Sofija Rotaru

Sofia Rotaru, 2009

Sofia Rotaru [ sʌfia ɼʌta: ɼu ] ( Ukrainian Софія Михайлівна Ротару / Sofija Rotaru Mychajliwna ; Russian София Михайловна Ротару / Sofija Rotaru Michailovna *  7. August 1947 in Marshyntsi , Ukrainian SSR ) is a Russian and Ukrainian singer and actress Moldovan descent. She is considered the "Queen" of Russian-language pop music in the countries of the former Soviet Union. In addition to Russian , she also sings in Romanian , Ukrainian , German and English .

Family and personal life

Sofia Rotaru was born into the family of a wine brigadier, the second of six children. She comes from a Moldovan family from northern Bessarabia . Her father is Michail Fjodorowitsch Rotar (1918-2004), her mother Alexandra Ivanovna Rotar (1920-1997). Sofia Rotaru celebrates her birthday twice because of a passport clerk who wrote August 9 on her passport. At different times the village in which Sofia Rotaru was born originally belonged to the Principality of Moldova , then from 1812 as part of northern Bessarabia to the Russian Empire , from 1918 to Romania , from 1944 to the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union and from 1991 to the independent Ukraine . This results in different spellings of your first and last name. In the titles of the first musical film Chervona Ruta , in which she played the main role, Sofia appears with the surname spelled as Rotar '. The first name was spelled as Sofija in the earlier films. Edita Pjecha advised Sofia Rotaru to write her last name in the Romanian way with a “u” at the end. In fact, the stage name just found was just the old, forgotten real name. Aurica Rotaru, Honored Artist of Ukraine, recalls:

“No, no one thought it up. This is related to the fact that the village in which we were born belonged to Romania for a while; that is, this area was Romanian. It was only after the war that this area became part of Ukraine and my father was called to the Military Alignment and Registration Office and was told that the Romanian surname should be changed to Russian. The letter "u" was removed and instead of Rotaru, we were called Rotar 'with the soft sign at the end. "

- Aurica Rotaru : Sofia Rotaru: secret of her success

Sofia Rotaru's father served as a machine gunner during World War II . In 1946 he returned home wounded and was the first in the village to register as a member of the Communist Party. The older sister of Sofia named Sina (born October 11, 1942), often suffered from serious illnesses in her childhood and has lost her eyesight. Sina had perfect pitch and easily learned new songs. Sina taught Sofia many folk songs and was like a second mother and teacher to her younger sister. Sofia Rotaru said of her: "We have all learned a lot from her - what a musical memory, what a soul!" Sina spent a lot of time next to the radio, learned numerous songs, as well as the Russian language, which she later taught her brothers and sisters. At home the whole family only spoke Romanian.

In the movie Where are you, love? an autobiographical scene appears in which Sofia Rotaru milks a cow in the role of Marcela. Sofia Rotaru used to do athletics as a child. She also took part in the regional Olympiads. She won the Oblast Spartakiad in Chernivtsi in the 100 and 800 meters. Later she also played dangerous scenes without doppelgangers and stunt men , in the film Where are you, love? she rode a motorcycle on a narrow pier into the middle of the sea, as well as in the film Monologue about love - where she plays the role of a windsurfer in love in the open sea.

Sofia's musical talent revealed itself early on. Sofia began to sing in the school choir as well as in the church choir in the first grade, although the latter was not approved by the school authorities and she was even threatened with expulsion from the communist youth organization of the pioneers. Young Sofia was attracted to the theater. She practiced in organized theater circles and at the same time sang famous folk songs in organized amateur circles. On some evenings after the other residents of the house had gone to bed, she would fetch the only bayan from the school and hide in the stable. There she tried to play the melodies for the beloved Moldovan songs. Sofia Rotaru said:

“It's difficult to say when and how the music appeared in my life. It seems that she has always lived in me. I grew up with the music, it played everywhere: at a wedding table, at the girls 'meetings, at the girls' winter evening gatherings, on the dance floor ... "

- Sofia Rotaru :

Her first teacher was her father, who liked to sing because even as a young man he had an absolute musical auditory perception and a beautiful voice. Sofia Rotaru learned to play bayan and domra at the school , she has performed as an amateur in concerts in nearby villages. Sofia Rotaru especially participated in house concerts. All six children of Myhail Fedorovich, father Sofia Rotarus, formed a choir. It was in this environment that the most human and the deepest and most sincere feelings of her future songs were expressed. Sofia Rotaru later sang at festivals and competitions as if she was born with this music and charmed with heartfelt intonations of her unique voice. Her father believed in the daughter's future. He always said: "Sonia will be an artist". His faith gave Sofia the strength to overcome any doubts about her vocation.

Her husband was the Ukrainian singer Anatoly Kirillowitsch Evdokimenko (1942–2002). She has a son, a daughter and four grandchildren. Sofia's grandson Vladimir works as a singer in Ukraine. Sofia Rotaru is one of the highest paid singers in the world today and is the highest paid pop singer in Ukraine. In 2008 it declared the highest annual income in the country, which was significantly higher than 500 million hryvnia (around 100 million USD ).

