Family is forever: a story about the unequal but happy marriage of Eliso Turmanidze and Zurab Sotkilava. Zurab sotkilava: "I want to sing
He always knew how to get his way. If he played football, then to complete dedication, if he sang, then best of all, if he met a woman who overshadowed everyone, then he had to marry her by all means. Zurab Sotkilava and Eliso Turmanidze were united by music, but almost separated by origin. But love was stronger. Only death could separate them. On September 18, 2017, Zurab Lavrentyevich died.
Love and music
Since childhood, Zurab Sotkilava dreamed not of music at all, but of a brilliant career as a football player. He was the captain of the Georgian junior football team and played in the main squad of Tbilisi "Dynamo". But in between trainings and matches, he studied singing with Nikolai Bokuchava. But even at the time when those around him talked about Zurab's vocal talent, he entered the Polytechnic Institute to receive a diploma of an engineer-mine surveyor.
However, immediately after graduation, he entered the Tbilisi Conservatory. At that moment, he still did not know that he would become a world star in the future, and his musical alma mater would also owe his personal happiness.
Scene from the opera "Carmen" by Georges Bizet. Jose - People's Artist of the USSR Zurab Sotkilava. / Photo: www.sputnik-georgia.ru
He saw her on the very first day of class and firmly decided that this young fragile girl with huge expressive eyes would certainly become his wife. Zurab was in a hurry to tell about his feelings to almost everyone with whom he communicated. After a short time, the entire conservatory knew about his sympathy. Only Eliso herself did not realize that her fate was already predetermined. She studied piano in her second year and, it would seem, did not even notice Zurab's efforts to attract her attention. He did not dare to approach the proud independent beauty. She approached him herself.
Eliso accidentally heard rumors about a football player from Dynamo who has an incredible voice. She decided to come to the vocal exam to hear the young talent. And after the exam she went up to Zurab to express her approval. She praised the vocalist and handed him a candy. Finally, they were officially acquainted! From that moment on, Zurab and Eliso began to spend time together often. They were never bored, no matter what they were doing together: watching a new film or a premiere performance, visiting an exhibition or just walking in the park.
When Eliso decided to introduce the chosen one to her family, there was a slight misunderstanding. Aunt Eliso proudly bore her princely surname Bagrationi, and at the time of their acquaintance she distorted the simple surname of Zurab several times. The student could not endure ridicule for a long time, he left with a promise to glorify his last name. However, this very aunt soon fell in love with the singer and even became his loyal fan.
Family is forever
They wanted uzako
the thread of their relationship when Zurab was in his fifth year, but his teacher David Andguladze unexpectedly opposed the marriage of a talented student. He was afraid that in caring for his family and children, Zurab would not be able to completely devote himself to the opera. He had to first graduate from the conservatory and learn the opera "Tosca". Respect for the teacher did not allow Sotkilava to disobey. The wedding was postponed, but the feelings and reverent relationship between Zurab and Eliso did not go away.
After the wedding, the newlyweds worked together for some time, Zurab sang, and Eliso accompanied him. But soon the young family was replenished: first Thea was born, then Katevan. And the singer himself constantly demanded attention. The up-and-coming pianist decided to devote herself to her family.
However, she remained for the vocalist not only a wife, she became his loyal friend and the harshest critic. Probably, she was the only one who dared to point out the divine Sotkilava to his mistakes. However, he himself saw them very well.
Tenor in love
Zurab Lavrentievich invariably admits that without love it is impossible to achieve heights in the art of opera. Each aria, each appearance on the stage is a feeling and passion that cannot be soullessly played. And every time he fell in love with his partners - Desdemona, Carmen, Iolanta, especially since their parts were performed by real opera divas.
And the singer honestly admits that he could be seriously carried away by any of them. If his heart had not long ago been given to the most beautiful girl - Eliso Turmanidze. Zurab Sotkilava sincerely does not understand how one can leave the one with whom he went through the whole difficult life path.
Today, the great opera singer is proud not only of his titles and awards, of which he has a great many. The source of joy, warmth and inspiration for him is his large and friendly family: spouse, daughters with husbands, grandchildren.
When Zurab Sotkilava was diagnosed with oncology in the summer of 2015, he was afraid not for himself, but for his relatives. But his two loves helped him stay afloat: love for music and love for family. In October 2015, he took the stage again to sing.
Zurab Sotkilava was friends with whom he met during his internship in Italy.
People's Artist of the USSR, laureate of the State Prize of the Georgian SSR named after Z. Paliashvili, laureate of the State Prize of Georgia named after Sh. Rustaveli
Born on March 12, 1937 in the city of Sukhumi. Father - Sotkilava Lavrenty Gutuevich (1905-1975), historian. Mother - Ksenia Vissarionovna Karchava (1917-1975), doctor. Wife - Turmanidze Eliso Maksimovna (born 1940), pianist, accompanist of the Tbilisi Conservatory. Daughter - Sotkilava Tea Zurabovna (born 1967), graduated from Moscow State University, Faculty of Philology, Romance department, lives in Spain. Daughter - Sotkilava Ketino Zurabovna (born in 1971), graduated from the Moscow State University, Faculty of History, Department of Art History, worked as a TV director, then in the magazine "Interior + Design".
Like many boys, Zurab loved sports games - swimming, athletics, but football was his passion. They played in the yard, and instead of a ball, which was difficult to get in the post-war period, they played a bunch of grass, intertwined with roots. Later, American rubber balls appeared, but with a very strong rebound, therefore they were played on a cinder track. Despite these inconveniences, by the age of 16, Zurab was so successful in this sport that he became a member of the junior team of the Georgian national team, and soon became its captain. In 1956, the team won the All-Union competitions, after this success Zurab was accepted into the main team of Tbilisi "Dynamo". However, his sports career was cut short after two serious injuries during the international games in Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. At this time, Sotkilava was already studying at the Georgian Polytechnic Institute at the Mining Faculty, where he entered in 1955 (graduated in 1960).
