What were they - the stars of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries? That time seems so distant, but if you wish, as the poet said, you can see the light of a distant star. And to learn at least a little about their life and art - at least by the example of prima donna Vari Panina.
Biography
Varvara Vasilyevna Vasilyeva was born in Moscow in 1872, in a gypsy quarter. At about three years old, parents realized that their daughter surprisingly accurately repeats any tunes, and decided to teach her music.
And there was one case that finally convinced them of this. An old gypsy woman came to them and said that "your Varka will become a famous singer. But her life will be short."
When Vara was fourteen, she was added to the choir, which she sang in a restaurant. I had to say goodbye to my childhood and set off for free swimming. The girl was very fond of singing, so she was not taken aback in the new setting, and soon began to solo in all the performances.
Soon her personal life settled here. Varya liked the director of the restaurant, and she introduced her to her nephew. Fedor Panin immediately fell in love with the young singer, and they soon got married. Now Varvara bore the name Panin and became a bourgeois.
A little later, the singer began performing at the more prestigious Yard Restaurant. It was a place where representatives of the "elite" of society came. Not aristocrats, of course, but writers, poets, actors. This place was loved by Chekhov, Tolstoy, Gorky, Bryusov and Blok. This restaurant was considered a peculiar center of gypsy music, and Panina came to the courtyard there.
Moreover, she attracted even more visitors to this place, because no one else could sing like she did.
Even the famous Chaliapin recognized her talent. One day he asked a friend - is there someone who sings better than him? And the comrade replied that this was the singer Varia Panina. They immediately went to the Yard to listen to the wondrous gypsy. And the great singer was forced to agree that she sings beautifully, bewitching and magical. Since then, he has repeatedly called a friend to this restaurant just to hear her voice again.
Meanwhile, Varvara Vasilievna created her own choir, and soon a group of gypsies began to sing in the restaurant. They say that the years spent by the singer in the first choir were not in vain: she learned to stand up for herself and benefit from any situation. Her grip was male, she was the organizer of God. Her new choir thundered all over Moscow, earnings grew, but the family that needed to be fed also grew.
Then Panina began to record her records and recorded six records one after another.
Solo career
Meanwhile, a new century has come, and for Varya a new life has come: she decided to leave the “Yard” and enter the big stage. She had her own impresario, who had long persuaded her to do this, and so she decided.
In 1902, Varvara Panina began her tour of Russia. Her contralto sounded on various stages, and everywhere it was the same thing: delight, delight, delight. Two years passed like one day, the glory of Varya was at its zenith. But then the Russo-Japanese War broke out, then the 1905 revolution took place.
Panina was already thirty-five years old, and she often recalled the prediction of the old gypsy about her short life. And so she did not pay attention to what was happening in the country: she raced on tour, recorded records - she was in a hurry to do as much as possible. For three years she recorded her best romances, and thanks to this, today they can be heard.
In 1907 Panina received an invitation to perform at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. There were rumors that the king himself and his family would come to the concert.
I must say that the songs and romances of Varya were loved by representatives of all classes and ranks, from poor artisans to inveterate music lovers. Her low pectoral contralto was very much like a timbre in a man's voice, but she sang softly and seductively - like a woman. And this contrast was charming.
At that time, many were opposed to Nicholas II, and going to a concert was a risky venture for him. However, he came with all members of his family and listened to the gypsy with rapture.
In 1909, Panina performed in Paris, and made a splash there! The newspapers were full of her photographs and rave reviews.
The last big concert Varvara Vasilievna gave in 1910 in the Hall of the Noble Assembly. The audience did not want to let the singer go, and the performance ended at about three in the morning.
