In memory of Shukshin: he lived several lives

They don’t know anything. You ask them who Smoktunovsky is, and the answer is silence. Or Oleg Borisov: silence is golden. On “Friday” they are engaged in education, that’s what should be noted.

There is no one like Makarych anymore and there never will be. He is a full-fledged personification of Soviet power and its cultural policy. These are the people from the earth who suddenly saw and felt talent in themselves and went to study. And here is the result: yes, it was a new Russian intelligentsia.

Shukshin died so early, at 45, on the set of the film “The Living and the Dead,” but he lived several great lives. Here he is a writer of the Russian land, one of the best. He loved the Russian people so much, understood them so much, and his “eccentrics” were generally brilliant, on the level of Gogol’s characters. What a director he is! “There lives such a guy” – that’s what Shukshin is all about. And his attitude towards education (Solzhenitsyn’s term), when they treat the people and compatriots so arrogantly – he hated it, despised it. What about “Pechki-benches” and “Kalina Krasnaya”?! He plays there, in his movie, as if it were something documentary, absolutely taken from life. No one has such organics.

Here he sits, his bare feet resting on the ground, his land, Russian land. This is the main, best, most correct shot.

And this is Vysotsky, “In Memory of Shukshin”:

No cold weather yet, no ice floes.
The earth is warm. Red viburnum.
And another one fell into the ground
There is a man on Novodevichy.

“He probably didn’t know the sign,”
The idle people talk vainly, –
Death catches those of us all first,
Who died for fun.”
If so, Makarych, don’t rush,
Release the pegs, loosen the clamps,
Rewrite, rewrite,
Replay – stay alive.
But driving the men into tears,
He suffered a bullet in his stomach,
He fell to the ground like a faithful dog.
And a viburnum bush grew nearby,
Viburnum is so red…

The death of the best is planned
And he pulls one at a time.
Such a brother of ours has gone into darkness!..
He doesn’t get angry and doesn’t get bored.

And there would be “Razin” this year.
Where is nature – Onega, Naroch?
All the stoves are benches, Makarych!
Your boyfriend doesn’t live like this.

Here after a temporary hitch
Rock muttered through his lip:
“Remove the cheekbone taboo
For what he saw in the coffin
All funeral services and wakes.

The one with a big soul in his body
And with a heavy load on my hump,
So as not to tempt fate,
Take me out of bed warm in the morning!”

And after the obligatory bath,
Pure before God and true,
He took it and died in earnest,
More decisively than on the screen.

CLASSICS OF THE GENRE

“Big Opera” on “Culture”. In my opinion, this is what we need. This is appropriate for today. Here are the presenters – the Abdrazakov couple. God, what a beautiful couple! Ildar is the best singer in his role in the world, no less. Once, however, I missed him – in the series “Chaliapin”, where he sang under the maestro. No, he sang beautifully, but he was like the moon to Fyodor Ivanovich. As for the rest… He is unusually sociable, with lightning-fast reactions, he communicates, well, simply with the whole world. It is important. And the wife… Yes, not the first, but what a beauty! “You are the only one who is as tall as me…” – as Vladimir Vladimirovich wrote about Tatyana Yakovleva. Here it is. Meet Marika Abdrazakova, former presenter on Rossiya 24 (where he and she met, saw each other and immediately fell in love, it’s love at first sight). He matches his husband, speaks just as brightly, with interest, and is always to the point. But with the word she gives, you understand that you are waiting for her entry, and that’s great. And the jury has such primas, such conductors! And also… Have you heard Dmitry Bertman sing? No, he sings poorly, but he sings correctly. However, he, a world-class director, does not have to be a great soloist, but, as always, he is relaxed, smart and extraordinary. Well, just a godsend for the show.

In general, this is development. Whom? Me, for example. After all, the whole world of Her Majesty’s opera opens up. But this discovery can be very dangerous. I remember how we, junior high school students, were taken to the Stanislavsky Theater to see “Eugene Onegin.” And then such a big, hefty Tatyana comes out and, reveling in her magnificent voice, sings to the audience. I remember my childhood feelings: she doesn’t understand anything, doesn’t love him, Evgenia, well, at least a little.

Here, at the Grand Opera, the jury places the main emphasis on how it should be played, on nuances, gestures, and turn of the head. Because opera is also drama… first of all drama. And the voice is included.

Again I remember my golden childhood. In 2nd grade, a teacher with a capital “U” came to us. So he played Chaliapin and Utesov for us, taught us to understand classical music… And then suddenly he left, left us. And singing teachers came to take his place, there’s no other way to put it. During their lessons, we did homework, yes, we taught them as much as we could (these are children!), and sang songs by Soviet composers in chorus. That’s all. So the classics passed by, what a pity.

But now I look and admire, I’m getting an education. “Grand Opera” is just what the doctor ordered.

LADIES WITH CAMELLIAS

Here are two primas, two stars, two ladies of our television. Both are on the “Culture” channel, they have something to share with each other. Each of them has a program about music. And yet they are so different.

Irina Nikitina and Sati Spivakova. Nikitina is Enigma. Here she is just sitting and talking with the best of the best musicians, domestic and world. And how he talks! If necessary, he switches to German, English, Italian, French… then everywhere. Gorgeous Nikitina, and how educated!

Talking about music is something special. You need to know it thoroughly, but also know the psyche, the nature of a person, the one with whom you communicate. And Nikitina is beautiful here, yes. And also (although this is not relevant) what is always interesting and noble about any woman? By my husband, of course. Nikitina once had Sergei Roldugin, well, you know him. Of course, he is famous not only for his music. Irina’s second husband is Sergei Shumakov, editor-in-chief of Culture. Yes, everything came together.

But Sati still has the same husband: the world famous Vladimir Teodorovich. What a husband! But Sati herself is so beautiful and smart. And, like Irina Nikitina, she easily switches from Russian to almost all European languages. Yes, and also Armenian, how could we live without it? Her program is called “Not boring classics”. Someone will say: she simplifies everything there. Nothing of the kind, which means you don’t understand anything. It’s so stylish, light, gentle, you never dreamed of it.

Two gorgeous women. Of course, competitors, who would doubt it. And they sometimes have jealous relationships with each other. But I, as a viewer (and TV critic), will say in Solomon’s way, in a royal way: you’re right, and you’re right. Girls, you are simply wonderful, and I admire you. You are each good in your own way, the best in your role. You and music are the harmony of the world. And competition only suits you. After all, there is no limit to perfection.