When and from what did Valentina Tolkunova die? “She is not of this world”: Valentina Tolkunova was dying of cancer and continued to care for her husband

On March 22, singer Valentina Tolkunova died from a serious cancer in Moscow. She was 63 years old. Back on February 16, it became known that Tolkunova became ill in the Belarusian Mogilev, where she was giving a concert. Soon she was transferred from the Mogilev hospital to the Botkin hospital, and fans were informed that all scheduled performances were cancelled.

Tolkunova was born in Armavir into a family of railway workers; almost immediately after the birth of their daughter, the parents moved to Moscow. Tolkunova's fate turned out to be connected with music since childhood: she sang in the Moscow children's choir and in the ensemble of the Central House of Railway Workers under the direction of Semyon Dunaevsky. At the age of 18, she entered the Moscow State Institute of Culture in the conducting and choral department, and two years later she entered the competition at VIO-66 - a vocal and instrumental orchestra, or, more precisely, a jazz big band at Rosconcert.

“I remember I came to the institute and said: “Now I’m an artist and I can’t study full-time,” and they answered me: “We won’t transfer you to part-time, you’re too good a student.” And it’s true, I’ve always been an excellent student. So I left the Moscow State Institute of Cinematography and went to VIO-66, where for five years I sang the roles of the first soprano, as well as jazz music,” the singer said in an interview.

The leader of the big band, the famous jazzman Yuri Saulsky, became the singer’s first husband; the disbandment of VIO-66 coincided with the separation of the spouses. “He had several wives, I don’t even know exactly which wife I was to him, but he loved each of his wives very much. I am grateful to God that I had five wonderful years with such a magnificent, smart, talented man ". In her second marriage, with writer and international journalist Yuri Paporov, Tolkunova lived for about 30 years, giving birth to a son, Nikolai.

After graduating from the Gnessin School, Tolkunova began a solo career, making her debut in 1972 at a creative evening of the poet Lev Oshanin. The singer worked with composers Pavel Aedonitsky, Eduard Kolmanovsky, Lyudmila Lyadova, Mikael Tariverdiev, Viktor Uspensky, Alexandra Pakhmutova. Among the songs that made Tolkunova famous are the super popular hits of the last Soviet decades: “I’m standing at a stop,” “I can’t do otherwise,” “Snub noses,” “In everything I want to get to the very essence,” “I’m a village girl,” “ Silver weddings", "Talk to me, mother", "My dear, if there were no war." Tolkunova’s colleagues agree that it is now impossible to imagine these songs sung in someone else’s voice: the singer created her own unique style of performance - sincere, frank, very lyrical, very feminine. Thanks to this manner, Tolkunova’s Soviet song was never Soviet in the full sense of the word, and the singer said with a legitimate reason: “I never served anyone. I sang human songs.”

In the second half of the 1980s, Tolkunova created her own musical theater on a state basis. Among the performances that were staged by the theater on the stage of the State Central Concert Hall "Russia" is the opera "Russian Women" based on the poem by Nekrasov and poems by Pushkin and Koltsov.

The singer’s merits have been repeatedly noted by the state: in 1987 she was awarded the title of People’s Artist of the RSFSR, and she was also awarded the Order of Friendship and Honor. However, in recent years, Tolkunova has virtually disappeared from the TV screen. “It has to do with money. I don’t have that kind of money to pay to appear on the screen. It’s crazy money, and I don’t want to bow to sponsors,” she explained. “Those who want to hear and see me, those who want to see me.” they see and hear. I have the same number of concerts as before.” And one more statement: “My songs are not emotions below the back. These are emotions at the level of the heart, at the level of the brain.”

The leitmotif of Tolkunova's later interviews is longing for high culture. “It’s very difficult for me to understand how, with today’s availability of literature, given that the shops are crowded with Tsvetaeva and Akhmatova, why these poems don’t turn into songs and are not needed by anyone?.. People with pockets full of money have become impoverished in spirit. Previously, it was the other way around - It was impossible to reach Tsvetaeva or Akhmatova, but people were highly spiritual, they were ready to listen and read such poems. And now they are not only not ready, they don’t even want to listen to this. do you need it now?..”

Tolkunova admitted that she would like to live in the 19th century. “In essence, I am still from the 19th century, everything is close to me there. When I read great prose or plunge into brilliant poetry, when I open a volume of Pushkin, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, I feel that I am from there.” To the question: "Turgenev's girl?" - answered: “I think so.” And one more thing: “I’m like a grain of sand in a whirlwind of the 21st century, and I don’t want to be a grain of sand.”

