Tamara Sinyavskaya singer. Magomayev’s “illegitimate daughter” demands her share of the inheritance
With the famous singer of the Bolshoi Theater, widow of Muslim Magomayev Tamara Sinyavskaya we met at GITIS, where Tamara Ilyinichna heads the vocal department...
"Give me my doll"
Olga Shablinskaya, AiF: Tamara Ilyinichna, you once toured all over the world and the Union. If you and your student singers were invited to perform in Kyiv now, would you go?
I don't think so. To hear some word after?.. Who is waiting for me there? You know, this is approximately the same as the relationship between a man and a woman. If you are desired, go. And if you are unwanted, why are you going to him? (Pause.) Probably, if I had spoken there, I would either have been condemned for my views in the press, or they would have said: “Let’s live together”... Everything that is happening now looks like a scandal in a common kitchen, where they share pots and burners... Why even swear at the whole world? For me personally, this is a very low level... Do people think two lives will be lived? My friends, remember, there is Love, Art, there are Feelings... We are native peoples! At first, because of the news about Ukraine, I did not sleep - my heart was pounding... I lived my adult life in the Soviet Union, it never occurred to me that Ukraine was a “neighboring state”...
Singer Tamara Ilyinichna Sinyavskaya receives first prize at the IV International Competition named after P.I. Tchaikovsky at the Moscow State Conservatory named after P.I. Tchaikovsky. June 2-25, 1970. Photo: RIA Novosti / Oleg Makarov
- And some Ukrainian politicians believe that America is closer to them than Russia...
Every person has the right to their opinion. And also the right to have brains. Well, talk to yourself, what is better for you - to be friends with your eternal nearest neighbor or with distant America? For God's sake, if you like the way of American life so much, take a visa, a ticket and go, your homeland will be there. I don’t really understand what kind of spiritual relationship with America they are talking about?!
But, looking at today's confrontation between the former Soviet republics, doubts about the former friendship of peoples involuntarily arise... Was there such a thing?
- (With pressure.) It was! I remember government concerts at the Palace of Congresses. It was a real parade of arts from all 15 republics. Moldova - Maria Biesu. Estonia - Georg Ots. Ukraine - Dmitro Gnatyuk,Yuri Gulyaev,Anatoly Solovyanenko,Evgenia Miroshnichenko. Azerbaijan-jan - can you guess who it was? (Muslim Magomaev. - Ed.) Lithuania - Virgilius Noreika. And, of course, the Bolshoi Theater exhibited all its most powerful clips: Tamara Milashkina, Evgeniy Nesterenko, Vladimir Atlantov, Elena Obraztsova,Yuri Mazurok, and your humble servant. We artists were friends with each other, we admired each other. For example, Virgilius came from Lithuania - and why didn’t he call? (Speaks with a Lithuanian accent.) “Muslim, I’m here in Moscow, maybe we can meet?” How else? Friendship at the level of art has no limits. Or, let’s say, I come to Kyiv and I know that I have a lot of friends there and many of them will come to my performance. As a rule, at the end of a solo concert I sing a song in the language of the country in which I am touring. Naturally, she sang in Ukrainian. The next day the newspapers wrote: “She’s Ukrainian, she’s just hiding it.” I must say that I loved Ukraine very much, and I still love it... By the way, all of Ukraine adored Muslim!
Participants of the charity evening "Premiere Premiere" People's Artist of the USSR Ekaterina Maksimova, People's Artist of the RSFSR Tamara Sinyavskaya, People's Artist of the RSFSR Vladimir Spivakov on the stage of the State Cinema and Concert Hall "Russia". 1987 Photo: RIA Novosti / Alexander Makarov
We didn’t even think about nationalities back then! To be honest, I don’t think about them even now... I married Muslim Magomayev out of great love and with endless admiration for the man whom the Lord God so generously gifted. The more time passes, the more I feel it. Indeed, if you like a person, if you literally “drink” him, are you going to think about how much blood flows in him? Never in my life! Apparently, we were raised that way. (Sings.) Back in 1957, I heard a wonderful song - it was the anthem of democratic youth, which sounded on all the streets of Moscow during the First Moscow Festival of Youth and Students. “Children of different nations, we live the dream of peace, in these menacing years we go to fight for happiness...” Of course, this is a song from childhood...
