Ivan Semenovich Kozlovsky - singer, amazingly owning voice, man-era, mischievous person, national treasure. His life is not only an example of serving his talent, but also an example of the ability to live in full, with pleasure. However, his story is not an eternal holiday, he had to experience many difficulties and hardships, however, there was always Music with him, and this was happiness.
Childhood and family
On March 24, 1900, a boy Vanya was born in a simple peasant family in the village of Maryanovka in the Kiev province. Nothing portended a great future for the baby, but fate and hard work helped him achieve great heights in life. The head of the family had a musical gift, which he passed on to his son. Semyon Kozlovsky sang excellently, played the accordion, it was from him that in childhood Ivan heard folk songs that he had fallen in love with for life. The singer’s mother dreamed that he would grow up and become a priest, so he was sent to school at the Mikhailovsky Monastery. Times were difficult, half-starved. Once the bishop was late for dinner, and the children ate all the bread served for everyone. When the priest came and wanted to scold the children, Vanya said loudly: "Seven are not waiting for one." The bishop, amazed at such resourcefulness and audacity, did not punish the boys. So the character of the future famous singer began to appear, and he will preserve children's immediacy and mischief for life.
Gaining a calling
Ivan Kozlovsky, whose biography is connected with music from an early age, very early realized his talent. The boy from early childhood showed musical talent, he had absolute pitch and a natural, beautiful voice. In the monastery, Vanya sang in the choir, where he received his first voice skills. Students sang in St. Sophia Cathedral, under the guidance of the talented musician Y. Kalishevsky, who became the first mentor of Kozlovsky. The family by this time is moving to Kiev, where the future famous tenor sings also in the choir of the People’s House. Fate helped Kozlovsky not only to show talent, but also to find use for him. From an early age he earned his living with his voice, while only shelter and food were in the monastery, but his calling had already found him, and now he needed to master his skill. Soon, Ivan became the soloist of the Kiev Bolshoi Academic Choir, led by composer A. Kosits. It was he who not only worked on the production of Kozlovsky’s voice, but also insisted that he needed to learn.
Study
In 1917, Ivan entered the Music and Drama Institute in Kiev, at the vocal department. He fell into the class of Professor E. A. Muravyeva, who laid the foundation for Kozlovsky’s vocal technique. Subsequently, for many years he will grind his performing technique, but the foundations were laid precisely then. During his studies, the Russian tenor demonstrates not only undeniable talent, but also a great hard work, Ivan loves to sing and is ready to do hours. In 1920, he graduated with honors from the institute, but instead of starting to work by profession, he went to the army.
First career steps
A civil war is going on in the country, and Ivan Kozlovsky is sent as a volunteer to the Red Army. But in Ukraine, Soviet power has already been established, hostilities are over, and the singer does not fall on the current front. He is sent to a rifle company in Poltava, his bosses allow Ivan to combine service with singing. And he leads the life of a soldier during the day, and in the evenings sings at the Poltava Music and Drama Theater. This work forms Kozlovsky as an opera singer, he had the opportunity to sing almost the entire classical repertoire in the theater: “Eugene Onegin”, “Faust”, “La Traviata”, “Rigoletto”, “May Night”. For four years, the tenor gains enormous vocal experience and is ready for new achievements. In 1924, at the invitation of A. M. Pazovsky, he came to work at the Kharkov Opera House, where he made his brilliant debut in Faust. Very quickly Kozlovsky became a leading soloist of the theater, performed many classical parts. A year later he was invited to Leningrad, to the Mariinsky Theater, but the singer rejects such a tempting offer and leaves for Sverdlovsk to sing at the local opera house.
The Bolshoi Theatre
But a year later, Ivan Kozlovsky made an attempt to conquer Moscow. In 1926, he sang the part of Alfred in La Traviata at the Bolshoi Theater branch and immediately attracted the attention of many artists. The conductor of the performance M. M. Ippolitov-Ivanov immediately notes that this singer has a great future. So Ivan Kozlovsky comes to the main theater of the country, where he will work for 29 years.
Immediately after the debut, Kozlovsky started talking in the musical world of Moscow, experts and fans noted his masterly sound production, elasticity of voice, and bright personality. The singer always worked hard on his technique, and although he came to Bolshoi as a mature master, he did not stop improving.
In 1927, Igor Semenovich plays the part of the Holy Fool in Boris Godunov by M. Mussorgsky, she made a splash. Since then, this role has become his hallmark, better than him, piercing and more precisely, no one played this part, he managed to feel the real Pushkin intonations and the national spirit.
During the Second World War, Kozlovsky, along with the theater, was evacuated to Kuibyshev, but could not stay away from the general struggle and quite often went to the front with music teams, spoke at hospitals, and participated in fundraising for the country's Defense Fund.
In total, at the Bolshoi Theater, Kozlovsky performed about 50 roles, each of which left a noticeable mark in domestic musical art.
In 1954, Ivan Kozlovsky, at the peak of his popularity and form, leaves the Bolshoi Theater. He never spoke about the reasons for this decision.
Talent Competition
In 1931, Kozlovsky at the Bolshoi Theater had a rival - Sergei Lemeshev. In the artistic environment there is always a spirit of competition, especially among high-level talents, the artist always wants to be the best. In the duel Sergey Lemeshev - Ivan Kozlovsky tenors, approximately equal in talent and skill, competed in achievements. This opposition was largely facilitated by fans who subtly noticed the success of the idol and the failure of the opponent. By the number of awards and the speed of receiving them, Kozlovsky overtook a competitor, but Lemeshev worked much longer on the main stage of the country. The main subject of the competition is the Lensky party, which each singer performed in his own way by virtue of his character. So, for Kozlovsky it was a more ironic and daring image, for Lemeshev it was a more lyrical one. In 1958, tenors took to the stage together on the anniversary of O. Chekhova-Knipper.
