One of positive qualities past musicians had a love for their craft. If they started to study music, they did it with all their heart, and with great talent, although there was nothing in return. One of these people is our hero Lev Leshchenko. His biography is very extensive and very interesting.

It just so happened that the birth of Leo happened at the very height of the war, in 1942. His father went through the whole war, and after it did not leave military affairs. His mother died very young, and his father married a second time. And they had a daughter, the sister of the singer Valentina.

The father was very busy in the service, so they brought up little Leo by the whole regiment, he ate only in the army canteen. Another grandfather, actively participated in the upbringing of the boy. And it was he who instilled in him a love for music, since he himself loved it very much. He constantly played the violin to his grandson, and taught him to sing.

The singer's childhood passed in Sokolniki. He was a very developed child, he took on all the mugs. What he just did not do. But soon his singing supervisor convinced him that it was necessary to focus on music. The boy listened and soon became a star at school concerts.

After graduating from school, he really wanted to take up his education, but unfortunately his dreams did not come true, which made him very upset. He went to work as a laborer in the theater. Then he moved to the factory. And then the singer began military service. He really wanted to be a sailor, but his father convinced him that it was better in tank forces. Soon he began to participate in the song and dance ensemble, on the advice of the commander. He was appointed soloist. He actively engaged in this activity. Conducted concerts, sang, recited poetry. And in parallel, he continued to prepare for admission to the theater.

After returning from the army, the first thing the artist went to do. But the exams at the institute at that time had already ended. The commission decided to give the singer a chance. He sang an aria, but did not particularly impress the commission. But they decided to accept it. But his studies did him good. Already, after a year, his singing has changed a lot. While in his second year, he went to work in an operetta.

Soon he became an artist of the operetta theater. And later as a soloist at the USSR State Radio and Television. Received many awards and prizes. After 11 years, he became an honored artist, which he was very happy about. And six years later he rose to the rank of People's Artist.

Lev Leshchenko: height and weight

Arista is 180 cm tall and weighs 67 kg.

Lev Leshchenko and his wife Irina Leshchenko

Leo and Irina have a second marriage. They met in 1976, when the singer had a tour in Sochi. She trained as a diplomat in Hungary. As Leshchenko himself says, he fell in love with her at first sight. She fascinated him both visually and internally. She was a very effective girl, with style, there was also charm in her. The only thing was that she was too thin, which was not to his taste. She also struck him by the fact that she treated him indifferently as a singer. Lev Leshchenko and his wife Irina Leshchenko have been happily married for 30 years.

As for his first wife, she, like him, was a creative person. Her name was Alla Abdalova. They were married to her for ten whole years, but as they say, they did not get along in character. Two identical professions in one family did not get along. They broke up, then got back together. But it didn't work out. As the singer says, you cannot enter the same river twice. And they broke up completely. Alla herself regrets that this happened, but Leo is very happy with his second wife.

Lev Leshchenko and his children

It so happened that Leo had no children. Yes, it's a big shame for him. With his first wife, he was not up to the children. Each pursued his own career, but soon broke up. But, and with the second wife everything is tragic. Not long after the wedding, the couple found out that Irina was childless, and they forever resigned themselves to this thought. In all articles Lev Leshchenko and his children, it is written that they are not. Although the hero himself dreamed of a large family. He wanted at least five children. But fate acted differently. Very sad for their family.

Lev Leshchenko, personal life, biography

Once again, let's go through the personal life of the singer. The hero's first marriage failed. But the second one became very happy for him. He had never looked at another woman in thirty years of marriage. As the artist himself says, every time he falls in love with his wife like the first. The only thing he really regrets is that he never had a child. Lev Leshchenko, personal life, the biography of the singer is very rich interesting facts. And different stories.

Family of Lev Leshchenko

Unfortunately, our hero did not succeed in creating a full-fledged family. But the singer has no regrets. He is happy with his wife. As Lev Leshchenko says, the family for him is his beloved wife. And he doesn't need more. Soon he led his offspring.

A couple of years later, this theater became a state theater. For many years, our hero has been teaching at the institute. Among his pupils there are a huge number of celebrities. Over ten records have been released. In 1999, it appeared personal star. He even managed to write his own book about himself and his predecessors. He even has a medal for services to the fatherland, fourth degree. These are not all awards and achievements. There are many of them. To this day, he is loved and respected, and is considered an authority in the music world.

Leshchenko Lev Valeryanovich is a man whose name speaks for itself. Because he conquered Russian and Soviet citizens with his magnificent baritone. At the same time, it often turns out that both grandmothers and their granddaughters admired the singer. Since Leshchenko's talent and his subtle humor does not fade over the years.

Lev Valeryanovich received the title of Honored Artist of Russia, since his contribution to the development of the culture of our country is simply colossal. At the same time, the man was not a representative of the golden youth, he simply set goals for himself and achieved their fulfillment at any cost.

Every person from kindergarten, knows and loves the heroic song - the memory of all generations - "Victory Day", which Lev Leshchenko has been performing for several decades.

Many fans sincerely would like to clarify many of the physical parameters of their pet, including his height, weight, age. How old is Lev Leshchenko is also not a universal secret for a long time, since anniversary baritone programs come out with enviable regularity.

Lev Valeryanovich was born in 1942, so he was already seventy-two years old. Lev Leshchenko: a photo in his youth and now does not confirm his passport age, since he is fit, active, handsome and youthful.

According to the sign of the Zodiac - Aquarius - Leshchenko has such character traits as inconstancy, dreaminess, mystery, activity, but the Eastern horoscope gave her the sign of a self-confident, hardworking, stable, persistent, charismatic Horse.

Leshchenko Lev Valeryanovich is a real surname, since many people could not believe that a person could wear such sonorous data. As well as the fact that the man gave more than 10,000 concert programs and managed to record almost seven hundred songs.

Lev Leshchenko's height was one hundred and eighty centimeters, and his weight does not exceed sixty-seven kilograms. By the way, live great singer a long time, since his father lived to ninety-nine years of sober mind and bright memory.

Biography of Lev Leshchenko

The biography of Lev Leshchenko began from the moment he was born in the capital of our Motherland at a time when a terrible war was going on around the world. The boy's parents had nothing to do with the world of theater or music.

Father - Valerian Leshchenko - went through the entire Great Patriotic war, he served in the State Security Committee and the border troops. By the way, before the war, he was educated at a gymnasium and worked as an ordinary accountant at a vitamin factory.

Mother - Claudia Leshchenko - did not live long in this world, because she died a year after giving birth.

Sister - Yulia Leshchenko - was born four years after the marriage of their father and mother, nothing more is known about her.

Sister - Valentina Leshchenko - half-father, because she was born by a stepmother, to whom the guy was always grateful. The difference between brother and sister was seven years, but the guys were incredibly friendly. Valya received a higher education, gave birth to a daughter, Valeria, and got married, but Leo constantly helped her in everything. At the same time, last year the woman was hospitalized due to complications from a cold, so she is undergoing rehabilitation.

Little Leva grew up without a mother, so his father attached him to his own border unit, while Adjutant Andrei Fisenko became a nanny for the son of the regiment. The four-year-old wore a uniform, walked on army skis and marched with the soldiers.

After that, he settled in Sokolniki, where he went to school and several circles at the same time, because in addition to vocals he also studied in a brass band, choir, recitation circle and swam in the pool. Moreover, at the insistence of the choirmaster, Lev began to engage only in vocals, abandoning the rest of the classes.