What about singing? In Georgian families, singing is a common thing, as they say, “music in the blood”. In the Zurab family, both grandmother and mother sang with a guitar, gathering with neighbors in the yard on warm evenings. The Dynamo team had players with wonderful voices and also sang often. Zurab only sang along in his home circle, and never sang with his teammates. However, a neighbor, a pianist, drew attention to his voice and arranged for him to meet with the professor of the Tbilisi Conservatory N.V. Bokuchavoy.
At 22, a 5th year student at the Mining Institute becomes a 1st year student at the Conservatory. Zurab conquered the commission with the beauty of his voice and extraordinary musicality. Interest in serious music captured Sotkilava more and more. He got acquainted with the art of outstanding singers from foreign musical films with the participation of B. Gigli and M. Lanz; heard from the Bolshoi Theater the opera "Carmen" by J. Bizet with the participation of M. del Monaco; attended the play "Faust" by S. Gounod at the Tbilisi Opera, where the part of Mephistopheles was sung by the soloist of the Bolshoi Theater A.P. Ognivtsev.
However, his own vocal lessons did not bring complete satisfaction to Zurab: he was considered a baritone, but according to the singer's own feelings, something was wrong with the voice. In the 3rd year, Sotkilava entered the class of the outstanding singer and teacher D.Ya. Andguladze, who discovered the young singer had an excellent lyric and dramatic tenor, led him in this direction, and soon Zurab's rapid ascent in his vocal career began.
In 1964 Sotkilava became the winner of the first prize in the Transcaucasian competition of musicians-performers. In 1965 he graduated from the conservatory (in 1972 he will graduate from graduate school) and received an invitation to the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theater named after Z. Paliashvili, and immediately to the leading roles. Here he successfully debuted in the opera "Tosca" by G. Puccini as Cavaradossi, sings José in "Carmen"; Turridou in Rural Honor by P. Mascagni; Duke in Rigoletto by G. Verdi; Rudolph in La Boheme by G. Puccini. In the national operas "Abesalom and Eteri"
Z.P. Paliashvili and "Mindia" O.V. Taktakishvili, performed the main parts.
As a promising one, Zurab Sotkilava is sent for an internship at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. In 1966 - 1968, under the guidance of the famous teacher D. Barr and conductor, former assistant to A. Toscanini, E. Piazza, the singer obsessively works on the leading parts in the operas that he had already sung in his theater - La Boheme, Rural Honor, Carmen ”, teaches a new part - Edgar in the opera“ Lucia di Lammermoor ”by G. Donizetti, works on“ Requiem ”by G. Verdi and prepares concert programs from the works of Italian authors.
Deep immersion in music in the classroom, as well as vivid impressions of the performances of the Teatro alla Scala with world famous singers contributed to the development of his own extraordinary talent. Upon his return from Milan, he achieves new successes, which open the name of Sotkilava to the general public - these are his brilliant victories in vocal competitions.
In 1968 he received the Grand Prix and the Golden Orpheus prize at the IX World Festival of Youth and Students in Sofia. “… He has a beautiful voice, good school and heart, which no even the most brilliant teacher can give,” says the chairman of the jury of the competition Hristo Brymbarov about Z. Sotkilava.
In 1970, Zurab won the second prize and a silver medal at
The IV International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and the Grand Prix at the Francisco Vinyas International Vocal Competition in Barcelona. At the same time, he was awarded a special prize "Patroness of Barcelona" for the performance of works by G. Verdi. His success was already determined in the first round. The performance of the aria from the oratorio "Homeland" by G. Kokeladze, "Pimpinella" by Tchaikovsky and "Improvisation" from "André Chenier" by U. Giordano aroused such enthusiasm from the audience and the jury that, contrary to the rules prohibiting applause at the competition, everyone applauded. Moreover, in the third round, at the request of the jury, Sotkilava performed "Improvisation" again. The same success fell to the lot of another participant from the Soviet Union -
E. Obraztsova, and this success accompanied the Soviet singers at the concert of the laureates, and at a concert specially organized for them. The Society of Friends of Granados awarded them commemorative medals for the performance of several works by this Spanish composer.
And after the concert, a number of offers followed to perform in performances of the Barcelona Opera, with concerts and to make a recording.
Spanish critics wrote: “Zurab Sotkilava is a wonderful tenor, whose volume, breadth and power of expression can be equated with the voices of great opera singers. He is one of those artists over whom opera houses argue to show bel canto in their repertoire as a star. "
In 1971, Z. Sotkilava first appeared on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater as part of the Tbilisi Opera troupe on a tour in Moscow. He sang the part of Abesalom. The audience already knew the singer from the competition and greeted him warmly. In 1972 he took part in a concert dedicated to the 100th anniversary of L.V. Sobinov. The management of the theater was not averse to having this singer at home, and in 1973 gave him a debut in the opera Carmen. This event was overshadowed by two tragedies: shortly before this performance, Zurab's mother and his teacher D.Ya. Andguladze.
The success of this performance, as well as the solo concert as part of the Russian Winter Festival, led the singer to the decision to join the Bolshoi troupe. At the same time, there was a fire in the Tbilisi theater, the singer needed a permanent stage.
