with her head. Imre Kalman just smiled and shook his head. He knew for sure that she had won this fight at the very moment when she first appeared in front of him in the cafe "Sacher".
Dreams Come True
Their romance developed very rapidly. But the composer for a long time could not believe that Veruschka chose him from all men. For Vera, all hopes for the future were concentrated in this middle-aged and very kind gentleman. He could have helped her become a celebrity, but it turned out that Vera Makinskaya does not have an acting talent. But she has a sober and practical mind. She sees an opportunity to escape poverty by tying her life with Imre Kalman through marriage.
The composer was in no hurry to propose to her, but the fear of losing his beloved, whom his mother threatened to take away from Vienna and from his life, made him decide to marry.
She could not shine on stage, but at the social events arranged by her in Kalman's house, Vera felt like a real star. True, her husband at this time preferred to sit out in the kitchen. He was not familiar with most of his guests, but he also did not want to deprive his spouse of the opportunity to have fun. The great Imre Kalman perceived the birth of children as a reward from above. He was happy. He dedicated to Vera one of his best operettas - "The Violet of Montmartre".
After parting there will be a meeting …
The coming to power of Hitler, the victorious march of Nazi troops across Europe forced Kalman to hit the road first to France, then to America. Hitler loved music and provided the composer with his personal patronage, but Imre could not and did not want to have anything to do with fascism.
They had to start everything from scratch in an unfamiliar country. The family experienced financial difficulties, and Verushka got a job as a saleswoman in a salon. Where she met a French rich man who offered her a hand and a heart.
She asked for a divorce from Kalman, and he let her go, caring exclusively about the happiness and well-being of his beloved. True, the separation was short-lived. The very first meeting after receiving the divorce papers stirred up both Vera and her husband. Soon they lived together again, trying not to remember this unpleasant moment in their life.
Return
Lack of interest in Kalman's music in America, parting with his beloved Verusha, and then the news of the death of Kalman's sisters in a Nazi concentration camp thoroughly undermined his health. In 1949, the composer suffered a stroke.
Her husband's illness changed Vera's attitude towards him. According to her own recollections, she realized how dear this person is to her, joint experiences brought them closer. The unexpectedly found second breath of their love greatly contributed to the composer's recovery.
In 1950, the family returned to Europe. Kalman wanted to settle in Zurich, but again gave in to his wife and her desire to live in Paris. The maestro spent his last days in the company of his sister Irmgard, his nurse. Imre Kalman did not restrict the freedom of his wife, but gradually introduced her to the course of all affairs, anticipating an imminent death.
On October 30, 1953, Imre Kalman quietly left in his sleep. After the death of her husband, Vera did not marry again, devoting the rest of her life to preserving her husband's heritage. But she is still called the woman who took Imre Kalman away from the music.
There was also a frivolous muse in the life of the great composer,
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