The highlight of Leshchenko's performances was the performance of Leonid Utesov's songs not only at school concerts, but also at citywide events. But the guy failed to enter the theater school, so he worked either at the factory as a mechanic, or as a stage worker at the Bolshoi Theater. At the request of his father, he did not get to the Morflot, but to the tank troops, and even to the group of Soviet troops in Germany. There he continued to sing, led amateur performances and concerts, and after the service he entered GITIS and began to serve at the Operetta Theater, touring as part of a concert brigade throughout the USSR.

In 1971, Leshchenko became a member of the State Radio and Television Soviet Union as a soloist, as part of which he constantly became the laureate of most competitions. Among the patriotic hits that have been recorded since 1975, one can most certainly include “Victory Day”, “The Ballad of Mother”, “In dazzling white”, “Where have you been”, “Let's talk”, “For that guy”, Nightingale Grove, Meadow Grasses, Old Maple, Goodbye, Moscow!

In addition to his solo career, Leshchenko performed compositions in duets with Tolkunova and Senchina, the Megapolis and Lyceum groups, Alsou and Jasmine. He starred in the films "Yurkin Dawns", "Old Songs about the Main", "Doomed to Become a Star", "The Way to Saturn", "Looking for the Dawn".

Lev Valeryanovich has written several memoirs, he is a prominent public figure, who in parallel is a corporate poet for several industrial giants.

Leshchenko is fond of football and tennis, basketball and swimming, and also enjoys collecting parodies of himself. He does charity work, helping orphanages, kids with handicapped and gifted basketball players.

Personal life of Lev Leshchenko

The personal life of Lev Leshchenko has always been under the gun of his friends, fans and ill-wishers. At the same time, the man was always considered prominent and talented, therefore he was known as the first groom in the USSR.

By the way, Leshchenko often said that he loves absolutely all women, since performing for them is eroticism, a kind of mystery and the spread of such vibes from which new fans are born.

For a long time there were rumors that Lev Valeryanovich in different years of his life had affairs with his partners, but he calls Tolkunova, Chursina, Sviridova, Apina and Koroleva his mothers and sisters on the stage, but far from mistresses or spouses. Although he often says that he falls in love with every stage partner, considering them his favorites.

Family of Lev Leshchenko

The family of Lev Leshchenko was unusual, since he lost his mother early and almost never saw his father, since he served in the KGB. At the same time, the boy was raised by his father's colleagues, that is, he was considered the real son of the regiment. By the way, Leva's only friend was his paternal grandfather Andrei, who loved music and often played an old violin for his grandson. He infected his grandson with singing, as well as love for Leonid Utyosov, whose songs grandfather and Leva sang in a duet.

By the way, the Leshchenko family is quite old, since it originates from a great-grandfather-serf who became a baker in the White Church. Leva had a stepmother - Marina Leshchenko, who raised him and put him on his feet, so the man is still grateful to her.

Children of Lev Leshchenko

The children of Lev Leshchenko never appeared in this world, although the man was happily married twice. At the same time, the man officially said that he never wanted children, because he was busy with a career.

However, his ex-wife Alla Abdalova, against the backdrop of a frank conversation, admitted that she was pregnant from Leshchenko, but had several abortions from him, because the singer never said that he loved her, and the woman wanted to be sure in the future.

Alla claims that she now regrets this, because she could have given birth to a son, and then also two twin sons from her husband, if she had consulted with him and talked heart to heart.

At the same time, the second wife Irina was much younger than her chosen one, but she had problems with women's health, so she could not give her soulmate the kids he dreamed of.

The ex-wife of Lev Leshchenko - Alla Abdalova

The ex-wife of Lev Leshchenko - Alla Abdalova - appeared in the life of the singer when he was in his third year, and she was in her fifth year at GITIS. At the same time, Alla was a year older than the guy, since he entered the university after the army.

The guys met in a dance class when Leo said that Alla or Albina is incredibly similar to the singer's niece. At the same time, the girl asked for a visit to look at little Lera, and her stepmother decided that this was his future wife.

After classes, Leo accompanied Alla home, and then she saw him off, and then everything was repeated again, often until dark. Before legitimizing relations in 1966, young people lived together for seven years, but not in the same house, but secluded either with Leo's parents or with Albina's sister.

The guys organized their own ensemble "Old Maple", and many of Leshchenko's songs were completely performed with the light hand of his wife, for example, he did not like "Victory Day" so much that he flatly refused to perform it in public until Albina asked for it.

The woman was not only the wife of the artist, but also recorded with him in a duet the compositions “Old Maple”, “Yurkin Dawns”, “Song of Young Neighbors”. She worked for a long time at the Mosconcert, retired, and now lives alone, sings in the temple and abuses alcohol.

At the same time, in a few interviews, she says that she herself let go of her beloved Leshchenko in 1976, since he began to cheat on her with the younger Ira Bagudina. She had not seen her husband for three decades, even on television.

Lev Leshchenko's wife - Irina Leshchenko

Lev Leshchenko's wife, Irina Leshchenko, came from a family of diplomats, she lived in Germany all her childhood and received a higher economic education at the University of Budapest.

At the same time, young people met in 1976 in Sochi, where Ira spent her holidays. However, the girl lived in Hungary, so she did not know who Leo was, so she mistook him for a mafia leader. Leshchenko admitted that the beautiful Irishka, who was twelve years younger than him, became his love at first sight.

For several weeks, the man did not return home, but when he returned, he saw the suitcase collected by his wife. The marriage was concluded in 1978, and Irina made some sacrifices. For example, she moved from Budapest to the USSR, and also changed her occupation.

Irina Leshchenko worked for a long time as an assistant director in her husband's famous theater.

Instagram and Wikipedia Lev Leshchenko

Instagram and Wikipedia of Lev Leshchenko exist in the official mode, since all the information from them is up-to-date and reliable. The fact is that from a rather extensive article on Wikipedia, you can clarify data on childhood, education, the origin of the family, hobbies, training at GITIS. There is also information about creativity, discography, filmography, books, parodies and social activities Lev Valeryanovich.

How old is Lev Leshchenko? It seems that he is forever young - the artist changes so little over the years that he looks at us from the stage. He is recognized by his stately figure, a special manner of movement and, of course, by his magical, as if voluminous voice, which seems to float from the stage and makes the whole hall freeze. Meanwhile the singer has already celebrated his 75th birthday.

Biography of Lev Leshchenko

Lev Leshchenko was born on February 5, 1942. His mother died early, while his father, on the contrary, lived to be 99 years old. In 1948, he brought his stepmother to the house, and soon their daughter Valentina was born, who became Leo's half-sister.

Valerian Leshchenko was a military man, and little Leo grew up like a real "son of the regiment" - he wore a sutured in height military clothes, ate in a soldier's canteen, went to the shooting range. The love for music was instilled in the boy by his grandfather Andrei, who never misses an opportunity to play the violin for his grandson.

Lev Valeryanovich's childhood passed in Sokolniki. He became interested in creativity, was a member of the choir at the House of Pioneers, studied in a brass band, but gradually focused on vocals. It didn’t work out to enter a theater university right after school, and for some time the future pop star worked as an ordinary stage worker in Bolshoi Theater, and after that he completely left as a mechanic at the factory.

The draft into the army broke out, and Leshchenko, following the advice of his father, went to serve in the tank troops. There, his singing data was fully appreciated, and since 1962, Lev performed with a military song and dance ensemble, where he soon became a soloist. This practice allowed him to enter GITIS after completing his service. Although they took him with reluctance - he was not impressed - however, a year later they recognized him - not in vain. His low baritone and distinctive timbre gradually became calling card aspiring singer. Already in his second year, Leshchenko worked at the Operetta Theater and the Mosconcert, and spent his summer holidays touring with concert teams throughout the Soviet Union.