“We were proud of the USSR”
Elena Obraztsova said with great pain: today’s singers, having studied in Russia, travel all over the world...
I completely agree with Elena Vasilyevna, may she rest in heaven. At one time, we were raised to love our home, our homeland, without being shy about this word! Yes, we went on tour. Yes, you have a home, and you can go “visiting” as much as you like. And if you don’t have a home, who are you? Eternal nomad! Eternal pilgrim. When going abroad on tour, I always knew who I was. And who do I represent? (Raises his voice.) And if anyone tries to say something bad about my country in front of me! In some inexplicable way, I immediately became a human tribune! And I proved that I was right by being on stage. And those people who 15 minutes ago were skeptically grimacing: “Oh, the Soviet Union,” clapped for me! Note - I’m not them! That was the task. We were proud of our Motherland! And they didn’t just sing at international competitions, but they won the honor of their country!
Soloist of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia, People's Artist of the USSR Tamara Sinyavskaya and her husband, People's Artist of the USSR Muslim Magomayev during a performance at a concert. Photo: RIA Novosti / Vladimir Fedorenko
Unfortunately, now I mentally cannot grasp a single singer or singer for whom Russia, as they say, would be the “main place of work,” a base. It turns out that you are a “dear guest” both abroad and at home. And how to understand this?.. I am extremely sensitive to the fact that now many people allow themselves to say whatever they want about Russia. (Sighs.) Doesn't this mean that when you look at yourself in the mirror, you are spitting in your own face?! And just as I loved my Motherland, I will love it to the end. And do you know when I physically felt it? On TV they showed Putin’s first meeting with the current Crimean leadership... This event stirred up all my childhood memories, when the Loktev Pioneer Ensemble sent me as an incentive to Artek in the winter, I studied at school there... Then Crimea was still part of the Russian Federation... I got goosebumps at the thought that Crimea was returning! Mura-a-ashki! There is only one explanation: I am a native Russian person. And in this sense, I have a great gut. (Laughs.)
Tamara Sinyavskaya and Muslim Magomaev Photo: www.russianlook.com
"We're all running, we're running"
Tamara Ilyinichna, looking at today’s performers, the question arises: where are the blocks? Why aren’t personalities on the level of Muslim Magomayev born?
It's not just about the voice. Of course, there are young, vocal guys. But! We are always running, running somewhere... We don’t even have time to look back. For example, some wonderful voice appeared - do you think it will be shown on TV a second time? No! Let's move on! We are looking for new ones, making them stars in quotes. These “stars” flash twice on the screen and either fade away or tour around the country... And with Muslim, I think, there is no need to even compare... He was noted by the Lord God. And this is my firm conviction. Until the very last day of his stay on this earth, he aroused interest in himself. Without doing anything for it. Just once and for all capturing you with your talent.
Publications in the Music section
Tamara Sinyavskaya. Noble prima donna
T amara Sinyavskaya was accepted for an internship at the Bolshoi Theater against all the rules: at a very young age, at 20, and without a conservatory education. A year later, the singer joined the main cast of the troupe and performed leading roles, and five years later she performed in the best opera houses in the world.
Not a dancer. Singer
Tamara Sinyavskaya was born in Moscow in 1943. The young artist’s first concert venues were the entrances of old houses. A booming echo carried popular songs from films performed by her across the floors. In the end, the neighbors advised the little singer’s mother to place her daughter in some circle.
“The voice sounded very beautiful there, like in a temple. To be honest, even now, when I enter an unfamiliar entrance, I quietly try my voice. And then, so that my “audience” - the children - could hear me, I gave “concerts” in my yard.”, Tamara Sinyavskaya recalled.
