Today, most of the twenty-year-old residents of Russia and Ukraine are unlikely to be able to answer the question of who is Claudia Shulzhenko. Her biography is directly related to these countries. Moreover, in the thirties and forties of the twentieth century, the voice of this singer sounded in all countries of the USSR. She was friends with Dunaevsky and Raikin, Papanov and Pugacheva. She was called the Soviet Edith Piaf, and she truly was worthy of this comparison.
Childhood Claudia Ivanovna Shulzhenko
The future singer was born in March 1906 in the famous Ukrainian city of Kharkov. Although other researchers claim that in fact she was born in the village of Gushchevka (today the village of Vitovo, Cherkasy region). Who is Shulzhenko Claudia Ivanovna?
The biography of this woman as a singer began with the fact that from childhood she constantly heard Ukrainian folk songs performed by her father-accountant of the Main Railway Department. Seeing the artistic nature of his daughter, he encouraged her passion for theater. Young Klava did not miss a single performance or operetta in the city, and by the age of fifteen she firmly decided to become an actress.
Gaining courage, the young Shulzhenko went to Nikolai Sinelnikov, who at that time was the director of the Kharkov Drama Theater. After listening to how a young girl artistically performed the Ukrainian folk song “Harness your horse’s horses”, he without hesitation enrolled her in the choir of the theater troupe. And this despite the fact that Claudia did not have any special education.
Claudia Shulzhenko - artist of the Kharkov Drama Theater and Krasnozavodsk Drama Theater
Young Shulzhenko did not take her ability to sing beautifully seriously. Moreover, the girl dreamed of a career as a movie actress, hoping to become the second Vera Cold. However, Claudia's father insisted that she become a singer. To this end, he ensured that his daughter would take singing lessons from Professor Nikita Chemizov himself.
After listening to the girl, he rendered the verdict that Claudius does not need a voice, he is already almost perfect by nature, you can only develop and improve. Thanks to the professor, the girl not only learned musical tricks, but also expanded her circle of acquaintances among people of art.
Soon, the young singer began to be actively invited to sing at concerts. In addition, in the theater where the girl worked, she began to give solo parts in performances. In 1925, a rather famous singer was invited to perform at the Krasnozavodsk Drama Theater of Kharkov.
Until 1928, singer Claudia Shulzhenko was the property of her native city. The biography of this talented girl contains a significant event - she was invited to perform at the Mariinsky Opera House (Leningrad).
Claudia Shulzhenko in Leningrad
The young singer has proven herself perfectly during her first performance in Leningrad, dedicated to Press Day. And the very next year, the talented performer Claudia Shulzhenko was invited to sing in Skomorovsky's jazz orchestra. A brief biography succinctly describes this period of her work. In fact, it was a titanic work. Indeed, Shulzhenko, despite the excellent vocal abilities, it was necessary to develop a manner of performance, with which each number turned into a mini-performance. The singer also carefully selected each costume for the performance, accessories and hairstyle, trying to take into account all fashion trends.
At the very beginning of the thirties, Claudia Shulzhenko was given the main role in the production of the Leningrad music hall “Conditionally killed”. Three years later, the singer received an invitation to sing in the movie "Who is your friend?" And since 1936, the songs that were performed by Claudia Shulzhenko began to record on records.
The singer’s biography was marked by a significant event in 1939, when she took part in the I All-Union Pop Art Competition and became a laureate. Since then, the whole USSR recognized her. Now Shulzhenko constantly toured, and numerous records with her songs were instantly sold out. In almost every house, songs were heard performed by her unique voice.
Jazz band Shulzhenko and Coralli
In 1940, there was a new turn in the career of the already famous USSR singer named Shulzhenko Claudia Ivanovna. The biography of the performer marks this year as the beginning of a golden period in her career. Indeed, it was then, along with her husband Vladimir Coralli, the singer created her own jazz ensemble, with which they toured everywhere. The main achievement for the singer now was that she could build her concert program at her discretion. Quite often, Shulzhenko took into account what her songs were loved by the audience, and arranged everything so that the whole performance sounded in one go, not letting you get bored. With the advent of World War II on the territory of the USSR, the brainchild of Shulzhenko and her husband was renamed into a front-line jazz ensemble.
War years
The biography of Claudia Shulzhenko in these years is a description of the singer’s courage and heroism. Having the opportunity to evacuate, she did not use it. Instead, Claudia Ivanovna, along with the front-line ensemble, toured everywhere to maintain the morale of the soldiers.