Musical career of Lev Leshchenko

Lev Leshchenko's career was on the rise. Soloist-vocalist of the Moscow Operetta Theater and USSR State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, winner All-Union Competition 1970 among pop artists, participant and laureate of international competitions, holder of the title of Honored (1977), and then People's Artist of the RSFSR (1980), holder of the Order of the Badge of Honor (1985) and Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 4th degree (2002) . In the 1980s, he was already a recognized authority on the Soviet stage, whose name is known in every home. Leshchenko, Pugacheva, Kobzon - perhaps not a single holiday program on television could do without these artists.

Since 1990, Lev Leshchenko has become the head of " Music agency"- the theater of variety performances, which is mainly engaged in organizing concerts, creative evenings, and various performances. The singer has released many of his own albums (first records, then CDs), his compositions are included in numerous collections. For a long time he has been collaborating with Vladimir Vinokur, and their half-joking duet " Vovchik and Levchik"Very fond of the audience.

He led the artist and teaching activities, helping to appear in the light of such performers as Katya Lel, Marina Khlebnikova and others. Today he does not appear on stage so often, but in February 2017 he gave a big concert, thus celebrating his 75th anniversary.

Personal life of Lev Leshchenko, family and children

Lev Leshchenko was married twice, with his first wife, Alla Abdalova, he lived for 10 years, from 1966 to 1976. Being both people of creative professions (Abdalova is a theater artist and a singer), they often disagreed, quarreled, parted and reunited, and eventually divorced completely. By the way, songs sung by spouses duet were popular. Among the most famous are “Old Maple”, “The main thing, guys, is not to grow old with your heart”, “Song about Moscow”(“... I will never forget a friend if I made friends with him in Moscow”) It remains to add that the children of Lev Leshchenko from his first marriage is a myth that sometimes slips in the yellow press. They had no children, although they could be born. Alla had an abortion several times.

marriage with Irina Bagudina, which was 12 years younger than the groom, took place in 1978. Soon after the wedding, it turned out that Lev Leshchenko and his wife did not have to dream of children - as a result of an unsuccessful pregnancy, the woman forever lost the opportunity to have children. But this did not cause the separation, Leshchenko and his second wife Irina are still together.

Today, many people call Lev Leshchenko a "corporate" artist. His "Music Agency" cooperates with Russian Railways, Lukoil and Gazprom, organizes concerts in which not only artists under Leshchenko's "patronage" participate, but also many others. He is the honorary president of the basketball club in Lyubertsy and is on the Ukrainian "sanctions" list as an artist who is forbidden to visit this country.

Lev Leshchenko: “The wife said: “I'm sorry ...” - and brought two suitcases to the landing”

Lev Leshchenko: “The wife said:“ Sorry ... ”and carried two suitcases to the landing”

Interview with a pop singer and his first wife

Lev Leshchenko-Photo: Ivan Kobyakov

- Lev Valeryanovich, you are associated with the image of the winner: the main performer of the song "Victory Day", a composition about the Olympic bear, which has become a symbol of sporting achievements ...

- I personally do not consider myself a winner, but myself as a representative of my generation - perhaps, yes. Based on how much we - the children of wartime - had to overcome everything in life ... I was born in February 1942 in Sokolniki. At that time, the Germans stood in the Moscow region and a fierce battle was going on for Moscow. Maternity hospitals did not work, and therefore my mother gave birth to me right in the apartment - they lived in a two-story house, still a merchant's building. Two grandmothers-neighbors took birth ... Dad, returning from the Finnish war, was sent to serve in the NKVD. During the Great Patriotic War, with the rank of captain, he was deputy chief of staff of a special regiment, they escorted to the front, providing security, military equipment- tanks, guns. Accordingly, almost all the time the father was on the road. But, returning to the place of deployment of his unit in the Moscow region, he always ran to us with gifts from the service ration.

parents - Valeryan Andreevich and Klavdia Petrovna (before the war) - Photo: from the personal archive of Lev Leshchenko

Family tradition says that by the time I was born, he managed to bring back a loaf of bread and a quarter of alcohol. The old women diluted the alcohol with water and rinsed me in this solution, after heating the room with a stove, which was done extremely rarely, although the cold at home was terrible - plus three or four degrees. I remember all the happy moments of my father's arrival from the front. It was always unexpected, at night: they woke me up, and I was fascinated to examine and feel his belt, pistol, shoulder straps, saber - then the officers still wore it. And food appeared in the house. And so we all lived on overcoming poverty and hunger. My older sister Yulia and I had a really hungry childhood, we always wanted to eat, but the stores were empty. But nothing, they survived. But my mother didn't survive.

Trouble came in September 1943. Something happened to my mother's throat - either cancer, or tuberculosis. And how to treat if there are no drugs? They didn’t save it, they buried it ... My grandmother, my mother’s mother, moved to us from Ryazan. But my father and grandmother began to have serious disagreements: she was a pious old woman and all the time strove to introduce me and my sister to the church, and dad, an NKVD member, an ideological communist, protested, of course. In the summer, when my grandmother and I went to her in Ryazan, she secretly from my father baptized me there. Dad, when he found out about this, was in shock, and they completely quarreled ... Soon, my father moved our family to Bogorodskoye, where his unit was based, and we settled in my father's room in the officer's barracks. When I was four years old, a tunic and cap were specially made for me, and I became the son of a regiment.

My father's colleague and assistant, foreman Andrei Fesenko, looked after me - he and his father are from the same Ukrainian village. He cared about me so much, watched me so much that the nickname Sailor Chizhik stuck to him.

- Father was tough man?

- No, just the opposite, kind, modest and, I would say, somehow correct. Honesty, love for the motherland were not empty words for him. Dad was quite closed, he did not talk about military exploits. In general, he is extremely restrained in the manifestations of emotions, although he sometimes gets excited on holidays. Funny then he was like that, he amused everyone, he played: whether it was the piano, the guitar, the balalaika or the violin - it doesn’t matter, on any instrument he could pick up any melody by ear, despite the fact that he was self-taught. Just naturally so musical. Unlike me, by the way, who does not play any musical instrument.

When I was seven years old, my father got married and I had a foster mother. Soon another sister, Valya, was born. Marina Mikhailovna Sizova turned out to be a kind-hearted, caring, patient stepmother. She came to Moscow from the village of Ternovka, along the Volgograd road, entered the medical institute here, and when she got along with her father, she dropped out of school, because she had to raise three children. She died in 1981, so dad outlived his wife by 23 years, despite the fact that she was 20 years younger than him. Valeryan Andreevich was a long-liver with us, only half a year did not live to be a hundred years old. But according to the record on the tombstone, it still turns out a century: from 1904 to 2004 ...

What did you call your father's wife?

- Mom. The only time I met her was that she was pregnant. And I, a five-year-old boy, didn’t know what pregnancy was, and I was afraid of her, I was embarrassed to walk around, I kept thinking: “What a ridiculous fat aunt!” My ears hurt then, she went with me to the clinic, and I always tried to stay away from her ...

- In the post-war years there were a lot of homeless children, punks, criminal romance was in fashion. Has it affected you?

