Isabella Yuryeva: biography and personal life

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Our heroine is the queen of gypsy romance, a talented woman, a star of the 20-40s of the last century. She is Isabella Yurieva. Biography, personal life of singers - all this is difficult to fit on one page. After all, she lived for 100 years. In her life there were many joyful and sad events. But one thing can be said: such artists are not forgotten. The article contains a personal and creative biography of the legendary romance performer. Happy reading!

Isabella Yuryeva: biography: family and childhood

Born on August 26 (September 7), 1899 in Rostov-on-Don. However, the passport shows a different date - August 25 (September 7), 1902. She is from a large Jewish family. Her maiden name is Livikova. Isabella's father, Daniil Grigorievich, was a master of theatrical hats. And her mother worked as a stylist at the local theater.

She had three older sisters (Anna, Katya andMasha), as well as a brother. The girls always lived together, were fond of music. They did not offend the only brother.

Concerts were often held in the Livikovs' house. Daniil Grigorievich, together with his four daughters, sang his favorite songs.

Legends and rumors

What was so different from other children Bella Livikova (aka Isabella Yuryeva). The biography and life story of our heroine has always raised a lot of questions. Let's dwell on this in more detail.

According to family tradition, on the day the girl was born into the world, one incident occurred in the Rostov music workshop. A string suddenly snapped inside the piano body. This disturbing trembling sound stayed in the air long enough to irritate the locals. However, later the representatives of the Livikov family guessed that it was a sign - a musically gifted child was born. It's about Bella. Her father and mother were sure that she would become a famous artist.

Many Russian citizens born before the revolution of 1905 had two dates of birth (according to the new and the old style). Now this seems strange to many. And what about Isabella Yuryeva? Her biography looks somewhat confusing. For most of her life, the singer claimed to have been born in 1902. However, a few years before her death, she had a frank conversation with reporters. The performer of gypsy romances admitted that her life should be counted from 1899. How did it happen? It's simple: in 1932, the passport system was introduced in the USSR. Many citizens wanted to "rejuvenate" by removing a few years. ToFor example, the legendary actress Lyubov Orlova did this.

Abilities

Parents dreamed of their youngest daughter becoming a doctor. But the girl had a clear singing talent. At some point, the father and mother put up with it.

Izabella Yuryeva, whose biography we are considering, wanted someone to appreciate her talent and creative prospects. When the girl was 16 years old, her mother took her to her friend - a violinist of the symphony orchestra named Zimbalist. Soon he organized a public audition for Bella in the city garden of Rostov. Our heroine performed three compositions - “Over the fields”, “I remember I was a young woman” and “On the old Kaluga road”. She impressed everyone with the purity and depth of her voice.

However, the audition did not go as smoothly as Bellei would have liked. During the performance of one of the songs, a mosquito flew into her mouth. She almost suffocated. Isabella thought she could forget about the stage now. But the audience forgave the girl for this slight hitch. The young beauty left the city garden to loud applause.

The beginning of the creative path

17-year-old Bella went to Petrograd with her mother. Their goal was not to get to know the sights. The girl wanted to audition for a professor at the conservatory. At that time, the older sister of our heroine (Anna) was already a student of this institution (piano class). The specialists listened to Bella and said: “She doesn’t need to study. She has a natural voice.”

Since 1920, our heroine lived in Petrograd, studying with the composer and professional pianist A. Taskin. When did Bella's debut performance take place? In 1922, she entered the stage of the Colosseum cinema and sang several songs. She was introduced as Isabella Yuryeva. The real surname seemed dissonant to the girl.

Isabella Yuryeva: biography, personal life

In 1925, the talented singer got married. Her chosen one was the lawyer Joseph Epstein, who took the pseudonym Joseph Arkadiev. He became the wife's administrator. And this man also proved himself to be a talented songwriter. It was Joseph who wrote the words for such hits performed by Bella as "Spring Song", "Your Letters", "Look Affectionately" and others.

The couple spent the whole of 1926 in Paris. The Soviet performer of romances was able to charm the local audience. She even received a tempting offer - to perform at the famous Olympia. But Bella agreed.

Many are sure that the singer and her husband Joseph did not have common children. But it is not so. Upon returning from Paris to Moscow, Isabella Danilovna found out about her "interesting situation." Soon the couple had a son, whom they named Vladimir. But Yuryev's joy of motherhood did not last long.

In a Moscow communal apartment (16 sq. m.) we had to huddle five of us (sister with her husband, Bella with Joseph and son). The artist had to perform at several concerts. To make his wife comfortable,Arkadiev took his little son to relatives in Leningrad. After some time, terrible news came from there - the boy died. He was only 1 year and 2 months old.

The singer went crazy with grief. Joseph went to the funeral of the child, but forbade her. On this day, Yuryeva had to speak. She got over herself. Bella clung to the back of the chair. With a stone face, our heroine performed one song after another. The audience in the hall did not even guess what grief she was experiencing inside herself. November 1928 to 1936 Bella had a break in creative activity. And such a pause was appropriate. After all, during this period, RAPM fought against gypsyism in all its manifestations.

Housing conditions

It was difficult for the artist to exist outside the stage. Arkadiev understood this very well. Therefore, he did everything to turn the everyday life of his wife into a fairy tale.

In 1931, they moved from a cramped room in a communal apartment to a spacious apartment on Trekhprudny Lane. The famous poetess M. Tsvetaeva used to live in this house.

The family gradually furnished the new apartments. Husband arranged pleasant surprises for Bella. Often, waking up in the morning, the performer of romances saw a bouquet of flowers and a Golden Label chocolate bar on her bedside table. And for her birthday, Yuryeva received a Faberge ring encrusted with diamonds from her husband.