From the first days at the Bolshoi Theater, Sotkilava was surrounded by attention, sensitive care of the head of the opera troupe A.I. Orfenov, conductors B.E. Khaikina, E.F. Svetlanova, A.M. Zyuraitis. With the help of the great master, director B.A. Pokrovsky, the wonderful accompanist L.A. Mogilevskaya, senior stage colleagues I.K. Arkhipova, I.I. Petrova, having partners such as E.V. Obraztsova, M.F. Kasrashvili, T.I. Sinyavskaya, Yu.A. Mazurok, E.E. Nesterenko and others. Sotkilava quickly mastered the leading repertoire, achieving vocal perfection, and worked hard on acting skills, which he still lacked.
In the presence of a strong tenor group in the Bolshoi, the singer became a recognized performer of the parts of a foreign repertoire that is especially close to him - in addition to Jose, Cavaradossi, Turridou, also roles in Verdi's operas - Manrico in Trovatore, Radames in Aida, Richard in Masquerade , Othello in the opera of the same name and Ismail in the opera Nabucco.
His repertoire has also been replenished with roles in Russian operas: Vaudemont in Tchaikovsky's Iolanta, Indian guest in Sadko by N.А. Rimsky-Korsakov, the Pretender in Boris Godunov and Golitsyn in Khovanshchina by M.P. Mussorgsky. And here he was interesting in his own way.
In 1977, focusing on Z. Sotkilava, the opera "The Abduction of the Moon" was staged by O.V. Taktakishvili, where the singer brightly, temperamentally sang the part of the hero Arzakan. In the opera The Beautiful Miller Woman by G. Paisiello, as Baron Calloandre, the singer showed that he is not only a performer of dramatic and lyrical parts, but can also perform humorous ones. This spoke of the richness of his vocal palette and that he no longer had problems with acting. The last work in the Bolshoi was the role of Ismail in the opera Nabucco by Verdi.
Z. Sotkilava reached the top in his creative career - he became a recognized singer of the modern world music scene. Since the 1970s, he has toured in many countries, sings on the largest stages in the world. So, one of his signature and favorite roles - Cavaradossi - sang in London at Covent Garden, then in Glasgow at the Scottish Royal Opera, in Oslo at the Norsk Opera, and sang in the opera, which was no longer on at the Bolshoi Theater - at Verdi's Don Carlos. In his new opera "The Cloak" by G. Puccini (part of Luigi) he performed in Barcelona at the Teatro Liceo.
At the Madrid Opera - as Turrido, one of the best in his repertoire. A resounding success accompanied his performances in the part of Radames in Italy - on the stages of Florence, Bologna, Venice.
The highest peak in his work was the party of Othello. He dreamed of it for a long time, but when the opera entered the repertoire of the Bolshoi Theater in 1978, he did not immediately dare to perform it. Explaining his doubts, the singer said: “Othello's part is the pinnacle of the tenor repertoire. It confronts the performer with tasks of the highest difficulty. There was a fear of losing my voice, anxiety about whether my palette of expressive colors would be enough to embody this most difficult image. "
Nevertheless, he sang it and received recognition from the public and critics. The newspaper “Moskovskaya Pravda” wrote after the speech: “In the guise of Zurab Sotkilava - Othello there is everything that is seen in the Shakespearean hero. - masculinity and a little heavy grace, internal emotional fullness and external restraint. His tenor, strong, flowing freely, rich in nuances, is capable of dramatic sounding, at the same time gentle and lyrical. "
In 1980 Z. Sotkilava performed in Bologna and had a real triumph. This was confirmed by the call and the warm words of the legendary performer of this part, Mario del Monaco, whom Zurab listened to with such enthusiasm back in 1959 in the opera Carmen. Further confirmation of this extraordinary success was the fact that the Bologna Academy of Music, one of the oldest in the world, created in the 17th century, accepted him as an honorary member. The diploma says that the singer was awarded this honor "for a subtle and deep interpretation of the works of G. Verdi." Sotkilava sang the part of Othello in 12 theaters - not only in Italy, but also in Germany, Spain, Hungary, more than 60 times in total.
He also performed Russian opera abroad. So in Germany, in Wiesbaden, he first appeared in the part of Andrei Khovansky in Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina (as amended by
D.D. Shostakovich); at the Bolshoi Theater he sang Golitsyn; the role of the Pretender in Boris Godunov was first performed during the Bolshoi's tour at the Teatro alla Scala (1973); the part of Vladimir Igorevich in the opera "Prince Igor" by A.P. Borodin in concert performance - in London in the Albert Hall.
Earlier than at the opera, Z. Sotkilava began performing abroad with concerts. The singer has absolute command of the concert style of performance. His repertoire includes works from different eras. He made big concert tours in the cities of the USA, Japan, India, he had concerts in Israel, in European countries.
In the Great Hall of the Milan Conservatory, Sotkilava performed 22 works by Italian authors, in Germany he took part in the performance of two masses by A. Bruckner. “Requiem” by G. Verdi sang in different countries and with different orchestras. He especially remembered a performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy. He often performs Georgian songs, vocal cycles of the composer O.V. Taktakishvili, with whom he had a great friendship.
In Finland, the program "Week of Soviet Music" with the Moscow Chamber Choir under the direction of V.N. Minin, he performed the vocal cycle "With the lyre of Tsereteli".
In Japan, in Tokyo and in many other cities, he performed vocal and symphonic suites "Lyric Songs" and "Megrelian Songs".
In the Great Hall of the F. Liszt Hungarian Academy of Music he performed Georgian songs with the Budapest Orchestra and the Hungarian Folk Choir. Sotkilava also performed in Paris at the Théâtre des Champs Elysees, where he was even applauded by the orchestra. Conductor Pierre Michel Le Comte wrote: “Such a triumph does not happen often. Working with such an outstanding world-class singer is a real blessing. He sings superbly in the style of Italian bel canto, surpassing Italian singers with emotion and skill on stage. " The press called him "Caruso of the Bolshoi Theater."