Career

Sofija Rotaru is known for her deep voice. She has more than 400 songs in her repertoire. In addition to the songs in her native languages ​​Romanian (Moldavian), Ukrainian and Russian, she also sings in other languages ​​such as Polish, Bulgarian, German, French and English. She appeared in the musical film Tscherwona ruta from 1971 and in six other musical films. In 1988 Sofia Rotaru was the first pop singer ever to receive the honorary title of People's Artist of the USSR, and in 2000 she was named "Singer of the 20th Century". Today Sofia Rotaru has Ukrainian citizenship and is an honorary citizen of Crimea and Yalta , where she has her main residence.

1962–1964: start of career and Ukrainian pop-folk

Sofia Rotaru had her first artistic success in 1962. Victory in the Rajons competition for amateur singers opened the door to the regional competition for her. Her compatriots called Sofia " Bukovinian nightingale" because of her charming voice . Indeed, the young singer's voice was amazing: striking strength and breadth, unusually sound richness. In fact, Sofia Rotaru has an alto voice. She has interpreted songs like the Spanish " Bésame mucho " (the song was released in the compilation "Nacht in der Oper"). Sofia Rotaru was the first pop singer who sang a recitative and later also rock, rap and jazz, such as B. the song "flower business".

1974–1979: New Authors and Moldovan Lyricism

1976 Sofia Rotaru was awarded the People's Artist of the Ukrainian SSR and was at the same time laureate of Komsomolpreises . In 1976 the Munich company " Ariola- Eurodisc GmbH" ( Sony BMG Music Entertainment) invited Sofia Rotaru as the only singer from the Soviet Union to put on a music album. In 1978 the first test single was released, which consisted of two songs in German: "Deine Zärtlichkeit" and "Nachts, Wenn die Nebelzug". Other songs were also played: “Who is looking for love” and “Lost, forgotten and over”. The songs in German were produced with Michael Kunze and Anthony Monn , who began to work with Amanda Lear and Karel Gott at that time . At the end of the 1970s there was a successful European tour through Yugoslavia, Romania, the GDR, the FRG and West Berlin. In the autumn of 1979 alone, Sofia Rotaru gave more than 20 concerts in Munich and other cities. The West German company suggested to Sofia Rotaru to release an album with Italian and French songs. Italian and French were very close to Sofia Rotaru, who spoke Romanian. At the same time, however, a directive was passed by the Soviet State Concert Authority that only Soviet songs were to be sung.

The official information about the collaboration with a western record company was only released in the late 1980s , almost 10 years after the release of the first test single, i.e. after the start of perestroika .

In an interview of the Moscow newspaper Prawda with Sofia Rotaru on March 13, 1979 you can read: “The Munich company Ariola, which made Mireille Mathieu , Karel Gott and many other foreign pop singers world famous, has noticed you, incidentally, than before only pop singer from the USSR invited to record an album. Tell me about this work! ”-“ The first test single with two songs in German has already been released. Now I am going back to the FRG in Munich, where this company will publish an album with folk songs and songs by Soviet composers [...] "

However, the album was not released because the western producer Sofia Rotaru suggested to release a large studio album, where, in addition to German songs, songs in Italian, French and English should be represented, such as: B. “Speak Softly Love” from the godfather of Nino Rota . The song was later published anyway, but in Ukrainian. In the same year Sofia Rotaru was invited to Canada. After the first concerts in Canada, however, the Soviet government banned her from leaving the USSR for five years.

In 1977 the next album, "Songs by Volodimir Iwasjuk, sung by Sofia Rotaru" was released. This is a symbol of Ukrainian pop music, for which Sofia Rotaru received the award of the Central Committee of the Komsomol of the USSR. At the "Lied-77" festival, Sofia Rotaru sang the song "Seagulls over the water" (Russian: "Чайки над водой / Tschajki nad wodoj") by Je. Martynow and A. Dementjew, she also delighted the audience in a duet with Karel Gott in the finale of the festival "Lied-78" with the song "Nur dir" (Russian "Только тебе / Tolko tebe") by Oskar Felzmann and Robert Roschdestwenski .