Of course, but especially close contact with this world, I was afraid. Still, I have a very developed instinct for self-preservation. And so, on trifles, of course, and spanked with the guys. I didn’t have a chance to steal, but there was enough hooliganism. We fought. But no stabbing. With this strictly - for the "pen", God forbid, if they find it, they beat me terribly. Although there were many who did. We arranged all sorts of tricks all the time. For example, they hung knockers on the windows: some kind of thing was pinned to the rope, and twitching began - there was a knock at the windows, people looked out, but no one was there. It was also in vogue to put caps or matches under the rails: the tram rides, tu-tu-tu, and suddenly - once - an explosion, a click. Funny. Lighters were sawn out of keys and stuffed with gunpowder. They played at the wall with coins for money, at chizhik. They skated through the streets - they fastened "snow maidens" to felt boots, in the hands of a hook, you cling to the car body and rush straight along the pavement at the risk of your life. Well, games were in use - rounders, kaza-ki-robbers, volleyball in the yard ...

I smoked for the first time in summer holidays before second grade. I was brought to my relatives in the village, and there the local boys gave me a hand-rolled cigarette with the strongest shag. His breath caught so that his eyes literally popped out on his forehead, he could barely breathe. Well, in Moscow, somewhere from the third grade, they smoked with the guys already specifically. I drank hard for the first time in the fourth grade. Someone whistled a bottle of vodka from the house, the six of us climbed under some kind of carriage and ... after a while everyone was drunk in the trash. How I got home and what happened next, I do not remember. And from the fifth grade, we were already chirping with adults. Honestly. Let's say May Day. Everyone who lives in the yard takes food, vodka out into the street, all this is placed on a wooden table - and the spree went. “Ah, and the boys are here? So go to the table, let's wave a little bit, it won't hurt ... "Well, who will refuse a treat? So we joined the feast.

In 1953, when I was in the sixth grade, our family moved to Voikovskaya, to a huge 23-under-------drive-- Stalin's house. If in Sokol-ni-kakh we lived five of us in one 14-meter room, with a bunch of neighbors in a communal apartment, then here we got two rooms in a "treshka" with a bathroom and hot water. And even with a phone. Miracle! Yulia and I settled in one of our rooms, Valya and her parents in the other. I immediately went to the Dynamo club and started playing basketball. There was another innovation: if before I went to a boy's school, here we were united with girls. Of course, the first love immediately covered me - well, maybe not love yet, but already some serious feelings for a girl from the seventh grade. I remember writing notes to her. We gathered with the guys in the yard, played the guitars, sang, and I shot bullets rolled out of paper from a slingshot into her open windows on the second floor. It was written something like: “Sveta, come out, you good girl!" And I anxiously waited for her appearance. From time to time she came out, I, inspired by hope, held out my hand for a reply note, but ... each time she returned my bullets to me unopened. I was terribly worried. In the eighth grade, my feelings, however, already for another girl, were expressed more seriously: I accompanied her home, met her, we walked for a long time, but it never came to kissing.

Where did your passion for the stage come from?

I sang in the second grade. My voice suddenly appeared, and the music teacher, Lyudmila Andronikovna, began to take me to various musical groups - she showed me. I settled on the children's choir of the Falconer's House of Pioneers, where I then went for three years. Everyone gasped: “Oh, what a voice the boy has!” In the tenth grade, I began to sing in earnest. I bought all sorts of records - I especially liked the Italian tenors - I listened and sang. Although I had a strong baritone, which later, already at the institute, turned into a bass-baritone.

I went to GITIS to act, but failed. He went to work as a props at the Bolshoi Theater - he brought tables and chairs onto the stage. The atmosphere shocked me. At that time, Lemeshev was still singing there, Vishnevskaya, Milashkina were already singing ... It was incredibly interesting to listen to them, although I did not want to become an opera singer, I was fond of rock and roll, jazz, and I just had to get a vocal and acting education. The operetta department of GITIS, where musical theater actors were trained, was what you needed: vocals, acting, stage movement, stage speech. But on next year I was not accepted again. This time, dad said: “Go to a normal job and get ready for some normal university, otherwise you will completely forget the school curriculum.” And I went to work at the factory of physical devices. And where to study, I was already up to the lantern. I was going to do either with a friend in the exploration, or in the MAI, to be closer to home ... But still decided on a third attempt at GITIS. Finally passed the exam in the specialty. And then I heard: “We don’t have military department, and therefore you will still be taken into the army. So go serve it."

- Did you serve conditionally - in the ensemble?

It didn't take long for me to get there. First, he took a course for a young soldier for six months, then he served in a tank company in Germany - according to the full program: shooting, exercises, guns, tanks. I am a tanker, loader and gunner. It was 1961, a crisis in political relations - Cuba, the Caribbean, the world on the verge of a third world war. Tanks stand opposite each other on opposite sides of the Brandenburg Gate. Combat readiness number one has been declared, we are in our tank unit - it was located 80 km from East Berlin - we sleep in an embrace with machine guns. The resistance was strong. By the way, as I later found out, almost at the same time on the opposite side of Berlin, in its western part, Elvis Presley served. It's funny.

- I served in a tank unit - 80 km from East Berlin - photo: from a personal archive

Army life was hard. At six o'clock rise, in any weather - cross on the parade ground. In a tunic, and even with a naked torso. You run away for half an hour - charging. Rain, puddles - it doesn't matter, do push-ups ... Recovered - marching in formation. Leshchenko, sing along! This is where conflict often occurs. There are no frosts in Germany, min-nus two or three degrees is normal for winter. But for the voice and such a temperature is death. I say: "I can't sing in the cold." And to the foreman, Khokhol, at least something: “What's the matter?! Pa-a-why?!” And then unprintable - tra-ta-ta! I explain once again: "I want to become a professional artist, and for this I need to save my voice." - "Break down! Run march! And runs beside me. But it’s hard to run across me, after all, I was a rather athletic guy, a basketball player ...

In the end, I went up to the wife of the regimental commander. “Olga Vasilievna,” I say, “please explain to our company foreman so that he does not force me to sing in the cold.” She was horrified: “How dare he! Yes, I him! In short, I was sympathetic. And they didn't bother me anymore.

One day I was seen. At a review evening dedicated to February 23, I was asked to sing "Buchenwald alarm" together with a song and dance ensemble. The applause was wild, I was called for an encore, and ... I became the soloist of this ensemble. He served a total of three years. They persuaded me to stay on extra urgent: “Agree, don’t be a fool! You will receive 450 marks.” But no, I had a dream - GITIS ... In which I was finally enrolled.

- Something you do not tell anything about matters of the heart. Or were you only enough for the army, study and creativity?

— No, there was also time for love. After a concert in an army hospital, he met, and then became close friends with a nurse from Lugansk named Larisa. On weekends, she came to my unit. We walked with her, there were very passionate feelings, but there was nowhere to meet normally - not in the barracks. Then she went home to enter the medical institute. We corresponded. Gradually, the letters began to come less and less, and finally I stopped receiving them altogether. On my short vacation I was going to go to her - I wanted to meet my parents, discuss the wedding. But just before leaving, I accidentally got into a conversation with her friend, who served with us under a contract, and she told me that Larisa was getting married to a guy who, it turns out, she had liked for a long time. From such a cruel blow, I could not recover for a long time ...

And I got married when I was in my third year. Alla Abdalova was a student of the fifth, was considered the most talented and promising at the university. Classical singer, with a beautiful deep mezzo-soprano, a student of Maria Petrovna Maksakova. She was taken to the trainee group of the Bolshoi Theater. But it so happened that because of me she was attached to the stage. When at the beginning of my third year I was invited to play at the Operetta Theater, I told the artistic director of our course, director Ansimov: “Georgy Pavlovich, I will work for you, just take one more girl.” Not that he set a condition, but he asked very insistently. They took Alla, and she worked there for two years.