Sotkilava gives concerts in different halls of Moscow in a variety of programs. More than once he took part in the May Stars and Russian Winter festivals. Participated in the first performance in the Soviet Union of Rossini's Little Mass with M.F. Kasrashvili, E.V. Obraztsova, E.E. Nesterenko with the Chamber Choir conducted by V.N. Minin. In the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, he performed the vocal cycle of the composer
K.V. Molchanov to the words of F. Petrarch (by the way, the cycle is dedicated to the singer, she accompanied
L. Mogilevskaya), where he took part in the concert "New Age - Music of Russia"; in the Chamber Hall of the House of Music with the Vremena Goda chamber orchestra (director V. Bulakhov) - with a concert dedicated to the 190th anniversary of his birth
G. Verdi, in the A.S. Pushkin - in the "Evenings in the Russian estate", in the St. George Hall of the Kremlin Palace - in the concert "Stars in the Kremlin" (1997), in the Concert Hall named after P.I. Tchaikovsky - duets from operas by Verdi, Mascagni, Bizet, Puccini with his beloved partner, also a soloist of the Bolshoi Theater - M. Kasrashvili, at the festival of Georgian culture in the Russian Federation (2003).
He toured in many cities of the former Soviet Union with performances and concerts, but with a special mood he travels to his native Georgia - to Sukhumi, Kutaisi, Tbilisi. So at the Tbilisi Opera, he sang in "Carmen", "Troubadour", "Masquerade Ball", "Othello".
He gave a concert dedicated to the memory of D. Andguladze from the works that he once learned with his teacher. Was a participant in the author's evening O.V. Taktakishvili, where he performed vocal and symphonic suites "Lyric Songs" and "Megrelian Songs" (written for the singer). He has performed with the famous Rustavi ensemble more than once. Zurab Sotkilava is a participant and one of the organizers of the festival of arts, which was previously called "Melodies of the Soviet Transcaucasia", and later - "Masters of the Opera Stage". It is impossible to list the names of Russian, foreign and contemporary composers whose works are performed by Sotkilava. Most beloved by the singer S.V. Rachmaninov, about whom he says: "What depth, expression, love for a person."
Z. Sotkilava's concert activities are of a special civic character: his numerous charity concerts or participation in those are striking: concerts at the Peace Fund, at the Fund to help Chernobyl victims of the earthquake in Spitak, at the Fund for helping Afghan soldiers, at the Fund for disabled athletes, in memory Andrei Sakharov and others.
In the prime of his creative work, Z. Sotkilava began teaching, first as a postgraduate student at the Tbilisi Conservatory on the advice of Andguladze, and later at the department of solo singing at the Moscow Conservatory. And in this he achieved excellent results, as evidenced by the brilliant successes of his students - the high awards they received at international competitions, and their successful work on various stages. Former soloists of the Bolshoi Theater V.V. Bogachev and A.N. Fedin. One of the leading baritones of the theater is V.N. Redkin. Of others -
V. Abnosov is a soloist of the Kazan Opera House and I. Jalilov is a soloist of the Tashkent Theater. Professor Sotkilava again and again has students, from whom he brings up wonderful singers, for example, the tenor
A. Dolgov is now a soloist of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theater.
On the initiative of Z. Sotkilava, in 1991 the Tbilisi Opera House performed at the J. Vredi Summer Festival in the city of Busseto. He sang in the opera "Othello" (conductor J. Kakhidze). For several years Sotkilava was a permanent member of the jury of the "Verdi Voices" competition held in this city.
In 1994 Z. Sotkilava headed the jury of the X International P.I. Tchaikovsky with a degree in solo singing. In 1996 he was a member of the jury of the First International D.Ya. Andguladze (Batumi).
Zurab Sotkilava is an educator by nature. He is the creator and host of the television series Masters of the Opera Stage and the Opera Lovers' Club. A broad outlook, artistic taste, great knowledge - all this manifested itself in his stories about singers, conductors, artists, and live meetings with colleagues in art are imbued with respect for them and warmth. These programs have attracted a large audience of opera lovers of different generations.
Z. Sotkilava - People's Artist of the USSR (1979), People's Artist of the Georgian SSR (1973), laureate of the State Prize of the Georgian SSR named after Z. Paliashvili (1983), laureate of the State Prize of Georgia named after Sh. Rustaveli (1998). He was awarded the Orders of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree (2001), the Red Banner of Labor (1976), the Badge of Honor (1971), the Order of Honor of the Republic of Georgia (for great services in the development of Georgian musical art, 1997, 2007). Among his awards is the Order of Peter the Great, 1st degree (2007). The singer was elected an academician of the Russian Academy of Creativity (1992; since 2000, the International Academy of Creativity), professor of the Moscow Conservatory (1987).
Fate awarded Zurab Sotkilava with another priceless treasure - it gave him real family happiness. He met his wife at the Tbilisi Conservatory, from which she graduated in piano. She was his accompanist in recitals. Deeply understanding all the complexity of her husband's profession, she is its constant guardian and support in life, a wise, benevolent adviser and impartial critic in creativity.
The youngest daughter Ketino was a co-author of some of his musical programs. As for interests besides creativity, this is constant love and the best rest - football.
Biography
The name of the singer is known today to all opera lovers both in our country and abroad, where he tours with invariable success. They are captured by the beauty and power of the voice, noble manner, high skill, and most importantly, the emotional dedication that accompanies each performance of the artist both on the theater stage and on the concert stage.
