Alexander Nikolaevich Vertinsky is a popular Soviet artist, film actor, composer, pop singer. It was popular in the first half of the XNUMXth century.
Vertinsky is still called the phenomenon of the Soviet stage. The compositions of Alexander Nikolaevich evoke the most diverse range of emotions. But one thing is for sure - his work can not leave indifferent almost no one.
Childhood and youth of Alexander Vertinsky
Alexander Vertinsky was born on March 19, 1889 in the very heart of Ukraine - Kyiv. The head of the family worked in journalism and was a private attorney. Mother Evgenia Skolatskaya was from a noble family.
Vertinsky's father and mother were not officially married. At that time, such an alliance was considered unacceptable. The lawful wife of Alexander's father did not give him consent to divorce.
Nikolai Petrovich (Alexander's father) rented a house for Evgenia Skolatskaya. First, the couple had a daughter, and then the woman gave birth to a son, Alexander.
Vertinsky did not remember his mother. The fact is that she died when he was only 3 years old. From now on, all worries fell on the shoulders of relatives on the maternal side.
Children, Nadezhda and Alexander, were raised by the sisters of Evgenia Skolatskaya. The sisters hated little Sasha's father for "corrupting" their Zhenechka. Brother and sister were separated. And soon he learned that Nadezhda was no longer alive. However, years later, Alexander found out that Nadia was alive. Rumors about the death of her sister were spread by aunts in order to permanently interrupt their communication.
Little Sasha studied at the Alexandria Imperial Gymnasium. But soon he was expelled from the educational institution for bad behavior. Vertinsky began to steal. There is an assumption that in this way the boy attracted attention due to the lack of parental attention.
In his teenage years, he managed to gain a reputation as a thief. Later, he continued his studies at the Kyiv classical gymnasium No. 4. Unfortunately, the guy did not stay long at the gymnasium either.
Alexander's participation in amateur performances
Because of the troubles in his studies, constant quarrels with his aunt, Alexander Vertinsky felt discouraged. The only joy of that period of time for the young man was the theater. Already at that time he began to perform in amateur performances.
Alexander did not leave a bad habit - to steal money from his aunt. Soon she had to kick her nephew out of the house. Vertinsky took on any job in order to earn his living.
Auntie did not believe that Sasha could make a decent person. But soon fortune smiled at Vertinsky. He met Sofya Zelinskaya, an old acquaintance of his mother. In the house of Sofya Nikolaevna, Vertinsky again began to gnaw at the granite of science. In addition, in the house of Sofya Nikolaevna, he managed to get acquainted with interesting and influential people.
Alexander gained his first fame thanks to the publication of stories in a local newspaper. Even then, society started talking about Vertinsky as a talented person. The image of the thief disappeared.
Alexander Vertinsky in theater and cinema
The first money that Alexander Nikolayevich earned in the theater gave him confidence that he was going in the right direction. Around the same time, Vertinsky learned that his sister Nadezhda was alive and working in the Moscow theater. In 1913 he moved to the capital of Russia.
The theatrical career of Alexander Nikolaevich began with theaters and studios. At that time, young people staged amateur performances that were very popular with theatergoers. The talented Vertinsky was noticed and invited to become part of the Theater of Miniatures, which was located on Tverskaya Street.
The team, in which Alexander Nikolayevich was enrolled, was led by Artsibusheva Maria Alexandrovna. The first appearance on the stage of Vertinsky caused genuine delight among the audience. The artist continued to perform on stage. In addition, he wrote topical jokes and parodies.
In the same period of time, Vertinsky tried to enter the Stanislavsky Moscow Art Theater. However, he was not accepted because he did not pronounce the letter "r" well.
Alexander Nikolaevich tried his hand at cinema. The first film with the participation of the artist was called "Cliff". Vertinsky got a small role, but Alexander himself said that he had gained invaluable experience.
With a film career did not work out. It was not the lack of talent that was to blame, but the war. Alexander Nikolaevich at the end of 1914 signed up as a volunteer nurse for the front. He spent about a year in the war. A year later, he was seriously injured, so he was forced to move to Moscow.