When Tamara Sinyavskaya was six years old, her mother enrolled her in the dance group of the Song and Dance Ensemble of the Moscow City Palace of Pioneers. But the girl had no desire to dance, and soon she quit classes. The future singer returned to the ensemble only three years later - now to its choral composition. She gained rich stage experience: the group often took part in concerts and toured.
On the advice of Vladimir Loktev, the director of the ensemble, in 1961 Sinyavskaya entered the Music School at the Moscow Conservatory named after Pyotr Tchaikovsky. At the same time, she sang in the choir of the Maly Theater while studying dramatic art. To save her voice, she gave up her hobbies - skiing and skating, and only ate ice cream in the summer, when the theater season closed. At the final exam at school, she received an A plus.
"The Best of Olga" Bolshoi Theater
After graduation, 20-year-old Tamara Sinyavskaya, secretly from her mother, went to a competitive audition for the Bolshoi Theater. This became something of a gamble because she was too young and did not have a conservatory education. However, the young singer was invited to join the trainee group.
“It’s Sinyavskaya’s turn to speak. When she approached the piano, everyone looked at each other and smiled. Whispers began: “Soon we will start taking artists from kindergarten!” - the 20-year-old debutante looked so young. Tamara sang Vanya’s aria from the opera “Ivan Susanin”: “The poor horse fell in the field.” The voice - contralto or low mezzo-soprano - sounded tender, lyrical, even, I would say, with some kind of emotion. The singer clearly played the role of that distant boy who warned the Russian army about the enemy’s approach.”
Alexander Orfenov, director of the opera troupe
Tamara Sinyavskaya’s first role was the Page from the opera “Rigoletto” by Giuseppe Verdi. The debut did not go quite as the artist would have liked: out of excitement, she sang her only line twice as slow as necessary. When the Bolshoi Theater troupe went on tour to Milan, Sinyavskaya was offered to perform the first major role - Olga from the opera Eugene Onegin by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. This performance became an important event in the career of the aspiring singer: critics and colleagues of Tamara Sinyavskaya recognized her as “the best of Olgas.” Sergei Lemeshev (Vladimir Lensky) later said that for many years his hero lacked “exactly such a lovely Olga,” who with her performance combined the ideas of Pushkin and Tchaikovsky.
Another famous role of the singer was the part of Ratmir in the opera “Ruslan and Lyudmila” by Mikhail Glinka. Having performed it, Tamara Sinyavskaya became a soloist of the main troupe of the Bolshoi Theater.
Alexander Orfenov, the head of the opera troupe, recalled that already at this young age Tamara Sinyavskaya stood out among her peers "a sense of high professionalism": “Twice in one season Tamara had to take risks, performing in those parts that, although she was “heard of,” she did not know them properly. So, impromptu, she performed two roles in Vano Muradeli’s opera “October” - Natasha and the Countess.”.
Tamara Sinyavskaya as Ratmir (Ruslan and Lyudmila). Photo: Bolshoi Theater Museum / bolshoi.ru
Tamara Sinyavskaya as Lyubasha in the opera The Tsar's Bride. Photo: Bolshoi Theater Museum / bolshoi.ru
Tamara Sinyavskaya in the title role in the opera Carmen. Photo: Georgiy Soloviev / Bolshoi Theater Museum / bolshoi.ru
At the end of the 60s, Tamara Sinyavskaya began touring with the Bolshoi Theater. Her European debut took place in Paris. The singer said that the capital of France gave her a ticket to the opera. Sinyavskaya also visited Canada, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Italy. Soon she began winning vocal competitions. In 1969, Sinyavskaya received the Grand Prix and a gold medal at the International Vocal Competition in Belgium. The newspaper Le Jour wrote: “Not a single reproach can be brought against Tamara Sinyavskaya, who has one of the most beautiful voices we have ever heard. With rare musicality and great feeling she performs “Seguidilla” from “Carmen”. Her French pronunciation is also impeccable. This is truly great art!”