For several years, Arkadiev built a two-story dacha near Voskresensk. He designed the project himself, including 6 balconies and a huge terrace.

In the summer, Bella and Joseph rested on the Klyazma. They areenjoyed the magnificent scenery, ate fresh strawberries, went boating and had picnics with friends. Yuryeva liked it all. But every day she missed the stage more and more. Her husband was not against her return to the stage. Arkadiev even wrote several new compositions for her - “First Ball”, “If You Can, Forgive” and “Answer to Friendship”.

Famous Fans

Many Soviet men dreamed of such a beautiful and talented woman as Isabella Yurieva. Biography (briefly) of her famous fans is given below.

Arnold Hammer

Son of a European emigrant from Odessa. He was one of those who helped the Bolsheviks lift the economic blockade of the West. And soon American capital came to the USSR. At a time when most Soviet citizens were poor and hungry, he lived in grand style. In his apartment, he created a real museum of antique furniture, paintings and other items. Love for gypsy romances and a weakness for female beauty made him one of Yuryeva's main admirers.

Samuil Marshak

The famous poet and translator also felt great sympathy for the beautiful Isabella. But she was ready to build only friendly relations with him. It seems that Marshak was unlucky in love. After all, the editor of the publishing house, Tamara Gabbe, also did not reciprocate.

Mikhail Zoshchenko

Even during his lifetime, he was called the "master of laughter." And well deserved. To be convinced of the humorous talent of Mikhail Mikhailovich, it is enough to read his stories. Zoshchenko was a very determined man. He came home to Yuryeva,to talk to her alone. With his private visits, the writer pissed off Isabella's husband. Iosif Arkadyevich promised that next time he would lower the obsessive boyfriend down the stairs. Zoshchenko never returned.

Confrontation

Many Soviet citizens knew who Isabella Yurieva was. Biography, photos of the singer were published in newspapers and magazines. If you think that only laudatory articles were written about her, then you are mistaken. In the early 1940s, they began to persecute her in the press. Even Isaac Dunayevsky called on our heroine to "advise" her repertoire.

In 1941, the war began. In different cities of the USSR, front-line concert brigades were created. One of them included Isabella Yuryeva. The biography says that she performed at recruiting stations and in hospitals. Our heroine managed to visit both Stalingrad and the Karelian front. Lyrical songs and novels performed by her raised the spirits of the wounded and he althy soldiers, gave them hope for a brighter future.

At the end of the war, the persecution of her as a singer continued. During the recording of records, the editors found fault precisely with the manner of performance. She was asked to sing of Stalin. What if she agreed? Then Isabella Yuryeva would quickly receive the title of Honored or People's Artist. Biography and history, as you know, do not tolerate the subjunctive mood. Our heroine once again refused.

Nevertheless, the artist, persecuted by many, lived in abundance. She and her husband traveled around Moscow in a luxurious Chrysler. The second such car was only Yezhov. The huge fees of her husband, Joseph Epstein,allowed them to live as in Christ's bosom. Their apartment was furnished with antiques, natural stone and silk. The couple also had a two-story dacha with six balconies. Ordinary Soviet people could not even dream of such a luxury.

How did Isabella Yuryeva build her career in the conditions of constant persecution. Biography, songs in her performance interested people less and less. And in 1959 she disbanded her ensemble. The singer continued to participate in combined concerts, but less and less. Her name and surname were not indicated on the posters (by order of the head of the culture department).

In 1965, the last concert of Isabella Yuryeva took place. It took place within the walls of the Leningrad Variety Theatre. True admirers of her talent gathered in the hall. People listened to Bella's romances and cried. On this day, our heroine looked especially gorgeous - young, slender, with a beautiful hairdo. She wanted the public to remember her like this.

Life from scratch

In 1971, Isabella Yurieva became the widow. The biography of the singer contains information that her husband Joseph Arkadyevich Epstein died suddenly. The singer turned out to be a lonely and helpless woman. Indeed, for all these years of marriage, she never went to the store for bread and other products, did not clean the house. Bella never even learned how to light a gas burner. All this was done by a housekeeper hired by Joseph.

In order not to plunge into loneliness and deep depression, Yuryeva hooked girls up with her-female students. They also acted as housekeepers. Soon, things began to disappear from our heroine: items from an expensive service, silver spoons, memorable letters from famous people. As a result, Bella "dispersed" everyone and was left alone with her loneliness.

For days on end, the former pop star spent in four walls. She looked at photographs of different years for a long time, listened to rare audio recordings.

And suddenly, in the 1970s, Soviet citizens again became interested in such a musical direction as romance. But there were few talented and original performers. Journalists and directors remembered Yuryeva. She was invited to radio and television.

Izabella (Yuryeva) Danilovna did not even think about such a surge in popularity. Her biography interested the younger generation. And the performer was very upset when she listened to her recordings of the 30s. After all, then she was forced to artificially raise her voice, remove guttural notes. And yet, excessive emotionality in the songs was not welcomed. In short, no freedom in creative expression.

Long awaited awards

When did the title of "People's Artist" received the singer Isabella Yuryeva? Biography indicates that this happened in 1992.

On her 100th birthday, our heroine was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree. This award was presented to her at the Kremlin Palace in September 1999. The singer was moved to tears.

Death

On January 20, 2000, Isabella Yurieva left this world. The biography (you can see a photo of the singer’s grave below) of the artist says that the great performer found her last shelter at the Donskoy cemetery, in the south-west of Moscow. Bella's relatives and friends are long gone. Therefore, there is no one to look after her grave. Only the true valued cultures sometimes go there to lay flowers and clean up.

In closing

Today we remembered another talented and interesting person. That was Isabella Yuryeva. Biography, family and personal life of the singer - everything is discussed in detail in the article. May the earth rest in peace to her…