Content

The favorite of millions, talented and touching Valentina Vasilievna Tolkunova died on March 22, 2010. This came as a shock and shock to her multi-million army of fans, who had grown accustomed to and loved the talented and modest singer with the constant pearls in her chic braid. How old was Tolkunova? Total 64

Childhood and youth

Valechka was born in the post-war period - July 12, 1946 in Armavir, in the Krasnodar Territory. Vasily Andreevich, the girl’s father, was a career military man, and her mother was a railway employee, originally from the Buryat-Mongolian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. My grandfather on my mother’s side was repressed and spent 18 years in prison camps. In 1949, a son, Seryozha, was born into the family, who later became a singer. Now he is the president of a charitable foundation named after his sister.

At first, the Tolkunovs lived in the village of Belorechenskaya, which Vasily Andreevich had to restore. In 1950 they moved to the capital. People in the house always loved music and appreciated the performing arts - Lydia Ruslanova, Klavdiya Shulzhenko, Leonid Utesov - their voices were always heard in the family. Valentina decided to enter the Moscow Institute of Culture for the conducting and choral department. In 1966, the talented graduate passed the competition and became a soloist in the vocal and instrumental orchestra (VIO-66), led by Yuri Saulsky.

“I can’t do otherwise”

In 1971, Tolkunova graduated from the Gnessin Music College and immediately recorded songs for the film “Day by Day.” In 1972, at the invitation of front-line poet Lev Oshanin, she performed on the stage of the Column Hall of the House of Unions. An anniversary concert was taking place there at that time. She performed the song “Ah, Natasha” by composer Vladimir Shainsky. For the performance they made her a dress embroidered with pearls. To create the composition of the image, Valentina wove a string of pearls into her hair. This forever became part of her image.

Since 1973, Valentina Vasilievna began working in the Mosconcert association. Since 1989, she has been the director of the theater of musical drama and song of the creative association "ART". The theater staged musical performances that were a success. In 2004, Tolkunova bought a small house near the Diveyevo Monastery. While there, she attended services, prayed, and received communion. From that moment on, the people's favorite began to engage in charity work. She donated part of her fees to restore churches and organized charity concerts to help large families.

Her style of performance and she herself always remained simple - without arrogance or arrogance, with an irresistible desire to help and warm. She was an example of a Russian woman - beautiful, harmonious, wise, patient, gentle and faithful. The answer to all her good deeds was a line from the song - “I can’t do otherwise.” An entire generation grew up with “snub noses.” Her stage colleague and life comrade Lev Leshchenko always said that Valya was real. They were credited with marriage and romance. Those who knew Tolkunova never believed this. The audience just wanted to create the perfect couple from their favorites.

“I will always love you - I can’t do otherwise”: Tolkunova’s personal life

In fact, there were two marriages in the singer’s life. The first time she married the leader of their orchestra, Yuri Saulsky, who was much older than Valya. Five years later, the marriage broke up, and Yuri left for Valentina Aslanova. Tolkunova married for the second time in 1974 to international journalist Yuri Paporov. He was also older than his wife, traveled a lot and wrote books. The only son, Nikolai, was born in the marriage in 1977. Growing up, he worked at the Moscow Theater of Musical Drama and Song as a lighting designer.

But this marriage also turned out to be strange - Paporov went to work in Mexico in the early 80s. Tolkunova did not leave her fans and did not go with her husband. And for many years he forgot about the existence of his son - Kolenka saw no money, no upbringing, no participation on his part. But when Yuri returned to Moscow after the car accident, his vision began to rapidly deteriorate. Valentina Vasilievna took him to her place and organized rest and care. He died 1.5 months after Tolkunova’s death. It is known about the son that he was involved in a scandal - he was detained with heroin. And only his mother’s connections and love for her then helped him avoid punishment.

Illness and death of Valentina Tolkunova

In 1992, the first blow came - breast cancer. There was a course of chemotherapy and surgery. In 2009, the next blow was brain cancer, which became the cause of death. It so happened that Tolkunova was touring and after one of the concerts in Mogilev she was hospitalized - she first ended up in the intensive care unit of a local hospital, and then in Botkinskaya. At 6 a.m. on March 22, 2010, Valentina Tolkunova died: she fell into a coma and never woke up. They managed to administer unction to her right in the hospital room. We said goodbye to the people's favorite at the Variety Theater. The grave is located at the Troekurovsky cemetery. At the end of August 2011, a monument was unveiled there. Second husband Yuri Paporov lies nearby.