Zurab Lavrentievich Sotkilava was born on March 12, 1937 in Sukhumi. “First, I should probably say about genes: my grandmother and mother played the guitar and sang great,” says Sotkilava. - I remember they sat on the street near the house, sang old Georgian songs, and I sang along with them. I did not think about any singing career then or later. It is interesting that many years later my father, who has no hearing at all, supported my operatic endeavors, and my mother, who had perfect pitch, was categorically against. "
And yet, in childhood, Zurab's main love was not singing, but football. Over time, he showed good abilities. He ended up in Sukhumi "Dynamo", where at the age of 16 he was considered a rising star. Sotkilava played in the place of the full-back, joined the attacks a lot and successfully, running the hundred-meter distance in 11.1 seconds!
In 1956, Zurab became the captain of the Georgian national team at the age of 20. Two years later, he got into the main team of Tbilisi "Dynamo". The most memorable game for Sotkilava was the game against Dynamo Moscow.
“I am proud that I took to the field against Lev Yashin himself,” Sotkilava recalls. - We got to know Lev Ivanovich better, already when I was a singer and was friends with Nikolai Nikolaevich Ozerov. We went to Yashin's hospital together after the operation ... On the example of the great goalkeeper, I was once again convinced that the more a person has achieved in life, the more modest he is. And we lost that match with a score of 1: 3.
This, by the way, was my last game for Dynamo. In one of the interviews I said that the striker of the Muscovites Urin made me the singer, and many thought that he had crippled me. In no case! He just outplayed me. But that was not so bad. Soon we flew to Yugoslavia, where I got a fracture and flew out of the train. In 1959 he tried to return. But the trip to Czechoslovakia finally put an end to my football career. There I received another serious injury, and after a while I was expelled ...
... At 58 meters, when I was playing for Dinamo Tbilisi, I came home to Sukhumi for a week. Once the pianist Valeria Razumovskaya dropped in to see my parents, who always admired my voice and said who I would eventually become. At that time I did not attach any importance to her words, but nevertheless I agreed to come to some visiting professor of the conservatory from Tbilisi for an audition. My voice did not make much of an impression on him. And here, can you imagine, again football played a decisive role! At that time Meskhi, Metreveli, Barkaya were already shining at Dynamo, and it was impossible to get a ticket to the stadium. So, at first, I became a supplier of tickets for the professor: he came for them to the Dynamo base in Digomi. In gratitude, the professor invited me to his home, we began to study. And suddenly he tells me that in just a few lessons I made great progress and I have an operatic future!
But even then such a prospect made me laugh. I seriously thought about singing only after I was expelled from Dynamo. The professor listened to me and said: "Well, stop getting dirty in the mud, let's do a clean job." And a year later, in July 1960, I first defended my diploma at the Mining Faculty of the Tbilisi Polytechnic Institute, and a day later I passed the exams at the conservatory. And it was accepted. By the way, we studied at the same time as Nadar Akhalkatsi, who preferred the Institute of Railway Transport. We had such battles in inter-institutional football tournaments that the stadium for 25 thousand spectators was packed! "
Sotkilava came to the Tbilisi Conservatory as a baritone, but soon Professor D.Ya. Andguladze corrected the mistake: of course, the new student has an excellent lyric and dramatic tenor. In 1965, the young singer made his debut on the Tbilisi stage as Cavaradossi in Puccini's Tosca. The success exceeded all expectations. Zurab performed at the Georgian State Opera and Ballet Theater from 1965 to 1974. They strove to maintain and develop the talent of the promising singer at home, and in 1966 Sotkilava was sent for an internship at the famous Milan Teatro alla Scala.
There he trained with the best bel canto specialists. He worked tirelessly, and his head could be dizzy after the words of maestro Genarro Barra, who wrote then: "Zurab's young voice reminded me of the tenors of the old days." It was about the times of E. Caruso, B. Gigli and other sorcerers of the Italian scene.
In Italy, the singer perfected himself for two years, after which he took part in the festival of young vocalists "Golden Orpheus". His performance was triumphant: Sotkilava won the main prize of the Bulgarian festival. Two years later - a new success, this time at one of the most important international competitions - named after P.I. Tchaikovsky in Moscow: Sotkilava was awarded the second prize.
After a new triumph, in 1970 - First Prize and Grand Prix at the F. Vinyas International Vocal Competition in Barcelona - David Andguladze said: “Zurab Sotkilava is a gifted singer, very musical, his voice, of an unusually beautiful timbre, is not leaves the listener indifferent. The vocalist emotionally and vividly conveys the character of the performed works, fully reveals the composer's intention. And the most remarkable trait of his character is hard work, a desire to comprehend all the secrets of art. He studies every day, we have almost the same "lesson schedule" as in student years. "
On December 30, 1973, Sotkilava made his debut at the Bolshoi Theater as Jose.
“At first glance,” he recalls, “it might seem that I quickly got used to Moscow and easily entered the opera group of the Bolshoi Theater. But this is not the case. At first it was difficult for me, and many thanks to the people who were by my side at that time. " And Sotkilava names the director G. Pankov, the accompanist L. Mogilevskaya and, of course, his partners in the performances.
The premiere of Verdi's Othello at the Bolshoi Theater was a notable event, Othello performed by Sotkilava was a revelation.