In 1979 the Soviet album company Melodija released the albums "Nur dir" and "Sofia Rotaru". Ariola released the long awaited album "My Tenderness" ("Meine Tenderness"). In 1979, songs by Dawid Tuchmanow had a special place in Sofia Rotaru's works: "Let's give the earth to the children" (Russian: "Дадим шар земной детям / Dadim shar semnoj detjam"; text by Nazim Hikmet , performed together with a children's choir) and the legendary song "Meine Heimat" (Russian: "Родина моя / Rodina moja"; text by Robert Roschdestwenski ). With this song Sofia Rotaru became the first female rap singer in the USSR . The reactions to this were not clear. In 2000 Dawid Tuchmanov said with reference to the song: "The lyrics were due to the economic situation, but the emotions were real". Sofia Rotaru emphasized that the song only spoke of love for home. Also in 1979 were the song "Glaub mir" (Romanian. "Crede mă"; composed by J. Teodorovici) and the song "Herbstmelodie" (Russian "Осенняя мелодия / Osennjaja melodija"; composed by Jurij Saulskij, text by Leonid Savalnjuk) which became an example of lyric revelation. Instead of a soft performance, Sofia Rotaru sang the line of text “sublime melancholy, cannot be described in words” loudly and piercingly, thus liberating the nature of the performance. There is no dramatic etude in her performance of this song, but a fragment of the confession that the singer brings to the people: "If you haven't lost friends and relatives, you should smile at me!"

In the 1970s and 1980s she and her ensemble “ Tscherwona Ruta ” created new melodies and forms of representation that were previously unknown to Eastern European pop culture. She campaigned for the liberalization of art in the Soviet Union and called for more individualism and creativity on stage. Sofia Rotaru was the first to try to combine western rhythms with Russian, Ukrainian and Moldovan melodies with her new forms of music, and she also values ​​a high lyrical level in her songs. Another characteristic of Sofia Rotaru's work is versatility; In her search for new forms, she has experimented with different types of songs - from pop-folk and romance to hard rock , R&B , rap , dance and techno . Her repertoire includes more than 400 songs in seven languages.

1980–1985: rise of the actress and new forms of collaboration

In 1980 Sofia Rotaru won first prize at the Tokyo International Song Festival and the Order of Honor for her Yugoslav song “The Promise ”.

Sofia Rotaru's popularity in the Soviet Union reached unprecedented levels in the early 1980s, and her songs have been top of the charts for years. In 2006 one of the neurotic fans (Galina Starodubova) who had persecuted Sofia Rotaru for many years was sentenced to imprisonment for death threats.

Sofia Rotaru received numerous prizes and awards, she was the first Soviet singer to go on world tours and worked with Michael Kunze , Nino Rota and Anthony Monn , among others . Even today it has the numerically strongest fan base in Russia , the Ukraine , Moldova and other successor states of the Soviet Union .

Since the late 1980s, Sofia Rotaru has been involved in various social areas, for young singers and also for the church.

Discography

Albums (rough selection)

Vinyl LP

• 1972: Поет София Ротару (Sofija Rotaru sings)
• 1974: София Ротару (Sofija Rotaru)
• 1975: София Ротару (Sofija Rotaru)
• 1979: Только тебе (Only you)
• 1981: Песни из кинофльма "Где ты любовь" (soundtrack to the movie "Where are you, love?")
• 1981: София Ротару (Sofija Rotaru)
• 1985: Нежная Мелодия (tender melody)
• 1986: Монолог о любви (monologue on love)
• 1988: Золотое сердце (Golden Heart)
• 1991: Караван любви

CD

• 1993: Лаванда
• 1994: Романтикэ
• 1995: Золотые песни 1985/95
• 1995: Хуторянка
• 1998: Люби меня
• 2002: Я тебя по-прежнему люблю
• 2002: Снежная Королева
• 2003: Единому
• 2004: Небо - это Я
• 2005: Я же его любила
• 2007: Туман
• 2008: Я - твоя любовь!
• 2010: Я не оглянусь

Singles

1976: Your tenderness

Filmography

• 1972: The Hiding-place at Red Stones (Тайник у красных камней)
• 1971: Tscherwona Ruta
• 1980: where are you, dear?
• 1981: soul
• 2004: Gypsy Woman / The Sorochinsk Fair (Сорочинская ярмарка)

Awards

During her career she has received the following awards:

• Honored Artist of the Ukrainian SSR
• People's Artist of the Ukrainian SSR
• People's Artist of the Moldovan SSR
• People's Artist of the USSR
• Komsomol Prize Winner
• Heroine of Ukraine
• Heroine of Moldova
• Order of the Republic (highest honor of the Republic of Moldova)

Web links

Commons : Sofia Rotaru  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Sofia Rotaru in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Sofia Rotaru Official Website (Russian)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The queen of pop music celebrated her 60th birthday really royally . In: Postimees . August 10, 2007. Archived from the original on January 4, 2009. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 23, 2008. 
2. ↑ Retro FM Legends . In: Komsomolskaya Pravda . December 13, 2007. Retrieved May 23, 2008.
3. ↑ Sofia Rotaru was excluded from singing with the pioneers . In: RIA Novosti . August 7, 2007. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
4. ↑ Sofia Rotaru - Secret of their Success . In: Podrobnosti . January 26, 2008. Archived from the original on April 30, 2008. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 22, 2008. 
5. ^ Sofia Rotaru - International United Biographical Center . October 7, 2006. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
6. ↑ Sofia Rotaru declared the highest income for 2008 . In: dengi-ua.com, Ltd., IU Ukrainian Media Holding . Retrieved July 23, 2008.