That is why Valentina Tolkunova is rarely called a “star”, but more often called a “legend”. After all, her work exists beyond the boundaries of space and time. That is why the conversation about the life and career path of the great Soviet singer seems so interesting.

Early years, childhood and family of Valentina Tolkunova

However, all this did not happen in Armavir. The thing is that the family of our today's heroine moved to Moscow when Valentina was only a year old. In the capital of the RSFSR, she went to school, and also began to engage in musical creativity for the first time. The first step to the big stage for our today's heroine was the ensemble of the Central House of Children of Railway Workers, which at that time was managed by S. O. Dunaevsky.

In this place, our today's heroine honed her skills by studying singing with an experienced teacher Tatyana Ovchinnikova. Valentina Tolkunova began performing on stage at the age of ten.

As the singer herself admitted, music has always been an important part of her life. It was incredibly difficult for Valentina Tolkunova to imagine herself without a microphone in her hands. That is why, after finishing the standard ten-year school year, our today’s heroine decided to continue her studies at the conducting and choral department of the Moscow State Institute of Culture. Valentina Tolkunova received her diploma of graduation from this educational institution several years later. However, this seemed to her not enough. Trying to make her talent truly unique, in 1966 the Russian singer entered the Gnessin Music College.

It was here that the future celebrity first became interested in jazz, which was fashionable at that time. In 1966, she went to audition for the VIO-66 team and successfully passed the tests. The girl worked as a soloist in a vocal and instrumental orchestra for five years. During these years, her repertoire consisted mainly of jazz and instrumental music. It was precisely such songs that were most in demand among listeners at that time, and therefore all concerts of Tolkunova and VIO-66 were held with constant success.

Valentina Tolkunova - I can't do otherwise

In 1971, just after graduating from the Gnessin College, the talented singer received an offer to record several compositions specifically for the television film “Day by Day.” The artist agreed and very soon her songs became one of the main components of the success of the entire film. Moreover, some time later, these compositions were released on a separate record, which literally became a real bestseller in the USSR in a matter of weeks.

Star Trek singer Valentina Tolkunova

In 1973, Valentina Tolkunova became a soloist of the Mosconcert. It was during this period that a pronounced shift towards traditional Russian songs began in the singer’s work. The image of a simple rural woman suited the popular Soviet performer very well. Very soon, Valentina Vasilievna developed her own unusual style, which was built on a subtle combination of “cordiality, dignity and affection.” Her vocals have always been characterized by a folk style of performance, and therefore the transition from pop songs to folk songs was unusually easy for the woman.

Valentina Tolkunova - Snub noses

It was this unique musical style that made Valentina Tolkunova one of the most popular and sought-after singers of her time. She performed at many concerts, sang in front of high-ranking officials and millions of ordinary spectators.

In 1986, as a true legend of the Soviet stage, the woman created her own song theater. As part of this project, the great singer staged many wonderful musical performances, each of which was extremely popular among the audience. The most famous productions were “Russian Women”, “Splashes of Champagne”, “Don’t Leave Me, Love”, “I Can’t Do Otherwise”, as well as many others. All performances of the song theater were staged on the stage of the Rossiya concert hall.

For her many years of work and enormous contribution to the development of musical art, Valentina Tolkunova received the title of first Honored and then People's Artist of the RSFSR. In addition, her personal collection also includes a huge number of other awards. A special place among these is occupied by the Orders of Honor and Friendship, awarded to the Russian singer in 1996 and 2006, respectively.

In the last years of her life, the woman did a lot of charity work. She gave concerts for large families, and also donated to the restoration of various churches.

Death of singer Valentina Tolkunova, cause of death

Valentina Tolkunova’s grave is today located in Moscow at the Troekurovsky cemetery.

Personal life of Valentina Tolkunova

In 1977, the woman remarried. Journalist Yuri Paporov became the artist’s new husband. In this marriage, the woman gave birth to her only son, Nikolai (born in 1977). Our today’s heroine lived with her husband Yuri until the end of her days.

Press attaché of the Bolshoi Theater Katerina Novikova told open sources of information that Valentina Levko died today. The cause of death of the famous opera singer, who performed a wide variety of roles from 1960 to 1982, was stated to be a severe, long-term illness. The family did not disclose the exact diagnosis of the 92-year-old artist; most likely, age increased the poor health of the public favorite.

