Looking at truly folk singer Sophia Rotaru, it is impossible to believe that today, August 7, she celebrates her 70th birthday.
Of course. Cosmetic surgeons can work wonders. And many observers assure that the artist owes her fabulous beauty and youthful appearance to them in part. But even spiteful critics admit: her activity, youthful enthusiasm, mobility can be envied.
True, confusion does happen. In March of this year, the Soviet pop star got into the rating of "shooting stars". At one of the concerts, she could not resist on too high heels and collapsed, fortunately, not on the stage and not from it, but into the reliable hands of the composer Ruslan Quinta.
Fortunately, he was also on stage at that time and hedged the “comet” of Russian and Ukrainian show business in time. Rotaru was not at a loss then. We must give her credit, she recovered from the fall quickly. She asked the musician for forgiveness, and then she joked: “Hold me tight!” And then she calmly continued her speech.
And Sofia Mikhailovna decided to celebrate her 70th birthday in a close circle of close people away from the hustle and bustle, from annoying reporters and not always adequate fans. She and family members flew to Sardinia, on this voyage they went on a private jet.
The celebration takes place in a rented villa with a chic, fantastic view of the Mediterranean Sea. Photos and videos about this small summer adventure have already begun to be posted on the Web by members of the star family.
The "rehearsal" of the anniversary was creative evening Sofia Rotaru, which took place as part of the ZHARA festival, which recently ended in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku. Together with the hero of the day, her granddaughter Sofia shone on the stage. The namesake of the singer is making a career as a model, and is already quite successfully mastering the European catwalks.
Singer Sofia Rotaru is celebrating her 70th birthday today. People's Artist of the USSR Sofia Mikhailovna Rotaru was born on August 7, 1947 in the village of Marshintsy, Novoselytsky district, Chernivtsi region of Ukraine.
Sofia Rotaru has had a love for music since childhood: the singer's father Mikhail Fedorovich loved to sing with his wife at home. And Sofia's older sister Zina, after an illness, lost her ability to see, but the illness sharpened the girl's hearing. It was Zina who taught all her younger brothers and sisters to sing. Therefore, subsequently, not only Sofia, but also Aurika and Lydia Rotaru became singers and actively performed, sang both a duet and a trio. And the brothers Anatoly and Evgeny worked in VIA "Orizont".
The first success came to Sofia Rotaru in 1962. Winning the regional competition amateur performances opened the way for her to the regional review, which was held in the city of Chernivtsi, and there she was also the first. In 1964, she took part already in republican festival folk talents and won again! In the same year, Sofia Rotaru first appeared on stage Kremlin Palace congresses.
Sofia entered the conductor-choral department of the Chernivtsi Musical College.
In 1968, Sofia Rotaru married Anatoly Evdokimenko, Honeymoon the young spent in the dormitory of the 105th military plant in Novosibirsk, where her husband was undergoing university practice.
Rotaru was delegated to Bulgaria for IX world festival youth and students, where she won gold medal and the first prize in the competition of folk song performers.
In 1971, Evdokimenko, who became not only a husband, but also a producer of Rotaru, organized the Chervona Ruta musical group at the Chernivtsi Philharmonic, of which Rotaru became a soloist. For more than 30 years, Anatoly Evdokimenko was the executor of any of her desires, producer, director of programs, director, director, bodyguard ... His tragic death in 2002 after a serious long illness was a big blow to Rotaru in her personal life.
In 1974, Rotaru was diagnosed with an almost fatal diagnosis - pulmonary tuberculosis. Then she was diagnosed with asthma, and later nodules appeared on her vocal cords - an occupational disease of singers. But this did not break the singer.
The disease was defeated. True, the singer had to move to the Crimea - only the local healing sea air saved her lungs. Then an operation was performed on the ligaments, and later another one. After her, the singer was forced to speak in a whisper for a year.
Rotaru is still performing. The last time she took the stage was on July 28 as part of the "Heat" festival in Baku.
During her singing career, Rotaru performed more than 400 songs, many of which have become classics of the Soviet and Ukrainian stage. The singer has released over 30 albums, among her discs of recent years - "And my soul flies ..." (2011), "Forgive me" (2013), "Let's make summer! (2014)," Winter "(2016).
If geographically and politically the Soviet Union has long been dead, then in pop culture it continues to exist as if nothing had happened - in the person of such figures as, who recently celebrated her 80th birthday, or Sophia, who turns 70 on August 7.
In only one biographical information about Rotaru, it seems, the whole history of the country - she was born in the village of Marchantsy in the Chernivtsi region of Ukraine in a Moldovan family; in the early 90s there was a joke that at the negotiations in Belovezhskaya Pushcha the leaders of Russia and Ukraine wondered "how we will divide Rotaru."