Alla Abdalova

And then they began to invite me to the famous pop orchestra conducted by Utyosov, they gave me a rate of as much as 250 rubles - a lot of money at that time. In the theater I had a salary of 110 rubles. But Ansimov, when I came to him to quit, objected: “No, I will not let you go. What orchestra? You are a theater artist, you have roles here, albeit episodic ones for now, but you will soon get the main one. I mumbled: “I want to sing…” And yet I did not go over.

Alla Abdalova

And Alla, whom I pulled with me to Utyosov, on the contrary, remained there, however, with a much more modest salary ... Literally six months later, GITIS teacher Anna Kuzminichna Matyushina (I call her my creative mother), the singer who led the vocal studio at the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, said me: “Lev, what are you doing in an operetta? Better come to the radio, there are six orchestras, you will sing with them in all musical genres, tour. And I wound up on the radio, where I worked as a soloist for ten years. During this time, he covered the entire opera repertoire, romances, recorded 350 songs. And they paid good money. One “but” ... My teacher was right when she said: “Never marry an artist. A struggle of ambitions, squabbles, conflicts, scandals will begin. So it happened with Alla.

- Why did you decide to get married? It was possible to meet.

- I don’t know myself, well, it seems that I need to get married, and I got married. From the moment Alla and I dispersed into different organizations, life began to breed us - we endlessly wound each other on our tours. At the same time, I became more and more popular, and she, with all her unconditional talent, remained in the shadows. Which, of course, hurt her. There were conflicts, reproaches, violent quarrels. The situation was heating up. The explosion occurred in 1974 after my one and a half month trip to Japan with some kind of ensemble. Reconciliation was already difficult for us, but here the disagreements reached their peak. I arrived, and it began: “You only think about yourself, cheated on me there, twisted novels!” It was already simply unbearable, my nerves could not stand it, I felt that I would not last long. And Alla and I parted ways. True, the following year they nevertheless tried to glue the relationship again. But you can't step into the same river twice. Honestly, creative people rarely get along. At the heart of the problems is jealousy - both creative and human.

Alla Abdalova and Lev Leshchenko perform the song "Old Maple"

- So jealousy, probably, was not unreasonable? You are handsome, popular, wealthy, surrounded by a huge number of women, it's hard not to succumb to temptations.

- I won’t lie, I’m not a monk, but a normal man, and not blind, which means I paid attention to attractive women. Moreover, in fact, there were crowds of fans - they hunted down, guarded under the door, gave flowers, declared their love. But I never cultivated it. He was neither a womanizer, nor a Don Juan, nor a lustful voluptuary. For each skirt was not dragged.

- Although the acting party life contributes to this so much ...

— Yes you that?! What parties?! Let's say that the radio program Schumann Romances or Arias of the World Classics is scheduled for tomorrow. E-mine! And I know them through the stump deck. Here at ten in the morning I leave home by metro and go to a lesson with an amazing teacher Peter Ivanovich Selivanov - to learn compositions with him by the next day. And from there - to record on the radio. And in the evening - a concert. Where is the time for a spree? Moreover, at concerts, at first I was very jittery.

I remember that I was terribly worried at my very first performance from the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company in St. Petersburg, in the Oktyabrsky Concert Hall. There was a radio festival, and I performed together with Zykina and Belobragina - I sang in Rodion Shchedrin's cantata "Lenin in the Heart of the People" the aria of the Red Army soldier Belmas, who stood guard when the leader died. The words were heartbreaking: "I am a former farm laborer, in 1917 I quit working for a kulak and joined the ranks of the Bolshevik Party ..." But that's nothing. Lyusya Zykina had to perform "People's Lament" - a piece for 40 minutes; and Lyuda Belobragina sang about the button she sewed on Lenin's coat...

There were six orchestras on the radio then, and I sang with them all. I was torn to pieces, so what kind of parties are there, it was generally forgotten for ten years. Only occasionally, on holidays. In addition, I have toured a lot. He represented the country at international festivals: he became a laureate both in Polish Sopot and at the Golden Orpheus in Bulgaria.

- So how was your current wife able to win the heart of such an enviable man, what singled out Irina from all your seductresses?

— On the contrary, it was I who won Irina's heart. In 1976 he was on tour in Sochi, where we met. By chance. More precisely, my friend, who met her friend, introduced us. And, imagine, I fell in love with Ira almost immediately. It happens like this: I saw it, and inside it’s like a signal - mine! As if someone whispered from above: this woman was sent to you, destined, she is your destiny. First of all, Ira attracted me visually - she still looks good, but then she was a rare beauty: a spectacular brunette, however, for my taste is too thin, but most importantly, some kind of peace and unpretentious love of life emanated from her. And she was unusually feminine - impeccable style, charm, a little slyness, an insinuating voice, cheerful sparks in her eyes. I was also struck by her indifferent attitude towards my person. Which was incredible at the time. It turned out that she did not know me at all, since she studied at the University of Budapest as a diplomat. That is, for four years the girl lived in a completely different world. Well, show me some popular singer from Mongolia. Who is he for me? None. So I was a nobody for Ira. The fact that Leshchenko is a singer known throughout the Union was told to her by a friend when Irina asked who I was and why everyone around me was curling up: weren't they mafiosi? So, Ira saw in me not a variety marvel, but ordinary person. And in addition to her attractive external data, she also intrigued me with her mysteriousness: when I asked where she lives, what she does, she evaded answering. And, as you know, a secret in a woman for a man is a destructive arrow. In short, I liked her, and I began to court her ... But a day later, Ira and her friend flew to Moscow on some business.

- And what, you only managed to get to know each other during these couple of days?

- We managed a lot: to get to know each other, chat, have dinner, drink, kiss ... In short, a stormy romance began. And I rushed after her to Moscow. And she didn't even leave me a phone number, let alone an address. Okay, it was a friend's number. I called and asked: "Where are you?" She quietly replies: "I have Ira." Well, I'm going there, to them - on Lesnaya. I'm coming. Luxurious three-room apartment. A friend says: "You can stay, we have a room." I spent three days there. Without going home, I took the car from the garage, and the girls and I played tricks on it. Then Ira had to return to Budapest, she switched to the fifth year. I saw her off and went home. Internally, he was already ready for a break with Alla, and he did not keep himself waiting. When I rang the doorbell, my wife opened it slightly with the words: "Sorry, now ..." - and carried two suitcases out onto the landing. I said: “Thank you very much for not having a scandal. You have acted wisely. I sincerely wish you all the best." He took his suitcases, got into the car and left. Although - well, this is so, by the way - the three-room apartment in which we lived was mine ... I came to my parents on Tishinka: “Mom, my wife and I broke up. I will live with you until I rent an apartment. She wondered, “Why? Valyushka lives with us, and you live, for God's sake, here's a room for you. And I stayed. But I didn’t go there much, mostly I went on tour.

Irina and Leo 1978: from the personal archive

“Did you sort out that apartment somehow?”