Biography facts

Nee Surkova was born on August 13, 1923 in one of the capital's hospitals. From the age of 8, Valentina Nikolaevna was interested in music and successfully passed the qualifying exams for the music school at the conservatory in the violin class. At the age of 12, the talented girl began to study professional vocals at the same time.

In the period from 1943 to 1949, she received a higher musical education at the Gnessin School and at the university of the same name as an orchestra artist and viola teacher. During her studies, she repeatedly worked as a guest violinist at the Theater of Miniatures and the Theater named after. Yarmolova.

Valentina Levko died

Since 1963, she has participated in all tours, thanks to quickly receiving a diploma as an opera performer at the Moscow Conservatory. Natural abilities and her own desire did the impossible - Valentina Nikolaevna graduated from the university as an external student, which no one had done before.

Her contralto and mezzo-soprano are remembered in the most famous concert halls in the world:

1. Carnegie Hall and Music Verrein.
2. Albert Hall and Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory.
3. Concert Hall named after P. I. Tchaikovsky and the Small Hall of the Philharmonic named after M. I. Glinka in St. Petersburg and others.

The opera singer died at the age of 92

At the beginning of the century, music critics became interested in the works of the opera diva of the last century. Thanks to this, the world saw 11 CDs with recordings of her parts. Soviet viewers of the older generation remember the artist’s voice from the films:

1. “Wedding in Malinovka” is a song by the mother of the main character Sophia.
2. “A simple story...” - song “To that highway, to the crossroads” and others.

Family and Children

The artist married the best pilot of the 67th Guards Aviation Regiment, Vladimir Levko, in 1950. After finishing his service, the husband of the opera diva was a test pilot for many years. The pilot died in 1991, at the height of the default and fall of the USSR.

The singer's brother spoke about her two husbands. The first was a composer. Now many people know his name. “For her, there was no one higher than this man. Saulsky was 18 years older, experienced, educated. What feelings there were! It seems to me that the intensity of that feeling was the strongest in Valentina’s life,” says Sergei Vasilyevich.

According to him, Valentina lived with Saulsky for five years in an ideal marriage. And she worked in his team. But Yuri succumbed to new feelings. Valentina found out and filed for divorce. “How worried she was! Outwardly she held on, but we saw how bad she was. In addition, it became more difficult financially - I had to pay money for the cooperative apartment alone,” says the singer’s brother. After leaving her husband, Tolkunova also quit his orchestra.

The artist's second husband was also named Yuri. They met at the Mexican Embassy, ​​where Valentina's future husband worked as a translator that evening, and she sang at a concert.

“Yuri charmed Valentina with his knowledge and intelligence. In 1977, their son Kolya was born - his parents decided to name him in honor of our grandfather. Valya was happy. She dreamed so much about a child, about a family! Over the years of loneliness, of course, I suffered,” says a relative of the Soviet pop star.

A few years later, Tolkunova’s husband left for the USA to write a book about Leon Trotsky. He stayed in America for 12 years. “Valechka, of course, was worried about the breakup. But she refused the offer to move overseas. She said: “Who will need me there?” recalls Sergei Vasilyevich.

1992 was the year from which a dark streak began in the singer’s life. She was diagnosed with breast cancer. “Until this, she had not been to a doctor for six years. There was no time, I was traveling, working. Maybe if the disease had been found on time, the terrible tragedy would not have happened later,” says Valentina’s relative with bitterness.

And then, in his words, the singer made a fatal mistake - she did not complete the course of treatment: “The tumor was cut out for her then, but Valya refused chemotherapy - she was afraid that her hair would start to fall out. How then to go out in public? And she began to be treated with some folk remedies. At the same time, I began to attend church more often and learned prayers.”

When Tolkunova’s husband returned to his homeland, he was already an old, sick man, because he is 23 years older than the artist. “My heart is already weak, my hearing is gone, my vision has deteriorated. He was also diagnosed with cancer. Valechka, forgetting about herself, looked after her husband. She hired nurses, took him to doctors, arranged for him in hospitals,” Sergei Vasilyevich said in his interview with the Sobesednik portal.

Perhaps her penchant for self-denial allowed her to survive for 14 years. “In 2006, Valya was again diagnosed with breast cancer. And again the operation, a course of chemotherapy... Three years later, Valya began to suffer from terrible headaches. They carried out an examination - a brain tumor.” After this she did not have long to live.

In one of the people’s most beloved songs, she sang: “If you get sick, I’ll come. I will spread the pain with my hands. I can do everything. I can do anything. My heart is not a stone." This is exactly how her family, friends and loved ones remembered her - kind, selfless and loving people. Photo: Personastars