USSR Opera Ensemble
In 1938, I.S. Kozlovsky, a singer of tremendous disability, founded the State Opera Ensemble of the USSR with the support of V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko. Tenor was not only a soloist, but also an artistic director. Over the three years of the existence of the collective, all the outstanding performers of that time worked in it: M. Maksakova, I. Petrov, I. Patorzhinsky. Here Kozlovsky gained his first directorial experience, staging the opera Werther, then under his direction interesting versions of Orpheus, Payatsev, Mozart and Salieri and other opera performances appear.
The best parties
During his life, Kozlovsky performed many opera roles in which he brilliantly demonstrated the beauty of his extraordinary voice. But experts and fans attribute the most successful parties: the role of the Holy Fool, his embodiment of this image is still considered a reference and unsurpassed; Lensky performed by Ivan Semenovich also became a classic model for all subsequent generations of singers. The best also include the role of Tsar Berendey in the “Snow Maiden” N. Rimsky-Korsakov, Wagnerian Lohengrin, the Duke in “Rigoletto”, Alfred in “La Traviata”, Count Almaviva in the “Barber of Seville”.
Chamber repertoire
Ivan Kozlovsky, songs for which have always been an important part of the repertoire, starting from the time of military service, does not leave concert activity. He really loved folk, especially Ukrainian songs, created entire folklore programs. He collected songs with passion, traveled around the villages himself, processed and recorded folk works. So, he prepared a program and recorded a record of Christmas carols, which, unfortunately, was banned for release.
Another facet of his work is the performance of romances. The singer’s lyrical voice was ideally suited for performing soulful works of love and suffering. Of course, one of the best performers of 20th-century romances is Ivan Kozlovsky. The romance "I Met You ..." became a real hit of all time. His repertoire included such classic works as “I Remember a Wonderful Moment”, “Do Not Awaken Memories”, “Desire Fire Burns in Blood”, “Burn, Burn, My Star” and many other famous romances.
Kozlovsky - director
Ivan Semenovich Kozlovsky, who tried himself as a director in the USSR opera ensemble, where he staged about 10 performances in three years, does not leave this activity in subsequent years. He is invited to create opera performances in different cities of the country, most of all he collaborated with his native Ukraine. His directorial work was distinguished by a delicate sense of musical material and the ability to reveal the artist's abilities to the fullest.
Talent and character
Kozlovsky is a singer with an amazing, controversial character. Legends circulated about his tricks, the tenor was a great master at practical jokes and fun. He could, at his benefit, release a young, unknown singer to the stage, and himself behind the stage to sing a part for him and, after the audience’s enthusiasm for the appearance of a new genius, to reveal his secret. It cost him nothing to get into the dressing room to a colleague and nail the boots to the floor. He constantly played out his friends and acquaintances, and even ordinary people. For example, once during a flight on an airplane, he went into the cockpit and began to argue loudly with him about the manner of driving the airplane, then, to the dismay of the passengers, he himself sat down at the helm. Then it turned out that the plane was flying on autopilot, and all this is a joke of Ivan Semenovich.
There are many stories about how Ivan Semyonovich was anxious about his voice. He could refuse to go on stage because "he had a sign not to sing today." Kozlovsky liked to show his voice in any parties, even where some passages were inappropriate. He was confident in his talent and therefore could afford intransigence.
Awards
Kozlovsky, a singer-era, has received many awards in his life. In the 30s, I. Stalin was very fond of him and literally showered tenors with honors. He received two Stalin Prizes for his contribution to art and for the role of the Holy Fool. Kozlovsky became an Honored Artist of the RSFSR at the age of 37; three years later he received the title of People's Artist of the USSR. He had five orders of Lenin, the Order of the Badge of Honor, and many medals. In 1980, he became a Hero of Socialist Labor. In 1993, he was awarded the title of People's Artist of Ukraine. But the main award, of course, is the love of millions of listeners, he had a huge army of fans who followed him everywhere and gave him gifts.
Personal life
The singer, who was very popular with the ladies, was himself a big female fan. Ivan Kozlovsky himself, his personal life has always been the subject of gossip and discussion.
The singer was twice married. The first wife, actress A. Herzik, was older than him, they lived together for 15 years, and until the end of his life he supported his ex-wife financially.
The second wife, charming actress Galina Sergeeva, gave birth to Kozlovsky two daughters: Anna and Anastasia. Anna subsequently became the second wife of Evgeny Petrosyan.
The marriage of the singer and actress lasted almost 20 years, and when Galina left him, Ivan Semenovich was very worried and never married again. The children of Ivan Kozlovsky stayed with his mother, but he supported them all his life.
An incredible number of novels were attributed to him, but the secretary Nina Fedoseyevna remained his most faithful assistant in old age.
Kozlovsky lived a long and bright life and died on December 21, 1993. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.
Legacy and memory
The voice of Ivan Kozlovsky is forever preserved in thousands of records. His legacy amounted to several dozen opera parties, an autobiographical book, “Music is My Joy and Pain,” hundreds of songs. Lane in Kiev is named after him. There is a fund to them. Kozlovsky, who is engaged in supporting young talents, the daughter of the singer Anastasia is actively working in it.