- Well, yes - I left it to my wife. And the apartment, and then drove the car. He left everything. Although later I couldn’t get myself a new one, they refused me, they said: “You already have a three-room apartment.” And I really needed to live somewhere with Irochka. When she came on vacation, I took her with me on tour - to Novosibirsk, to St. Petersburg, and we lived in hotels. Actually, she planned to stay in Hungary. She has two languages ​​​​in her assets - Hungarian and English, and, of course, she could get a good job in some international organization. But I worked on it for a whole year - I wanted her to return. Called her at the dorm every evening. I learned the phrase in a mixture of Hungarian and English: “Please call Irina Bagudina from room 13”, waited for her to pick up the phone, and ... we talked for hours. The first total bill for telephone conversations was some kind of crazy - five and a half thousand, and this was the cost of a Zhiguli at that time. Mom, seeing such figures, was speechless, only threw up her hands: “Son, you are crazy.” And the truth is madness ... Strange, right? I tell you, I didn’t have any problems with women - they stood in crowds, you could choose any. But I wanted this one - Ira. I sought it for two years, one might say, won it. And he achieved his goal, pulled it out of Hungary. He said: “Let's start living together with you. Let's get married." Since there was no apartment, we lived on a rented apartment for a year. Moreover, Ira's parents have strict rules, and every evening she came home to spend the night. She entered graduate school here, toured with me on tour. Finally, I bought an apartment, in July 1978 ---- yes, we signed and really began to live together ... Plus, to all other advantages, Ira turned out to be an impeccable hostess, a sorceress in her ability to create family comfort. Attentive, caring, understands everything correctly, cooks superbly. Until now, by the way, Ira does everything at home herself, with her own hands - she cooks, sews, decorates. She has the gift of God in this part.

So you understand what love is?

- In fact, this feeling is different: to the homeland, to the mother, to the neighbor, to the woman ... As for love in the family, it is probably the impossibility of living without each other. When you are constantly in a state of increased attention to your loved one, fear of losing him. Plus fluidity - a feeling of some kind of impassable mutual sympathy. And, of course, physical affection. This is where it all starts, this is where all relationships get mixed up. For me, Ira is everything. In all forms. A person to whom I have no complaints. Imagine none. I know that sometimes others don’t like something in their wife, it’s annoying. And Ira and I have been together for 36 years now, and we are incredibly comfortable. Although, sometimes we shout at each other, especially when we sit down to play backgammon and she beats. Here I can boil, throw the chips. But we never cross the line.

- Do you have any regrets?

Only that we don't have children. At one time, they somehow didn’t think about it, I dangled, Ira didn’t strain me in this regard, she understood that I was making a career. And then some problems arose, insoluble ... But what to do. You know, I don’t grieve much about this, because I have a charming environment - many relatives, nephews, godchildren, so there is someone to take care of ...

Family: wife - Irina Bagudina (married - Leshchenko)

Education: graduated from GITIS

Career: worked as a props at the Bolshoi Theater, as a fitter at a factory of physical equipment. He was an artist of the Moscow Operetta Theater, a soloist of the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company. Laureate of domestic and international competitions. Head of the theater of variety performances "Music Agency". Performer of many popular songs, including: "Victory Day", "Don't Cry, Girl", "Nightingale Grove", "Farewell!", "Parents' House", "Gravity of the Earth ...". People's Artist of the RSFSR

Lev Leshchenko lost his sons - twins

interview with Alla Abdalova - the first wife of Lev Leshchenko

Lev LESCHENKO is rightly considered the most faithful husband of the national stage. For 30 years he has been married to his wife Irina. Few people know that his first wife was the singer Albina ABDALOVA. Fortune did not smile at the talented performer of romances. She is single and lives on a meager pension. The correspondent of "Express newspaper" found her. Albina Alexandrovna told what prevented the outstanding singer from becoming truly happy.
Maria SVETLOV

I tried to arrange a meeting with Albina Abdalova for three years. In an iron voice, she politely refused. But this time, something broke in her. She willingly supported the telephone conversation and unexpectedly agreed to meet.
... Trying to walk smoothly, she left the entrance. She held a photograph in her hands. “This is me when I was young. She was like that when we broke up with Leva, ”she handed me a picture, as if justifying herself for her current unpresentable appearance. On June 19, she turned 67 years old. Smiling guiltily, she doused me with a slight fumes.

I'm sorry, I drank a little, - she apologized, bashfully covering her mouth with her hand. -
I have almost no teeth now.
Calling on the phone, I asked for a visit, but Albina Aleksandrovna did not succumb to any persuasion.
“My house is a mess,” she admitted. Therefore, we had to talk in the yard, on a bench.
- With Leva we lived in the next entrance, in a three-room apartment. Our first apartment is a kopeck piece in Chertanovo. From the radio committee, where Leva worked, they built a cooperative. Of course, we didn’t have our own money - my sister helped. Later we moved here, to Sokolniki, our friend contributed. In addition, Leva was already a laureate of the Golden Orpheus. He left me, as befits a real man - with one suitcase. And why do I need one three rooms? I exchanged for a two-room apartment. I wanted to show you photos where we are together - young, beautiful. But they got stuck somewhere, I can't find them. I removed them away so as not to poison the soul.
Her eyes reddened, she took off her glasses and sobbed like an offended child.
- When Leva left, I thought he would take our pictures as a keepsake. But no, I didn't take a single photo.
I had to shoot a cigarette for the interlocutor. As she lit a cigarette, she calmed down a bit and started reminiscing.

Love to Heaven

We studied together at GITIS at the operetta department. He is two courses younger, although I am a year older than Lyova, he just entered after the army. The girls were delighted: what a handsome man appeared! He also had curls. For some reason, he was embarrassed and straightened them. But what he lisped - he did not complex and did not work with speech therapists. Thought he was good enough.
Once Leva looked into the dance class. I look - he looks at me point-blank. I'm not timid. After class, she came up and asked: “What’s the matter?” He replied that I was very similar to his niece. I was not taken aback: "Let's take her to her and show her, I'll see if you're lying." We arrived in Khimki, to his home. And for sure: I’m the spitting image of my niece!
Levin's stepmother took our visit very seriously, she decided that since Lyova had brought home a girl, it meant a bride.
- Once I come to class, and he is standing in front of the audience with a bouquet of daisies, - continues Abdalova. - It's my birthday. Of all the flowers, I love daisies. He took my arm and led me to the front garden near GITIS. He sat down on a bench and took out a bottle of wine. Then the guys still ran to the store ... I still can’t stand sweet wine. By the way, at a party I always had to drink for two. Leva sips a little, and he has such diction that he can’t make out anything, one hiss.

Since then, Leva and Alla have been walking each other home after class. First, he took her to Karbyshev Boulevard, then she took him to the Voykovskaya metro station. Then again he is hers.
Somehow they were so escorted that it was too late for Alla to return. He invited the girl to spend the night with him.
- He said: "Don't think anything bad: I have a father, mother and sister at home." The family, of course, were in a deep sleep. Then he asked me: “Al, is it true, we are then for the first time?” And I was fooling around, no, I don’t remember something.
- Was it your first adult love?
- No, before Leva I had men, and Leva had women. We lived with him for seven years before registration. We met secretly - sometimes with my sister, then with his parents. Lyova once told me: “We didn’t sleep with you, except in heaven!” That is, everywhere!
- ?!
- It's really a miracle if you are a man at any moment ... even the wrong one! There are people around, but I feel: he wants. And he should get it. And I want it too. That is, we are tuned to the same wave ... - Albina Aleksandrovna took a deep puff on her cigarette, sighed: - After Leva, I didn’t allow myself anything like that. After all, you can lose your head only with your beloved man.