A year later, Tamara Sinyavskaya won the IV International Pyotr Tchaikovsky Competition. The jury's opinions were divided: Soviet judges gave their votes to singer Elena Obraztsova, and foreigners - Tamara Sinyavskaya. As a result, first place had to be divided into two. In parallel with the performance, Tamara Sinyavskaya passed her final exams at GITIS.
"You are my melody"
Future spouses Tamara Sinyavskaya and Muslim Magomayev met in 1972 at the decade of Russian art in Baku. They first met at the Philharmonic named after Magomayev’s grandfather.
“At the next concert, Robert Rozhdestvensky called me over and introduced me to a pretty young woman. I called myself: “Muslim”. She smiled: “And you still introduce yourself? The whole Union knows you.”
Muslim Magomaev
In 1973–1974, Tamara Sinyavskaya trained at the La Scala theater in Milan. Muslim Magomayev called her every day, the lovers communicated, Sinyavskaya listened to his new recordings. It was in Italy, on the phone, that she was one of the first to hear the song “You are my melody.” This composition was written for Muslim Magomayev by Alexandra Pakhmutova and Nikolai Dobronravov.
“Perhaps the most important thing is love?.. And there are many common interests. Especially when it comes to music and singing. As soon as Muslim sees someone’s performance on TV that evokes emotions, he immediately comes to me: “Have you heard “this”?!” And the evening of “questions and answers”, delight or indignation begins.”
Tamara Sinyavskaya
In 2003, Tamara Sinyavskaya left the Bolshoi Theater. Her last role was her favorite role of Lyubasha from Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tsar’s Bride. According to the artist, it is better to leave the stage six months earlier than five minutes later. The singer still works on her voice every day - she sings her favorite arias and romances.
“She moved from a noble prima donna to another quality - a teacher. This is a completely different profession. I don’t really like myself because I feel like a teacher.”
Tamara Sinyavskaya
Since 2005, Tamara Sinyavskaya has been the head of the vocal department of GITIS, where she teaches classical vocals. She runs the Muslim Magomayev Foundation, conducts singing competitions and scholarship programs in his name.
One of the minor planets of the Solar System, known to astronomers under the code 1974 VS, is named after her 4981 Sinyavskaya.
If beautiful voices were sold in supermarkets, they would have many buyers. It’s a pity that they haven’t thought of this yet,” Marlene Dietrich once said. But even if they had thought of it, it would be impossible to buy such an amazing voice as the People’s Artist of the USSR Tamara Sinyavskaya for any money. A native Muscovite, she Since childhood, she was endowed with special grace and early felt a calling to the stage. Her creative journey began at the age of six, when the girl was accepted into the dance (!) group of the Song and Dance Ensemble of the Moscow City Palace of Pioneers, led by Vladimir Loktev. Later, Tamara Sinyavskaya joined the choir this ensemble, graduated from the Music School at the Moscow Conservatory, and then GITIS in singing class. While still a student - a rare occurrence - she attracted attention and was invited to the Bolshoi Theater, becoming a soloist. The singer gained great fame after impressive victories at international vocal competitions in Bulgaria, Belgium and at the IV International Tchaikovsky Competition (the weight of this gold medal is greatly increased if we remember that the jury then included Maria Callas and Tito Gobbi). An internship at Milan's La Scala theater gave the young artist a lot to understand the secrets of bel canto. A voice of rare beauty - mezzo-soprano with contralto capabilities - allowed Tamara Sinyavskaya to shine in many roles in the Russian and foreign operatic repertoire: Ratmir and Vanya, Olga and Marina Mnishek, Lyubasha and Marfa, Laura and Konchakovna, Carmen and Azucena... The singer has also gained great popularity from her extensive concert activities, in which she performs not only opera arias and classical romances, but also Russian folk songs, and often performs together with her famous husband Muslim Magomayev.