“Working on Othello’s part,” Sotkilava said, “opened up new horizons for me, forced me to reconsider much of what I had done, and gave birth to other creative criteria. The role of Othello is the pinnacle from which you can clearly see, although it is difficult to reach it. Now, when there is no human depth, psychological complexity in this or that image suggested by the score, it is not so interesting to me. What is the artist's happiness? Waste yourself, your nerves, spend it on wear and tear, not thinking about the next performance. But work should make you want to spend yourself like that, for this you need big tasks that are interesting to solve ... "
Another outstanding achievement of the artist was the role of Turiddu in Mascagni's "Rural Honor". First at the concert stage, then at the Bolshoi Theater, Sotkilava achieved a tremendous power of figurative expressiveness. Commenting on this work, the singer emphasizes: "Rural Honor" is a verist opera, an opera of a high intensity of passions. It is possible to convey this in concert performance, which, of course, should not be reduced to abstract music-making from a booklet with musical text. The main thing is to take care of gaining inner freedom, which is so necessary for an artist both on the opera stage and on the concert stage. In Mascagni's music, in his opera ensembles, there are multiple repetitions of the same intonations. And here it is very important for the performer to remember the danger of monotony. Repeating, for example, one and the same word, it is necessary to find the undercurrent of musical thought, coloring, shading the various semantic meanings of this word. There is no need to artificially inflate oneself and it is not known what to play. The pathetic intensity of passion in Rural Honor must be pure and sincere. "
The power of Zurab Sotkilava's art lies in the fact that it always brings people a sincere purity of feeling. This is the secret of his continued success. The singer's foreign tours were no exception.
"One of the most brilliantly beautiful voices that exist anywhere today." This is how the reviewer commented on the performance of Zurab Sotkilava at the Parisian Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. This was the beginning of the foreign tour of the wonderful Soviet singer. New triumphs followed the "shock of opening" - a brilliant success in the USA and then in Italy, in Milan. The American press was also enthusiastic: “A large voice of excellent evenness and beauty in all registers. Sotkilava's artistry comes directly from the heart. "
The 1978 tour made the singer a world-class celebrity - followed by numerous invitations to participate in performances, concerts, in gramophone records ...
In 1979, his artistic merits were awarded the highest award - the title of People's Artist of the USSR.
“Zurab Sotkilava is the owner of a tenor of rare beauty, bright, sonorous, with brilliant top notes and a strong middle register,” writes S. Savanko. “Voices of this magnitude are rare. The wonderful natural qualities were developed and strengthened by the professional school, which the singer went through in his homeland and in Milan. Sotkilava's performing style is dominated by the characteristics of the classic Italian bel canto, which is especially felt in the singer's operatic activity. The core of his stage repertoire is composed of lyric and dramatic roles: Othello, Radames (Aida), Manrico (Troubadour), Richard (Masquerade Ball), Jose (Carmen), Cavaradossi (Tosca). He also sings Vaudemont in Tchaikovsky's Iolanta, as well as in Georgian operas - Abesalom in the Tbilisi Opera's play Abesalom and Eteri by Z. Paliashvili and Arzakan in Abduction of the Moon by O. Taktakishvili. Sotkilava subtly senses the specifics of each part, it is not by chance that the breadth of the stylistic range inherent in the singer's art was noted in the critical responses.
“Sotkilava is a classic hero-lover of Italian opera,” says E. Dorozhkin. - All "J." - knowingly him: Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini. However, there is one significant "but". Of the entire set necessary for the image of a womanizer, Sotkilava has, as the enthusiastic Russian president rightly noted in his message to the hero of the day, only “an amazingly beautiful voice” and “natural artistry”. In order to enjoy the same public love as Andzoletto's of Georgesand (and it is this kind of love that surrounds the singer now), these qualities are not enough. The wise Sotkilava, however, did not seek to acquire others. He took not by number, but by skill. Completely oblivious to the slight disapproving whisper of the audience, he sang Manrico, the Duke and Radames. This, perhaps, is the only thing in which he was and remains a Georgian - to do his own thing, in spite of everything, not even for a second doubting his own merits.
The last stage bastion that Sotkilava took was "Boris Godunov" by Mussorgsky. The impostor - the most Russian of all Russian characters in Russian opera - Sotkilava sang as the blue-eyed blond singers, who fiercely watched what was happening from the dusty wings, could not sing. The absolute Timoshka came out - and in fact, Grishka Otrepiev was Timoshka.
Sotkilava is a secular person. And secular in the best sense of the word. Unlike many of his colleagues in the artistic department, the singer honors with the presence not only those events that are inevitably followed by a plentiful buffet table, but also those that are intended for true connoisseurs of beauty. Sotkilava himself makes money on a can of olives with anchovies. And the singer's wife also cooks wonderfully.
Sotkilava performs, although not often, on the concert stage. Here his repertoire consists mainly of Russian and Italian music. At the same time, the singer seeks to focus specifically on the chamber repertoire, on romance lyrics, relatively rarely referring to the concert performance of operatic excerpts, which is quite common in vocal programs. Sotkilava's interpretation combines plastic relief, bulge of dramatic solutions with special intimacy, lyrical warmth and softness, which are rare in a singer with such a large-scale voice. "
Since 1987, Sotkilava has been teaching a solo singing class at the Moscow P.I. Tchaikovsky. But, undoubtedly, the singer himself will still give the listeners many pleasant minutes.
How Dynamo defender became an opera star and soloist of the Bolshoi Theater
Died on September 18 Zurab Lavrentievich Sotkilava... The famous tenor was a unique person - not only in his voice. The title of People's Artist of the USSR was awarded to him in 1979. And 20 years before that, Sotkilava, as part of the Tbilisi "Dinamo", became the bronze medalist of the USSR football championship. "Sport No. 1" at first almost deprived the world of an opera star, and then either hindered or, on the contrary, helped the outstanding artistic destiny of Zurab Lavrentievich.