Failed father

Once Lev Valerianovich complained that he did not have a chance to raise children. You have not given birth. The second time he married a woman younger than himself. And this marriage is also fruitless ...
- If you are hinting that something is wrong with Lev Valerianovich, then you are mistaken! He is fine with this. And I was not barren, I had to have several abortions from him.
-What for?
- Yes, he sometimes said that it would be necessary to give birth to children. But in reality, everything turned out differently. Having become pregnant, I thought for a long time what to do. I was haunted by doubts whether we would be together in the future. I asked him: “Do you love me? If yes, then I will give birth. He didn't answer me. So I went to the midwife. Another time, she flew in again, again I ask him what to do. And he is not up to it. He came from Japan, he has impressions ... He muttered something, like, do as you like. Foolishly, perhaps, I asked the doctor which one of me had been scraped out. She says, "Boy." I didn’t tell my husband that we would have had a son. Then she already went for abortions, without consulting. Once the doctor told me after the operation: “Alla, you could have two great boys. Twins". Like I was scalded. I barely made it home. I come and see: Leva collapsed in an armchair, chattering on the phone with Slava Dobrynin. And Slava, I'll tell you, is still that woman walker. I hear they agree to hang out with the girls. And Leva at the same time smiles as if nothing had happened, and also asks me: “What are you, old woman?” I answered him: "Do what you want." But in general, Leva was not a goon, I never found him with anyone. Before Irina, his current wife, he never cheated on me with anyone. He is a decent person.

Attractive man

“Many women liked Leva, but not only women,” Abdalova laughed good-naturedly, remembering a funny story.
1972 was a real breakthrough for Lev Leshchenko. He won the Golden Orpheus in Bulgaria, then received an invitation to participate in a competition in Sopot, Poland.

Alla and Leva lived in poverty. Lev Valerianovich did not have suitable clothes. Someone advised to turn to fashion designer Vyacheslav Zaitsev. The couturier invited the singer to come to the atelier for a fitting.
- Have you noticed that Lev Valerianovich's ass is so ... well, not quite, as it should be for a peasant. In general, the dream of pederasts, - Abdalova giggles mildly. - The first time he was caught by homosexuals in the toilet at the operetta theater. I look, my man flies out of the latrine all white: “I almost killed just now!” I ask: "Faggot, or what?" And I joke: “Nothing surprising, you have a butt oh-oh-oh, I don’t have one.” So the fashion designer also appreciated it. Lyova persuaded me to go along, he always insisted that I be present at his business conversations, because he is shy. But at that time I did not agree. And then I look: the husband jumps out from Zaitsev, trembling already with indignation. Immediately he declares to me: “I will not go to him again!”
Leshchenko had to go to Sopot in his wife's trouser ensemble. Red wool double-breasted suit with elasticated pants. According to Abdalova, he still hangs in her closet like a memory.
- Edita Piekha could not resist and quipped, what was Levochka doing? And I answered: “In your negligee, Edita Stanislavovna!” Abdalova laughs.
Even after two victories at the prestigious Soviet years festivals, Leshchenko was not at all torn apart by the organizers of the concerts. Abdalova, according to her, tried to help her husband, using her connections. And even the crown song "Victory Day", he, as Abdalova says, sang with her help.
- Mark Fradkin and his wife treated me very sincerely. I often visited them at home, and tried to take Lyova with me. Once Mark called David Tukhmanov and recommended Lev to him as a performer. David brought "Victory Day". Leva did not like the song at first. I felt that this is what I need. He winced, but I managed to convince him.

Gave it up without a fight

Albina Alexandrovna fell silent and picked up a bouquet of flowers that I gave her.
- These are the ones Leva gave me. I have always believed him. And he deceived me. I immediately felt that he had a woman on the side and said: “I need you all. Once you have another - go away. And then she filed for divorce. He himself would never have decided to break up. That was stupid!
He said that a friend was going to introduce him to Irina, his current wife, but fate got ahead of him: they accidentally ran into each other in the elevator. I know this friend. This is Fima Zuperman. In those years, he was a famous card sharper. Fima led a nocturnal lifestyle. He came to our house in the evening and stayed until the morning. I could not stand it, I drove everyone, because in the morning Leve either went to the recording, then to the concert, and he did not get enough sleep. Fima got angry and somehow threatened: “You don’t like my company, so I’ll divorce you from Leva.” And divorced. He deliberately arranged everything, brought Leva and Irina together. And that Leva could not give birth to children ... But in spite of everything, I still love Leva and wish him only happiness.
Abdalova has not seen Lev Leshchenko for more than 30 years, since they broke up. Even on TV. She doesn't have it. She receives a small pension. Therefore, he moonlights - sings in temples.
I led Albina Alexandrovna to the entrance. At parting, she said:
- Call me tomorrow, please. And then after all, no one calls me except my sister.

REFERENCE
* Alla (Albina) ABDALOVA born June 19, 1941, performer of romances. She sang in the orchestra of Leonid Utyosov. Together with Lev Leshchenko, she recorded the songs "Old Maple", "Song of Young Neighbors", a song for the film "Yurkin Dawns". She worked at the Mosconcert, now retired.
*Lev LESCHENKO was born February 1, 1942. Since 1970, he has been a soloist of the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, after victories at the Golden Orpheus and in Sopot, he has been a laureate of the Lenin Komsomol Prize, since 1983 - National artist RSFSR, performer of many dozens of hits that have become classics of the national stage.
* Irina LESCHENKO (BAGUDINA) was born on May 15, 1954. Lev Valerianovich met her in 1976 in Sochi, where he toured, and Irina rested. She is the daughter of diplomats and graduated from the University of Budapest. They got married in 1978. There are no children in the marriage.

The first time Leshchenko got married at the very end of the 60s, when he was a 3rd year student at GITIS.

His wife was a graduate of the same institute, Alla Abdalova. Their first meeting took place in 1964.

It was then that freshman Leshchenko saw with his own eyes a student who was talked about at GITIS as one of the most capable.

And this was not an exaggeration: Alla's artistic director was the outstanding Soviet actor Lev Sverdlin, and she studied vocals with the legendary singer Maria Maksakova.

Lev Leshchenko recalls:

“By the will of fate, Alla and I were both among the speakers in a concert dedicated to the October holidays. I stood backstage and waited for my exit. And just in front of me, a charming girl, whom I had never seen before, performed with a romance. impressed me - a tall, slender blonde with large gray eyes and low, exhilarating mezzo-soprano. I ask a friend:

- Who is it?

And he was surprised:

- Haven't you heard of her? This is Alla Abdalova from the third year!

“Ah, so that’s what she is…” I say.

And the more I looked at her, the more the conviction grew in me that Alla is a truly outstanding person. She felt that special seriousness, which is not often found in young people. I was also struck by the way she was dressed. She was very good quality a beige dress that was obviously not of domestic production, sitting with great grace. The same grace distinguished her, apparently insanely expensive, imported shoes. As it turned out later, Alla could afford such a luxury for one simple reason - her sister was married to an adviser to the Soviet embassy in the UK, where, as you know, women's toilet items were not treated with such puritanical severity as we do ...

In a word, after that memorable evening, I began to look for opportunities to meet Alla. And when we once performed with a group of senior students in the October Hall of the House of Unions, I went backstage and began to cast a bait, if anyone was going towards the Krasnopresnenskaya metro station (the fact is that I found out in advance that Alla lives in the Khoroshevsky highway area ). So I asked to be her escort. He escorted her to the entrance, stood, talked, very touchingly said goodbye.

