Biography
The name of the lyric-dramatic tenor of Zurab Sotkilava knows far outside the country in which he was born. The creative biography of the singer began in Sunny Sukhumi, continued in Milan and further developed in Moscow, where the tenor became the soloist of the Bolshoi Theater and his pride.
Sotkilava concerts were accompanied by unchanged anchlats. Emotional self-dedication of the artist, the strength and beauty of the voice, the noble manner of execution made the fans of Zurab Lavrentievich Millions of fans of opera art. The teacher and Professor of the Moscow Conservatory prepared and published hundreds of talented young singers.
Childhood and youth
The future People's Artist of the USSR was born in the spring of 1937 in the largest city of Abkhazia - Sukhumi. In the family of Sotkilava sang and played on the guitar mom and grandmother of the future star. In early childhood, Zurab sat upside down with them on a bench near the house and fed to women who gave the "concerts" to the neighbors and random passers-by. The repertoire had ancient Georgian songs, melodic and broach. The career of the singer Zurak Sotkilava did not dream - all thoughts and plans in childhood and the younger were associated with football.
In the younger school age, Zurab Sotkilava chased the ball in the school team. At the insistence of Mom (doctor by profession), who had absolute hearing, the son attended a music school, where he learned to play violin and piano. At the age of 16, the Supplements of Hope the Georgian football player became part of the junior team, becoming its captain. In the mid-1950, the team won the All-Union Competitions, the captain took into the main structure of the Tbilisi "Dynamo".
The ascending star of football was an extreme defender, rapidly attacked (overcame in 11.1 seconds) and did a sports career. Later, becoming an opera celebrity, Zurab Sotkilava shared memories of the most memorable game - with the Moscow Dynamo. As part of the Georgian team of Sotkilava, he fought with the Lvi-Yashin himself, the legendary goalkeeper. The Match Georgians lost with a score of 1: 3, but the acquaintance with Yashin continued when Sotkilava became a singer.
With sporting everyday life, Zurab Sotkilava had to spread after the game in Czechoslovakia: the point in the career was seriously injured. Before that, the footballer received a fracture in Yugoslavia. The young athlete tried the strength in the vocal by chance: Pianist, Valery Razumovskaya, hearing the joint singing of Zurab to the house, heard the joint singing of Zurab with her mother and grandmother. She was the first to recognize the singer in the slascay. A woman took a 21-year-old guy to a familiar professor of the conservatory, he listened to the "Sukhumsky Solovna" skeptical.
But the meetings with the professor continued: in gratitude to the fact that Zurab Sotkilava took him scarce tickets to the games of the Tbilisi "Dynamo", the teacher was engaged in football player vocal. Soon the vocal exercises were crowned with success: the professor announced Zurabu that he had a brilliant opera future. But then the prospect of becoming an opera tenor caused a laughter from a football player. To remember the words of the teacher of the conservatory Zurabe Sotkilava accounted for after the deductions from the team in 1959.
In the summer of 1960, Sotkilava defended the diploma of the Polytechnic Institute in Tbilisi, where he studied at the Mountain Faculty, playing in the national team. In the same year he entered the local conservatory. He supported the son of a father who had musical abilities were absent, but the mother turned out to be a categorical opponent of Zurab vocal career. At first, the voice of the novice vocalist was determined as a baritone, but at the 3rd course at the Sotkilava opened a lyric drama tenor. In the 1965th, the future star of the opera graduated from the Tbilisi Conservatory, and after 7 years - graduate school.
Music
The young singer took the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theater in the troupe, where Zuran Sotkilava successfully debuted. Soon he was entrusted to the leading parties in the Opera "Tosca" and "Bohemia" Gacomo Puccini. Then Sotkilava acted in Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi, sang in the National Opera "Abebalom and Eteri", "Mindia".
Tenor performed on the stage of the Georgian State Opera and Ballet Theater 9 years since 1965. In 1966, Zurab Sotkilava was sent to the Milan La Scala, where Belkanto teachers were taught. Maensro and Vocal Teacher Jenarro Barra admired the Georgian singer, whose voice reminded him of the tenors of the old times Enrico Caruso and Benjamino Gieli.
Two years after the start of classes with Milan teachers, Zurab Sotkilava participated in the festival of young vocalists "Golden Orpheus" in Bulgaria. The performance of the Georgian singer was triumphal: Sotkilava presented the main prize. In 1970, Zurab Sotkilava took second place in Moscow, at the International Competition named after P. I. Tchaikovsky. In the same year, tenor won the first award in Barcelona, where the international competition of vocalists took place.