Executed Boots
Sotkilava's small homeland is sunny Sukhumi, the boy was born in March 1937. As in the overwhelming majority of Georgian families, everyone in his family sang and played different instruments. Zurab was not seriously interested in singing, he adored football. There were no balls in his war and post-war childhood. The boys pulled out the grass, on the roots of which a clod of earth dangled, and practiced techniques on it.
Zurab grew rapidly as a football player. In Sukhumi "Dynamo" the boy played as a defender, which implies persistence and tenacity. These qualities were fully manifested in the further biography of Sotkilava. Mom was terrified. She specially saved up money, bought a piano for her son and took the guy by the hand to the music school. They said: it's too late to study the piano at the age of 12, let's go to the singing class. Mom cheered up ...
And the son at that time in the sports section received a real miracle - Hungarian boots. He not only slept with them, but also used every piece of then scarce oil to lubricate his precious shoes. Mom, having accidentally met a music teacher, found out that Zurab did not appear at the school at all. In her hearts, the woman pulled her boots out from under the cushion and grabbed them with an ax.
Extra ticket
But this did not stop Zurab. At the age of 16 he was invited to the Dynamo Tbilisi - one of the best Soviet football clubs, then to the youth team of the Georgian SSR. Mom was even more horrified: after all, she dreamed that her son would be her help and support, and he was leaving more and more often. The only thing that reconciled her with football was that in Tbilisi they promised to "arrange" Zurab in a medical institute. But the competition turned out to be so high that even football connections did not help, and the young man was forced to enter the Polytechnic for the specialty of a mining engineer.
One day, 18-year-old Zurab came to visit his mother. A family friend, a pianist, came to visit. Together with their mother, they once again began to persuade the guy not to bury his musical talent in the ground, promised to involve the professor of the Tbilisi Conservatory. For Zurab, all this flew deafeningly.
But I still had to meet the professor. The coryphaeus of music began to turn to the young man with a request to get tickets for the matches of Tbilisi "Dynamo". By the way, at first he had a low opinion of Zurab's voice. But when Zurab received several serious injuries and realized that football had to be finished, and he was not interested in mining, the professor nevertheless began to study with Sotkilava and came to the conclusion that the former defender had a chance to go on stage.
With a new voice
Immediately after graduating from the Polytechnic Institute, Sotkilava successfully passed the exams at the famous Tbilisi Conservatory. There he saw his future wife Eliso who studied to be a pianist. As Zurab Lavrentievich admitted, he did not approach her for two years, but he imperceptibly wiped off other gentlemen. Once, after a student concert, Eliso awarded Zurab with a candy, and since then their romance began. Later, two daughters were born in the family, who were then presented to their parents with grandchildren.
Sotkilava's persistence helped him fulfill his singing dream. At the conservatory he sang in baritone, but wanted to become a tenor, like a great Mario del Monaco... The teacher answered him something like this: you never know who I want to be, what is given by nature cannot be changed. Then Zurab turned to the professor David Andzuladze... Largely thanks to this man, the world recognized the tenor Sotkilava.
Sports and muse
After graduating from the conservatory, they decided to send Zurab for an internship at La Scala in Milan. But out of envy, someone scribbled an anonymous letter on the young singer. I had to go to Moscow to sort it out. When the artist entered the office, the person who got up from the table immediately said: "I know you, I saw you as a player!" And he began to instruct what to do in Italy if provocations began.
In Milan, football again intervened in the music, however, there these two elements reign supreme. Theatrical patrons had a habit of getting together and playing the ball in the stadium. The losing team was setting a gorgeous table. Once, having found out that the trainee Sotkilava seemed to understand something in football (they did not know the details), the Italians invited him to the team. The professional "drove" the unfortunate patrons of the whole game. Since then, Zurab played regularly with them and thanks to this he learned Italian well.
The teacher is a gentleman
In 1973, a misfortune happened - the Georgian Opera and Ballet Theater burned down in Tbilisi. Zurab was invited to Moscow, to the Bolshoi Theater, to rehearse the part Jose to Carmen. A few years later, he sang one of the most difficult operatic parts on this famous stage - Othello, on which many stars lost their voices, and one singer, having taken a high note, even broke a rib from a strong breath.
Subsequently, Sotkilava sang in theaters in Paris, Milan, US cities, and everywhere he received rave reviews.
Back in the mid-70s, he began teaching. He was adored by the students, who told that few people bother with their students as much as Zurab Lavrentievich. The girls admired his gentlemen.
Among the students of Sotkilava - tenor Vladimir Bogachev, baritone Vladimir Redkin, tenor Alexey Dolgov and many others.
Life to the last note
In early 2015, Sotkilava learned about his terrible diagnosis - pancreatic cancer. The 78-year-old tenor said, "I will sing as long as I can go on stage."
… He more than once saw how his friends fought with all their might for life. One of the people closest to him was the famous commentator Nikolay Ozerov... By the way, once Sotkilava performed in a play, Ozerov was at his permanent place in the box, which was very close to the stage. At this time, Moscow "Spartak" played with Tbilisi "Dynamo". At some point, Sotkilava saw that the prompter was not there. Soon he appeared and whispered from the booth: "3-1, in favor of Tbilisi." The delighted Sotkilava came to the fore, finding himself practically nose to nose with Ozerov, and right between the musical phrases he managed to whisper: "Three - one, in favor of ours!"
Literally on the eve of his death, Nikolai Nikolayevich came to the Bolshoi to listen to a friend at the "Masquerade Ball". “I’ll die anyway, so at least I’ll see you,” the famous commentator explained. Both were devoted to the arts and sports.