Her career began to develop at a time when Soviet ideologists finally allowed the flowers of national cultures to bloom.
seventies
It is believed by many that Rotaru's fame began with the musical film "Chervona Ruta" in 1971, in which Rotaru played leading role and whose name was then taken by her for her ensemble. In fact, the Festival of Youth and Students, which took place in Bulgaria three years earlier, can argue for the title of the take-off site of her career - she won a gold medal there, singing songs in Ukrainian and Romanian.
And the first success came about ten years before and consisted of many stages - regional, then republican amateur art competitions, the conductor-choir department of the Chernivtsi Music College, for lack of a vocal one.
Photo report: Sofia Rotaru was in intensive care
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The key to the success of Rotaru was a clear and even in best sense words a calculated mixture of national and cosmopolitan repertoires: so, from the very beginning she creative activity continued cooperation with the composer Volodymyr Ivasyuk from Lviv, but at the same time she sang songs by Arno Babadzhanyan, Volodymyr Matetsky; texts for them were written by other poets who do not need to be introduced. And it's not just that cooperation with the highest caste of Soviet pop composers and poetic guild served as a pass to the big stage.
Such omnivorousness allowed her to organically weave songs of the Soviet outskirts in different languages into her program and skillfully use - at least declarative - the course of the Soviet authorities to support national cultures.
And in this way everyone likes it: both the officials of the Mosconcert, and the residents of the Russian capitals, and their fellow countrymen from both sides of the Ukrainian-Moldovan border.
Interestingly, at the same time, the singer, who seemed to be treated kindly by the authorities, was not without disgrace. More precisely, it worked out - in 1975 she had a conflict with the local Chernivtsi regional committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, in connection with which she and her ensemble were relocated to Yalta. Nothing definite is known about its causes so far - Rotaru herself said that she moved to the Crimea in connection with the opened asthma. Possible cause there was an increased share of the repertoire in the Ukrainian language and cooperation with authors from Western Ukraine. It is interesting that the shake-up and stress gave a new impetus to her career: the singer's records (first - longplays) began to be released by the Melodiya company, and she herself was invited to Munich to record a disc at the Ariola company. Then she passed large-scale tour in Western and Eastern Europe.
Eighties
The decade of transition from stagnation to perestroika was the peak of her career - it was at that moment that, with the help of radio and television, she began to be constantly present in the life of the country, coming to almost every house and sounding from every window. And the trigger for this popularity again, as in the case of Chervona Ruta, was cinema - more precisely, two films with her songs and participation. In 1980, “Where are you, love?” was released, a kind of transcription of the plot of “Come Tomorrow” to more modern realities. The picture was quite autobiographical - in it a young girl came to an amateur song contest with a composition by Raymond Pauls, the same name as the name of the film, and left his main triumph.
The picture turned out to be mega-popular - Melodiya released a record with songs from the film, and the whole country sang songs based on verses by the best Soviet poets.
A year later, another picture came out - "Soul", an autobiographical melodrama about the loss of a singer's voice and a reassessment of values. The participants of the Time Machine starred in it as musicians, they wrote songs and, and Rotaru, who was then at the peak of popularity, became a partner. The second picture completed the formation of a personal mythology around her, and a triumphant tour in Canada - the status of a real export star, in the language of trade, suitable for both domestic consumption and export.
However, it seems that it was this stardom and this status that caused the actual second disgrace - she was banned from foreign tours (requests for which became more and more).
It got ridiculous - once, in response to an invitation, representatives of a German concert agency were sent a paper: "This one does not work here."
Nevertheless, Rotaru actively participated in "Songs of the Year", continued cooperation with both top Russian-speaking authors and Moldovan poets - for example, George Vieru, who wrote the songs "Romantica" and "Melancolie" for her. However, it ended - unsuccessful, it must be admitted - fell into disgrace only with the beginning of perestroika.
The turning point in this sense can be recognized as the beginning of cooperation with Vladimir Matetsky, which led (or, conversely, was the reason) for a change in image - instead of a chansonnier with folk roots, Rotaru turned into a disco and rock vocalist. More precisely, she was still an ideal opponent for the rock musicians of the Leningrad Rock Club and the Moscow Rock Laboratory, however, starting with the quite romantic "Lavender", she eventually began to perform fast things - the very ones for which she is still remembered since: “Moon, moon”, “It was, but it has passed”, “Only this is not enough”. The latter was a very bold experiment - a poem full of nostalgic sadness was turned by Matetsky into a real rock action movie. They worked together for a long 15 years - until the end of those very 90s, which the honored artists were resolutely scrapped, and new ones were put forward in their place.
