The romance came to us from a different culture, but throughout its history, having absorbed the harmony of the Russian soul, the tradition of Russian music, it has become a primordially Russian genre, understandable and welcomed by audiences of all ages. Among the galaxy of great musicians who performed romances, three names intuitively arise: Alexander Vertinsky, Isabella Yuryeva and Boris Shtokolov.
Having become a genre of Russian music, in the 18th century the romance changed dramatically over the course of three centuries, turning from a rather frivolous one like it was in Spain into a complex piece of music in content and form. A significant role in this was played by the skill of the performers who endowed him with special depth and sincerity. Artists of songs of different directions included romances in their repertoire.
Laugh clown
Alexander Vertinsky, whose heyday was at the beginning of the 20th century, successfully failed the exam at the Moscow Art Theater, where Konstantin Stanislavsky himself was an examiner. He “did not believe” in Vertinsky's acting talent because of a speech impediment. Paradoxically, the letter "p", which prevented the actor from fulfilling his dream, became his calling card, as well as the image of Pierrot himself invented.
Arietki Pierrot, in fact - verses of his own composition, put on his own music, musical tragicomic miniatures in which every visitor to a cabaret (Vertinsky often performed in these years in them) could see himself. A snow-white mask, suddenly appearing in a bright ray of light, pops up in memory at the first sounds of his verses: “Tango Magnolia”, “Your fingers smell like incense”, “You dressed in the evening with a sissy”.
My gentle friend
Remember these lines? "My gentle friend, often drop tears
“They say that the affair with the romance with Isabella Yurieva began with her first appearance on the stage. The White Gypsy, as she was sometimes called, was from Rostov, and all her life she’s bathed not only in people's love, but also won hearts Soviet "generals" and American millionaires.
In fact, in her life there were two “stars” - a romance and her husband Joseph Arkadiev, under the “light” of which she became known to the whole world and went a long, happy career.