Tour
In 1972 she took part in the performance of the Moscow State Academic Chamber Musical Theater under the direction of B. Pokrovsky “Not Only Love” by R. Shchedrin (part of Varvara Vasilievna). 1973-74 - completed an internship at the La Scala theater in Milan. He performs a lot abroad. Participant of the Varna Summer music festival (Bulgaria). She has performed in performances at opera houses in France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, the USA, Australia and other countries of the world. She toured with concerts in Japan and South Korea. Some roles from Sinyavskaya’s extensive repertoire were performed abroad for the first time: Lel in “The Snow Maiden” by N. Rimsky-Korsakov (Paris, concert performance); Azucena (Il Trovatore) and Ulrika (Un ballo in maschera) in the operas of G. Verdi, as well as Carmen in Turkey. In Germany and France she sang the works of R. Wagner with great success, and at the Vienna State Opera she took part in the production of the opera “War and Peace” by S. Prokofiev (as Akhrosimova).
She conducts an extensive concert activity, and has performed solo concerts in the largest concert halls in Russia and abroad, including the Big Concert Hall, the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, and the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam). The singer's concert repertoire includes complex works by S. Prokofiev, P. Tchaikovsky, the "Spanish Cycle" by M. de Falla and other composers, opera arias, romances, works by old masters accompanied by an organ. She performs interestingly in the genre of vocal duet (with her husband Muslim Magomayev). She collaborated fruitfully with Evgeny Svetlanov and performed with many outstanding conductors, including Riccardo Chailly and Valery Gergiev.
Awards
In 1968 she won the 1st prize at the IX International Festival of Youth and Students in Sofia.
In 1969, at the XII International Vocal Competition in Verviers (Belgium), she received the Grand Prix and a special prize for the best performance of a romance.
In 1970 she received 1st prize at the IV International Tchaikovsky Competition and became a laureate of the Moscow Komsomol Prize.
In 1971 she was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.
In 1973 she was awarded the title "Honored Artist of the RSFSR".
In 1976 - the title "People's Artist of the RSFSR".
In 1980 she received the Order of the Badge of Honor.
In 1982 she was awarded the title "People's Artist of the USSR".
In 2001 she was awarded the Order of Honor.
In 2004, she became a laureate of the Irina Arkhipova Foundation Prize and was awarded the Order of Lomonosov, 1st degree.
- Tamara Ilyinichna, four years ago you voluntarily left the Bolshoi Theater. Have you ever regretted it?
Do you regret it? No. Even today I could sing the same Olga from Eugene Onegin. And sing in a rather young voice. If you put on some make-up and a wig, why not... And who would be happy about that? It’s better to let them say that I left the theater too early than to hear: “How? She's still singing! Moreover, my native Bolshoi Theater is closed for renovations, and the new stage, alas, is foreign to me.
- But you have also become a rare guest in concert halls. Why?
I can only allow myself to sing at my level and not one step lower. But I can’t sing like before, if only because of my nerves. When performing in a concert hall, I begin to feel nervous, as if I were stepping onto the stage of La Scala. Why do I need this? I don’t appear on television for the same reason - suddenly they show it from such an angle that you gasp... I try to protect myself and my name. Every day I “hello” my voice: I sing my favorite arias and romances. Many years ago I was invited to teach at different universities, but then I did not consider it possible to “sit on two chairs” - either sing or teach. And now I teach a vocal class at GITIS, and so far I really like it.
- How did you manage, working at the Bolshoi Theater for almost 40 years, not to quarrel with anyone, not to find yourself in the center of scandals and intrigues?
Yes, I have never intrigued in my life! I came to the Bolshoi when I was 20 years old, a naive, trusting girl, in love with the stage and very friendly to everyone. Because of my young age, none of the soloists perceived me as a rival.
I only ate ice cream in the summer.
- At what age did you start singing?
I have been singing since I was three years old. It’s funny to say: at first, in the entrance of my house (earlier in old Moscow houses there were entrances with excellent acoustics), the voice sounded very beautiful there, as if in a temple. To be honest, even now, when I enter an unfamiliar entrance, I quietly try my voice. And then, so that my “audience” - the children - could hear me, I gave “concerts” in my yard. Even as a child, I dreamed of becoming a doctor. There was a clinic on the second floor of our house. I liked going there because it smelled of ether, cleanliness and white coats. At home, I compiled a medical file, wrote “medical histories” of my friends, which were signed by “Doctor Sinyavskaya.” Probably, if I had not become a singer, I would have made a good doctor. But after school, instead of medical school, she entered the music school at the Moscow Conservatory.