Nineties - today
Moreover, it is worth noting that Rotaru never became an archival star - like a generation of pop stars a generation older, quietly and worthily retired, into teaching and "Old Songs about the Main".
She, who began her career with the help of her mother, a merchant on the collective farm market, had some amazing, as they say today, marketing flair: in some surprising way, at the right time, she guessed the market situation and the time when it would be necessary to change the image or do something new.
So, for example, it was she who at one time - back in the early 90s - noticed a trend in new pop stars to perform with backing dancers and invited the not-so-famous Todes troupe to perform with her.
The head of the dance theater, Alla Dukhova, said that it was these concerts that became the first step towards the future fame of the dance troupe.
At the same time, she is not at all characterized by a passion for continuous renewal and oblivion of the old repertoire - she did not shy away from anniversaries, nostalgic reissues, etc. at all. In 2012-2013, she rolled a big anniversary tour dedicated to the 40th anniversary of her creative activity. Rather, on the contrary - carefully and densely mixing old hits with new ones, she presented her songs as part of one, never interrupted (and, by and large, not affected by time) process. Moreover, it seems that in her case this is not a concept, but a philosophy - because both her biography and her statements indicate that for her this is a way of life.
Another feature of her philosophy is her political position. Although it would be more correct to say humanitarian - a resident of Kiev and a Yalta resident at her actual place of residence, in 2004 she distributed food to representatives of both opposing camps on the Maidan.
And later, in the wake of the great coming of Ukrainian musicians into politics, she even tried to run for the Rada from the Lytvyn bloc. At the same time, at the present time, it refrains in every possible way from any involvement in the foul-smelling Russian-Ukrainian propaganda wars that cause suffering to both peoples: after the annexation of Crimea, it did not accept Russian citizenship(according to her, due to registration in Kyiv) and emphasized that she was a citizen of Ukraine.
At the same time, in fact, she and her songs remain part of the life of the divided citizens of the once united country.
The informals of the 80s considered her songs an example of Soviet pop officialdom - now they sound like the last memory of that utopia of the unity of the country and the friendship of peoples, to which the Soviet Union at least tried to approach and the final collapse of which we are witnessing now. And that is why there is a risk that many leaders of countries that share this singer among themselves will remain petty political figures of the era of Sofia Rotaru.
Sofia Mikhailovna Rotaru turns 70 on August 7, but the famous singer clearly does not look her age. It seems that it is like a fine wine - it only gets better with age.
For for long years the singer adheres to one image: long straight hair parted in the middle.
But not always Rotaru followed this style. Let's trace the evolution of Sofia Rotaru's appearance. Real success came to the singer already in the early 70s. In 1971, she played one of the main roles in the musical film Chervona Ruta. At the same time, Rotaru created an ensemble of the same name.
Rotaru is gradually becoming a sought-after singer in the USSR, and soon receives the title of Honored Artist of the Ukrainian SSR, People's Artist Ukrainian SSR and becomes a laureate of the LKSMU Prize. N. Ostrovsky.
Almost all of Sophia Mikhailovna's outfits are with ethnic motifs, and the makeup is always spectacular: red lips, wide arrows or bright shadows.
In the 80s, the artist began new stage not only in art, but also in life. She was “left” from the ensemble, she was losing her voice, but did not give up.
During this period, she appears on stage in typical outfits for that time - dresses embroidered with rhinestones, clothes with voluminous sleeves.
Hair styling, bright makeup - all this did not go beyond the then fashion.
The collapse of the USSR practically did not affect the activities of Rotaru - she remained the favorite singer of millions of people.
In the 90s, she often sang songs in Ukrainian, but to see her in national costumes already almost impossible. At the heart of her wardrobe are concert costumes with gold embroidery and sequins.
In 2002, the singer loses her life partner - her beloved husband Anatoly Evdokimenko. At that moment, she practically drops out of show business.
Upon her return to the stage, she appears in loose dresses with sequins and sequins and short jackets in various colors.
IN last years Sofia Mikhailovna increasingly prefers trouser suits, but remains true to sequins.
The modern image suits the singer the most. Appearance Rotaru can be admired endlessly!
Despite the fact that the singer's birthday falls on August 7, she has already celebrated it at the international music festival Zhara together with her sister Aurika, son Ruslan, daughter-in-law Svetlana and granddaughter Sonya.
For the past few years, the star has rarely appeared on stage, so her appearance at the festival caused a sensation. The guests were delighted with Sofia Mikhailovna: she looked as if she had lost twenty years!
“When I see your smiles, hear your applause, I immediately feel young and cheerful,” the singer commented on the delight. The star delighted the fans with the performance of everyone's favorite hits.