In Moscow, Alexander received sad news. The fact is that his own sister Nadezhda died. For him, she was one of the closest relatives. According to Vertinsky, Nadya died due to a drug overdose.
Alexander Vertinsky: music
After rehabilitation, Alexander Nikolaevich continued to act in films and play in the Artsibasheva Theater. It was then that the image of Pierrot “glued” to the artist. Thanks to the miniatures, "Songs of Pierrot", the romances "Today I laugh at myself", "Crystal memorial service", "Cocaineette", "Yellow Angel" Vertinsky received such a long-awaited recognition.
It is interesting that not only ordinary viewers praised Vertinsky's talent. Critics also wrote the talent positive reviews.
Critics noted that the popularity of Alexander Nikolaevich was due to the fact that he sang about congenial topics. He often touched upon the topics of unrequited love, loneliness, lies, betrayal, poverty and injustice in his songs.
Vertinsky performed musical compositions both on his own poems and on the poetry of Alexander Blok, Marina Tsvetaeva, Igor Severyanin.
A characteristic feature of the presentation of musical material was grazing. His lyrics touched the soul of Soviet music lovers. The image of the suffering Pierrot gave rise to many followers, but no one has yet managed to follow the path of Alexander Vertinsky.
The popularity and frankness of the texts gave Vertinsky not only loyal fans. Alexander Nikolayevich became interested in the Extraordinary Commission. The representative of the commission subtly hinted to Vertinsky about what it would be better not to write about. Later, biographers expressed the opinion that it was the pressure of the authorities that forced Alexander to emigrate. However, the artist himself commented:
“What prompted me to emigrate? I hated Soviet power? Yes, no, the authorities did nothing wrong to me. Was I a follower of any other system? Also no. I was just young, and I was drawn to adventure ... ".
In 1917, Alexander went on a big tour. He visited many countries and cities. Soon Vertinsky bought a Greek passport and went to live first in Romania and then in Poland. In subsequent years, the celebrity lived in Paris, Berlin, Palestine. Even in other countries, his concerts were attended by an army of fans.
In 1934 Alexander Nikolaevich moved to the United States of America. Here he organized a performance that was attended by a significant number of Russian emigrants. In 1935 Vertinsky left for Shanghai. He returned to Russia only in 1943.
Personal life of Alexander Vertinsky
The first wife of Alexander Nikolaevich was the Jewish beauty Rachel (Raisa) Pototskaya. After marriage, the woman became Irena Vertidis. Vertinsky met his first wife in Poland. The first marriage cannot be called successful. After 7 years, Alexander divorced his wife.
After the divorce, Vertinsky could not find a life partner for a long time. He had fleeting romances that did not lead to anything serious. The artist met his next wife only 19 years later in Shanghai.
In another country, Alexander Nikolayevich met the charming Lydia Tsirgvava. Interestingly, the beauty was younger than the artist for more than 30 years. However, this did not stop their relationship from developing. In the early 1940s, Vertinsky married Lydia.
In this marriage, the couple had two beautiful daughters. The daughters inherited charisma and talent from their father, so they also became popular actresses. And even Marianna's daughter, Daria Vertinskaya (Khmelnitskaya), successfully started her career as an actress, but soon realized that this was not her destiny.
Death of Alexander Nikolaevich Vertinsky
After returning to his native country, Alexander Nikolayevich did not leave his acting career. Filming in films and participation in theatrical productions made it possible to earn good money. The only thing that bothered Vertinsky at that time was the state of his country.
On the day of his death, Alexander Nikolayevich also performed on stage. Vertinsky died on May 21, 1957. According to relatives, after the concert, he felt weak and unwell. The cause of death was acute heart failure. Stress and age have taken their toll. The grave of the artist is located at the Novodevichy cemetery in the capital.
The showcase of the Museum of one street in Kyiv is dedicated to the memory of the celebrity. Here, fans can get acquainted with photographs, albums and other reminders of Vertinsky.