At the end of the 1973rd Zurab Sotkilava made his debut at the lard of the Bolshoi Theater, fulfilling the batch of Hose. He was invited to the BT troupe. Soon the vocalist entrusted the party of Othello in Opere Giuseppe Verdi. So connoisseurs of opera art opened a new star - Vocal Tenor Sotkilava turned out to be a revelation. Spectators and listeners noted the work of the singer: Zurab was laid out on stage in full force. Later he admitted that the party of Othello became the vertex after which he did not lower the execution bar, working for wear.
Another achievement of the artist - the party of tourism in the opera "Rural Honor" of the Italian composer Pietro Maskanya. Expressiveness, transmitted by a vocalist of passions, the technical virtuosity of the Sotkilava noticed fans whose army grown at times.
In the Paris Theater of the Champs Elysees, Zurab Skykilava called sparklingly beautiful: triumphal tours of the tenor began in Paris. Soon, the Soviet star was opened with fans of opera art in America, Italy and Japan, noting that his voice is beautiful in all registers, and the artistry of the singer "comes directly from the heart."
The tour tour of the late 1970s turned Zurab Skykilava in a world-class star, bringing him the title of People's Artist of the USSR. The last bastion taken by the Opera Star was the Sapphist Party in the Opera Musorgsky Opest "Boris Godunov". Less often Zurab Sotkilava performed on stage, where his repertoire was romances, Russian and Italian music. Since 1976, Zurab Sotkilava taught in the metropolitan conservatory, where the class of solo singing was conducted. In 1987 he became a professor and headed the department.
In 1995, Opera fans heard Sotkilava on the BT scene: he solen Golitsyn's party in the Hovhanshchina section of Dmitry Shostakovich. Returned to the party in 2002 on the same stage. The voice of Zurab Sotkilava enjoyed Melomanany of the London Royal Opera. The German fans of the Opera Art saw the singer on the stage of the Bavarian Opera scene.
Heard a Russian tenor in Opere Dresden, in the Bologna Theater "Communal", Barcelona Theater "Liseo" and Venetian "La Fenic". In the last decade, Zurab Lavrentievich acted in the concert halls of Moscow and St. Petersburg, was in the near abroad. In his repertoire included opera arias, Romans Peter Tchaikovsky and Sergey Rakhmaninov, Georgian and Russian folk songs.
Personal life
Zurab Sotkilava was proud of his friendly and strong family. He married once and forever. The wife of Eleiso Tourmanidze, who gave birth to her husband with two daughters to the half and right hand of the artist to the last days, remained.
Together, the spouses lived the console. Zurab Lavrentievich waited two favorite grandchildren - Keti and Levan, in which the souls did not care.
Death
In the summer of 2015, the artist admitted that he was seriously ill. Doctors diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. In the same year, Sotkilava made an operation in Germany, in Russia they conducted a course of treatment, chemotherapy. The singer went on stage in October 2015. A concert in the near Moscow Sergiev Posad passed with the manshlag, it seemed that the disease was retreated.
Zurab Sotkilava decided to talk about cancer, learning about the same diagnosis of colleagues and friends of Elena Exena and Dmitry Hvorostovsky. The last two years Zurab Sotkilava taught in the conservatory and, overcoming the disease, went to the scene. In 2017, he planned to give an anniversary concert - an opera star turned 80 years old. But the oncological disease made adjustments to the plans - vocalist did not become September 17.
Discography
- Richard ("Ball Masquerade", Giuseppe Verdi)
- Manriko ("Troubadur", J. Verdie)
- Mario Kavaradossi ("Tosca", J. Pucchini)
- Valemon ("Iolanta", P. Tchaikovsky)
- Radams ("Aida", J. Verdie)
- Indian Guest (Sadko, N. Rimsky-Korsakov)
- Arzakan ("Abduction of the Moon", O. Taktakishvili)
- Othello ("Othello", J. Verdie)
- Richard ("Ball Masquerade", J. Verdie)
- Tourda ("Rural Honor", P. Maskanya)
- Baron Kalloandro ("Beautiful Mellenchikha", J. Piazziello)
- Samornoan (Boris Godunov, M. Mussorgsky)
- Golitsyn (Hovhanshchina, M. Mussorgsky)
- Izmail (Nabucco, J. Verdie)