“No one calls me grandmother,” Rotaru admitted. “Grandchildren say that not a single person believes that I am their grandmother, I look so young.”
The singer considers love to be the secret of her unsurpassed appearance. Love for life, loved ones, the audience - that's what makes her truly happy.
The age of the pop legend, of course, is solid, but to call her an elderly lady or grandmother simply does not turn her tongue. Because Sofia Mikhailovna only blossoms over the years - as if she is drinking the Macropolus remedy, the elixir of youth. And now she looks even more beautiful than at the beginning of her career. "TN" offers to visually - using photographs - to trace how the image of the artist has changed over the course of these decades.
1973
Singer Sofia Rotaru during the Golden Orpheus pop song festival, 1973. Photo: TASS newsreel
The singer was photographed on stage during the Golden Orpheus Pop Song Festival. The competition was held in Bulgaria, in the Sunny Beach resort. Sofia then performed two compositions: "Song of my city" and "Bird" (in Bulgarian). And got the first prize. In the same year, she was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the Ukrainian SSR. And in 1971, at Ukrtelefilm, a film-concert with her participation was released under the name "Chervona Ruta" directed by Roman Oleksiv.
1978
Singer Sofia Rotaru, 1978. Photo: Archive/TASS
By this time, the singer’s repertoire already had many songs, among which are always met with applause “My Motherland” (“I, you, he, she ...”), “ swan fidelity”,“ Ballad of Mother ”(“ Alyoshenka ”),“ Give me back the music ”,“ Apple trees in bloom ”,“ Dark-skinned woman ”.
1981
Singer Sofia Rotaru during the filming of the musical film "Soul", 1981. Photo: Nikolay Malyshev/TASS
Sofia Rotaru was captured during the filming of the musical film "Soul" directed by Alexander Stefanovich. Sofia Mikhailovna played the role of singer Victoria Svobodina in this musical drama. However, actress Larisa Danilina voiced her character - after all, Rotaru speaks with a noticeable Moldovan accent.
Very connected with this picture. foggy story: in one of the interviews, Andrei Makarevich said that the role was originally offered to Alla Pugacheva, but Alexander Stefanovich denies this.
The film is partly based on real events: Rotaru was sick with tuberculosis, moreover, during this period she was in a creative crisis. The prudent director made the right bet: rumors about the singer's ill health were picked up by fans, which helped to "promote" the picture.
Before the film "Soul", Sofia starred in another film: "Where are you, love?" directed by Valeriu Gagiu.
1986
Singer Sofia Rotaru, 1986. Photo: Gennady Prokhorov/TASS
By this time, very popular songs appeared in Rotaru's repertoire: Romantice, "Lavender", "Moon, Moon", and then others: "Golden Heart", "It was, but passed", "Only this is not enough", "Golden Heart" , "Wild Swans". They were written and performed in Euro-pop and even hard rock styles.
1993
Singer Sofia Rotaru, 1993, Kyiv. Photo: Oleg Buldakov/TASS
Sofia Rotaru after a concert in Kyiv. In the 90s, the super-hit "Farmer" was released. Even in such difficult times, Rotaru invariably remains at the top of the Olympus of show business.
2003
Singer Sofia Rotaru, 2003. Photo: Global Look Press
This year in Moscow on the alley in front of concert hall"Russia" was laid the name star of the singer. In the mid-2000s, such songs as “The sky is me!”, “I loved him ...”, “I will name the planet ...” were published.
2007
Singer Sofia Rotaru, 2007. Photo: Global Look Press
This year, the singer turned 60 years old. Look at her face: is it possible to say that this is the face of an elderly woman? Lots of famous artists and politicians from different countries then in the summer they came to Yalta to congratulate Rotaru. And in the fall, her concerts were held in the Kremlin Palace.
2008
Singer Sofia Rotaru, 2008. Photo: Anatoly Lomokhov
It is enough to compare two photos - 2007 and 2008, to understand how the singer likes to change. Sofia - permanent member"Songs of the Year": in the entire history of the competition, Rotaru broke the record by performing 83 songs.
year 2012
Singer Sofia Rotaru, 2012. Photo: Anatoly Lomokhov
In this photo, Rotaru is 65 years old. In 2012, the artist went on an anniversary tour of the cities of Russia. But already in 2013, her musical style changed somewhat again: she performed the song “You are the best” in ethnic style.
2017
Singer Sofia Rotaru Photo: instagram.com
Have a good rest, Sofia Mikhailovna!
In a word, over the years Sofia Rotaru only gets prettier. It was not for nothing that after the New Year celebrations of 2017, an anecdote was circulating on the network: “If you show the Blue Light of 1997 today, no one will notice the catch. Well, except that Rotaru got younger.