In the first year of the war alone, she gave about five hundred concerts — almost two a day. Working hard, she and her colleagues risked their lives more than once. The bus on which the front-line jazz ensemble traveled was riddled with bullets, and two of its members died of starvation and physical exhaustion. However, the courageous woman did not give up and all the years of the war, until the victory of 1945, she sang at the front.
The story of the appearance of the “Blue Handkerchief”
With the outbreak of war, Klavdia Ivanovna seriously thought about changing the repertoire. Since singing in front of fighters who might die every day, playful pre-war songs seemed inappropriate. But it turned out that she was wrong. At that time, the songs of Claudia Shulzhenko were a reminder to the exhausted soldiers of a long-forgotten peaceful life. Compositions “Note”, “Mom”, “Hands”, “Don’t talk about love”, “Chelita” and others now sounded in almost every military hospital.
Once during a speech in a mountain rifle brigade, young lieutenant Mikhail Maximov approached Claudia Ivanovna. He said that he wrote a song to the music of the Polish composer Jiri of Petersburg “Blue Handkerchief”. This song liked Shulzhenko so much that she, having learned it, immediately included it in her repertoire. It is noteworthy that it was “Blue Handkerchief” that became the hallmark of the artist.
Last years
The post-war biography of Claudia Shulzhenko is not so bright. Despite the fact that she was awarded numerous medals, as well as the Order of the Red Star, gradually the singer began to be forced out of the scene. And although tickets were sold out for her performances instantly, these concerts became less and less.
In 1954, her first long-playing record was released, as well as a film with her participation called "Funny Stars" was shot. In the sixties, the singer almost stopped touring, but she began to receive awards and titles. In 1962 - People's Artist of the RSFSR, in 1971 - People's Artist of the USSR, and in 1976 Claudia Ivanovna was awarded the Lenin Order.
In the early eighties, she recorded another long-playing record Claudia Shulzhenko. The full biography of this singer, told by herself, was published in 1981 under the title "When you ask me ...". The singer died in the summer of 1984 in her apartment in Moscow. They buried her at the Novodevichy cemetery.
Claudia Shulzhenko: biography, personal life
Like many people of art, Claudia Ivanovna was an addicted person. But the first serious romance happened to her back in Kharkov. The singer’s beloved was called Ivan Grigoryev. And although the lovers did not formalize an official relationship, the girl wore a wedding ring.
The affair with Grigoryev came to an end when Claudia began to communicate with Odessa singer and entertainer Vladimir Coralli. The biography of Claudia Shulzhenko contains a reference to the fact that she met Coralli back in 1928, when he came to Kharkov on tour. But their relationship began only after the girl moved to Leningrad. Soon the lovers got married, and in 1932 their son Igor was born.
Shulzhenko and Coralli together created a harmonious creative union. That's just in their personal lives, not everything was okay. In 1954, the couple officially divorced, but, despite many problems, they maintained normal relations until the end of their lives. Coralli survived his ex-wife for twelve years. He was buried in his will next to his beloved woman named Claudia Shulzhenko.
The biography (personal life) of the singer contains another important name. This is Georgy Epifanov. He was younger than the singer by more than ten years. When she first saw her in 1940, George became a loyal fan who did not miss a single concert. However, shyness did not allow him to meet Shulzhenko. However, when the meeting took place, Claudius and George fell in love. Their relationship lasted for many years, although the lovers never married.
Claudia Shulzhenko: interesting biography facts
There are many interesting facts about the singer:
- At the audition, upon admission to the Kharkov Drama Theater, Claudia Ivanovna was accompanied by Isaac Dunaevsky.
- It is noteworthy that the piano, which Shulzhenko loved to play until her death, originally belonged to composer Dmitry Shostakovich. Once, in the heat of excitement, he lost it to Dunaevsky’s cards, and later the singer got the instrument.
- Despite the fact that the singer lived in abundance all her conscious life, she never had her own car, and she lived in old age in a communal apartment. The woman spent most of the money she earned on clothes and jewelry.
- Despite financial problems in old age, Shulzhenko never complained and did not ask for help, although she had wealthy and influential friends. The only one from whom she accepted financial assistance was Alla Pugacheva, who greatly appreciated and respected Claudia Ivanovna.
The biography of Claudia Shulzhenko is a rare example of courage and selflessness, when the words the singer sang did not diverge from her deeds.