When you hear the deep, powerful voice of Zurab Sotkilava filling any hall, you cannot believe that the famous tenor, winner of many awards once dreamed of becoming a star ... of football, and only thanks to coincidence of circumstances the world received a great singer instead of a great football player. How could this have happened? To answer this question, you probably need to remember the whole life of Zurab Lavrentievich, starting from that March day in 1937, when the school director Lavrenty Sotkilava became the happiest person on Earth: still, he had a son.
Childhood in the shadow of war
Ksenia Vissarionovna - Zurab's mother - loved to sing and play the guitar. Melodic Georgian songs - the first musical impression of early childhood - Zurab learned from his mother (by no means a singer, but a radiologist by profession) and his grandmother. According to the singer, at that time it did not even occur to him, a child, that he would someday begin to sing.
And then there was the Great Patriotic War. Like the whole generation, she divided the childhood of little Zurab into “before” and “after”. But the songs have not disappeared anywhere. Now they were sung by the mothers and wives of those who fought thousands of kilometers from their homes; sang together under a large plane tree in the courtyard. These songs sounded not only longing and anxiety, but also faith in victory. Was it not then that Zurab first felt the tremendous power of music, healing souls and giving strength to hearts?
Football? Football. Football!
After the Victory and the return of his father, worries were replaced by the usual boyish joys, the main among which was football. For days on end, Zurab drove a homemade ball made from grass roots across a huge meadow. At the age of 12, the young player was noticed by the coaches - and his sports career was rapidly going uphill: at the age of 16 he was already an extreme defender of the Sukhumi Dynamo, and in 1958 he was enrolled in the main team of the Tbilisi Dynamo. At the same time, Zurab is studying at the Polytechnic, but no one, and above all himself, doubts that his future is sports.
And then there was the fatal match in Yugoslavia and the resulting turning point. Then Zurab was able to overcome the consequences of the injury and return to the team. But a new injury - this time at a competition in Czechoslovakia - leaves no chance. I had to leave football. And it was necessary to look for a new vocation, a new goal.
Start
In a sense, Zurab found a new calling on its own when he was still playing for Dynamo. The pianist Razumovskaya, a friend of the Sotkilava family, admired his voice and advised him to audition with a friend of the Tbilisi Conservatory professor. It is curious that the professor first became interested in football, and not in vocal capabilities of Zurab. Sotkilava got him tickets to the stadium, and the professor, out of gratitude, gave him lessons - until it became clear: the young athlete has a huge singing potential. True, Zurab himself met this news with a laugh: then only football existed for him. And only when he had to give up sports, Sotkilava took seriously the preparation for the conservatory.
On July 10, 1960, he defended his diploma at the Polytechnic Institute, and on the 12th he went to the entrance examination at the conservatory.
Love
In the crowded corridors of the conservatory, the entrant Sotkilava suddenly saw a beautiful girl in a brick-colored suit - and fell in love. According to the singer, he immediately realized that this girl - her name was Eliso Turmanidze - would be his wife. But he did not dare to approach the future pianist, who studied a course older, for two whole years.
And then Eliso approached herself.
... They have been together for half a century - Zurab and Eliso. A wife is not only a friend and helper, but also a reliable rear, which is so necessary in the difficult life of an artist. In each interview, Zurab Lavrentyevich says words of gratitude to his wife, who always supported him in everything. And also - who gave two daughters: Tea and Ketino. The daughters did not follow in their father's footsteps, choosing the humanities over music, but this does not prevent the father - and now the grandfather - from adoring them and pampering their grandchildren. By the way, the husband of the youngest daughter, Keti, is a famous Georgian opera singer, so there is a hope that the youngest grandson, Levan, will one day also appear on the stage.
Glory
Zurab devoted himself to studying at the Tbilisi Conservatory with the same passion with which he had previously played football. And his efforts were rewarded: after its completion with the part of Cavaradossi in Puccini's opera "Tosca", he receives his first glory. Soon people started going to the Georgian State Opera and Ballet Theater "to Sotkilava". In 1966 - a new success: a promising young man was sent to Italy, to the dream of all the opera singers of the world - to La Scala. A two-year internship with the best stage masters, who remembered such stage stars as Caruso and Gigli, gave Zurab a lot. In 1968 his first international success came to him: victory at the Bulgarian festival "Golden Orpheus".
From this moment, victory follows victory: the International P.I. Tchaikovsky - second prize; International Vocal Competition. F. Vinyasa - first prize and "Grand Prix"! And what parts: in 1973 Zurab at the Bolshoi Theater makes his debut as Jose (a year later he will move to this theater from the Georgian Opera and Ballet Theater); then there were Vaudemont from Iolanta by Tchaikovsky, the Pretender from Boris Godunov by Mussorgsky, Turiddu from Rural Honor by Mascagni. But a separate tenor passion is Verdi. It was in his operas "Troubadour", "Aida", "Masquerade Ball", "Othello" Sotkilava's genius was revealed with full force, showing the world the highest performing level, inimitable emotionality and lyricism.
From the outside it might have seemed that Zurab Sotkilava was a favorite of fate, for whom everything was easy: endless tours around the world, starting in the 1970s; brilliant roles on the best opera stages, state awards, millions of fans ... But only the singer himself can say what a titanic work stands behind the seeming ease of performance, what lengthy preparation preceding each premiere. And no one knows what scars on the soul were left by the early death of parents, and in the early 1990s - the war that came to his native Abkhazia.
Weren't they, these stresses hidden from prying eyes, provoked the development of a terrible disease? This summer, the newspapers were full of alarming reports: the famous singer was diagnosed with a pancreatic tumor. But Sotkilava was not going to give up. After successful treatment, Zurab Lavrentyevich returned to the stage, and we can only wish him many years of life.