Best of the day
We had a teacher at our school who gave students the opportunity to work part-time in the Maly Theater choir. And I started singing in the theater with pleasure. Yes, in which one! Moreover, my mother and I lived very modestly, and we paid 5 rubles for the performance (for example, that’s how much a kilogram of stellate sturgeon cost in the Eliseevsky grocery store).
- Singers constantly have to take care of their voice...
Because of the fear of catching a cold, at one time I had to give up sports - skiing and skating, which I was fond of. By the way, when the skating rink was recently opened on Red Square, my heart sank with nostalgia for my youth, for my childhood. I really wanted to go for a ride.
But she really protected her voice: she allowed herself to eat ice cream only in the summer, when the theater season closed and all the artists went on vacation. Now I can talk on the street, and eat ice cream, nuts and seeds, which are also contraindicated for singers, and, pah-pah, nothing happens to my voice. And before, probably, the psychological attitude was triggered - God forbid I catch a cold on the eve of the performance.
Muslim is a very generous man
Tamara Ilyinichna interrupts our conversation to, like an ambulance, give another injection to the poodle Charlik and make coffee for her beloved husband. And he also treats me to excellent coffee, brewed in Turkish style, and pours himself a glass of water. Sinyavskaya doesn’t want to lose her shape so that at any moment she can put on a costume, for example, Lyubasha’s and go on stage in the play “The Tsar’s Bride.”
In this sense, Galina Pavlovna Vishnevskaya has always been an example for me, who kept the same weight all her life and wore stage costumes of the same size.
- In a telephone conversation, you told me the three best ages for a woman - 29 years old, 38 and 45. What was interesting in your life when you turned 29 years old?
An affair with Muslim began. I then interned in Italy. Muslim called me every day and let me listen to new recordings. We talked a lot and for a long time. You can imagine how much these calls cost him. But talking about money was and is a taboo topic. He has always been a very generous man.
- At the age of 38, what events happened?
This is a wonderful age for any woman - a feeling of fullness of life. And for me it also coincided with my professional blossoming. By the way, the legendary Lyubov Orlova liked to repeat that she was 38 years old and not a day older. I sometimes quote her jokingly, although I understand that 38 years is too bold a statement, but if I go to get a “haircut” (that’s what Sinyavskaya calls a circular facelift. - Author), do light makeup, I’m still very good. Joke.
The secret of youth is good sleep
- Do you have your own secret on how to look good?
Dream. When a woman gets enough sleep, she has fewer wrinkles on her face, a healthy glow and glowing eyes. True, our poodle Charlik hasn’t let us sleep for three years now. He is already old, he is tormented by insomnia, he does not sleep at night and looks into the darkness with his blinded eyes. And I am very afraid that he might fall out of bed, since he is used to sleeping with us. Naturally, I don't get enough sleep. He is like a child to me. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out with my children, although it seems to me that I would have been an amazing mother, but the Lord decreed otherwise... True, as I was told, if I had a child, I would not be able to serve my favorite profession so selflessly .
- You have a long-standing and strong star alliance with Magomayev. What keeps him going?
Maybe the most important thing is love?.. And there are many common interests. Especially when it comes to music and singing. As soon as Muslim sees someone’s performance on TV that evokes emotions, he immediately comes to me: “Have you heard “this”?!” And the evening of “questions and answers”, delight or indignation begins. Muslim is a very emotional person. But I must say that our tastes and assessments almost always coincide. Besides, I never felt like a star, especially next to Muslim. In general, in my opinion, the word “star” today sounds offensive. Having received all-Union fame at the age of nineteen, Muslim carried it throughout his life and does not need its constant confirmation.