The next day was November 7th. All my relatives went to the dacha for the holidays, and I was left alone in our apartment on Voykovskaya. I began to think about how best to spend the holidays with the girl I liked, but the choice I had, due to the catastrophic lack of money, was, alas, not very great. Going to a restaurant or cafe was clearly out of the question, except for a movie. On the other hand, it was a sin to miss such an opportunity to be alone, without prying eyes, to take a closer look at each other, and, in the end, just have a good time. As a result, I invited Alla to visit me and, trying not to lose my face in terms of refreshments, even with my modest abilities, set a table for two. I didn't even forget the candles. By the way, it was in the light of candles that I noticed what beautiful legs she had.

Alla turned out to be a very calm, self-possessed, rather ironic person, that is, she had all the signs of true intelligence. I was already wondering if she comes from some kind of "professorial" surname ... But it turned out that her family was the most ordinary, working, and Alla herself comes from Podolsk. Her sister was a dancer in the Song and Dance Ensemble of the Soviet Army under the direction of Boris Alexandrov, where, in fact, her future diplomat husband noticed her ... In short, we spent a wonderful warm evening with Alla, after which our stormy student love began . When I moved to the third year, and she, respectively, to the fifth, we decided to get married ... "

After the wedding, the young people settled with their spouse's parents on Voykovskaya, since Leshchenko's older sister then also got married and vacated the living space. For several years, the young lived with their parents, however, when things went uphill for them - Leshchenko became a soloist of the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, Alla also performed on stage (though there were not enough stars from the sky), - they managed to save money and in 1971 bought a cooperative apartment in Chertanovo.

However, soon this option did not suit them either (it was too far to get from there to the city center), and in 1974 Leshchenko bought another cooperative - on 3rd Rybinskaya Street, in Sokolniki. But even there the couple did not live long: taking advantage of the opportunity that turned up, Alla's sister left with her husband to live abroad and left her luxurious apartment on Mira Avenue to her younger sister.

Meanwhile, by the time of the second move, the family affairs of our heroes were no longer going well. There were several reasons. The first is long separations. Since the young worked in different groups (Leshchenko served in the Operetta Theater, and Abdalova in the orchestra of Leonid Utesov), they went on tour to different time and saw each other very rarely. As a result, their life together turned, to put it mildly, into a kind of strange, conditional existence.

The second reason is creative jealousy. While Leshchenko became more and more popular every year, his wife, who showed great promise at GITIS, somehow got lost on the big stage. When her husband was already recognized as an all-Union star, Alla was considered a prima only within the Utesov orchestra.

The first serious conflict in the Leshchenko family broke out in January 1974. He then just returned from a tour of Japan, and he and his wife had a scandal on the very first day after the meeting. And grandiose.

And it all ended with the fact that Leshchenko collected his things and, having left the apartment on Prospekt Mira, moved to his place in Sokolniki. A year later, the couple seemed to have reconciled, and Abdalova even moved in with her husband. But, as it turned out later, it was a temporary reconciliation.

Lev Leshchenko is rightly considered the most faithful husband of the national stage.

For 30 years he has been married to his wife Irina. Few people know that his first wife was the singer Albina Abdalova.

Fortune did not smile at the talented performer of romances. She is single and lives on a meager pension. The correspondent of "Express newspaper" found her. Albina Aleksandrovna told what prevented the outstanding singer from becoming truly happy.

AT KINOTAVR-2007: the nightingale of the national stage is inseparable from his second wife Irina

I tried to arrange a meeting with Albina Abdalova for three years. In an iron voice, she politely refused. But this time, something broke in her. She willingly supported the telephone conversation and unexpectedly agreed to meet.

... Trying to walk smoothly, she left the entrance. She held a photograph in her hands. “This is me when I was young. She was like that when we broke up with Leva, ”she handed me a picture, as if justifying herself for her current unpresentable appearance. On June 19, she turned 67 years old. Smiling guiltily, she doused me with a slight fumes.

CARING HUSBAND: makes sure that the wife is both drunk and fed

I'm sorry, I drank a little, - she apologized, bashfully covering her mouth with her hand. - I have almost no teeth now.

Calling on the phone, I asked for a visit, but Albina Alexandrovna did not succumb to any persuasion.

My house is a mess,” she admitted. Therefore, we had to talk in the yard, on a bench.

Leva and I lived in the next entrance, in a three-room apartment. Our first apartment is a kopeck piece in Chertanovo. From the radio committee, where Leva worked, they built a cooperative. Of course, we didn’t have our own money - my sister helped. Later we moved here, to Sokolniki, our friend contributed.

In addition, Leva was already a laureate of the Golden Orpheus.

He left me, as befits a real man - with one suitcase. And why do I need one three rooms? I exchanged for a two-room apartment. I wanted to show you photos where we are together - young, beautiful. But they got stuck somewhere, I can't find them. I removed them away so as not to poison the soul.

Her eyes reddened, she took off her glasses and sobbed like an offended child.

When Leva left, I thought he would take our pictures as a keepsake. But no, I didn't take a single photo.

I had to shoot a cigarette for the interlocutor. As she lit a cigarette, she calmed down a bit and started reminiscing.

Love to Heaven

LEO: such a handsome man could drive anyone crazy

We studied together at GITIS at the operetta department. He is two courses younger, although I am a year older than Lyova, he just entered after the army. The girls were delighted: what a handsome man appeared! He also had curls. For some reason, he was embarrassed and straightened them. But what he lisped - he did not complex and did not work with speech therapists. Thought he was good enough.

Once Leva looked into the dance class. I look - he looks at me point-blank. I'm not timid. After class, she came up and asked: “What’s the matter?” He replied that I was very similar to his niece. I was not taken aback: "Let's take her to her and show her, I'll see if you're lying." We arrived in Khimki, to his house. And for sure: I’m the spitting image of my niece!

Levin's stepmother took our visit very seriously, she decided that since Lyova brought home a girl, it means that she is a bride.

Once I come to class, and he is standing in front of the audience with a bouquet of daisies, - continues Abdalova. - It's my birthday. Of all the flowers, I love daisies. He took my arm and led me to the front garden near GITIS. He sat down on a bench and took out a bottle of wine. Then the guys still ran to the store ... I still can’t stand sweet wine. By the way, at a party I always had to drink for two. Leva sips a little, and he has such diction that he can’t make out anything, one hiss.

ALBINA: in her youth she was irresistible

Since then, Leva and Alla have been walking each other home after class. First, he took her to Karbyshev Boulevard, then she took him to the Voykovskaya metro station. Then again he is hers.

Somehow they were so escorted that it was too late for Alla to return. He invited the girl to spend the night with him.

He said: "Don't think anything bad: I have a father, mother and sister at home." The family, of course, were in a deep sleep. Then he asked me: “Al, is it true, we are then for the first time?” And I was fooling around, no, I don’t remember something.

- Was it your first adult love?

No, before Leva I had men, and Leva had women. We lived with him for seven years before registration. We met secretly - sometimes with my sister, then with his parents. Lyova once told me: “We didn’t sleep with you, except in heaven!” That is everywhere!

It's really a miracle if you are a man at any moment... even the wrong one! There are people around, but I feel: he wants. And he should get it. And I want it too. So we're on the same wavelength...

Albina Alexandrovna took a deep drag on her cigarette, sighed: - After Leva, I didn’t allow myself anything like that. After all, you can lose your head only with your beloved man.

Failed father

Dump in the apartment: old things - a reminder of happy years lived with the singer

Once Lev Valerianovich complained that he did not have a chance to raise children. You have not given birth. The second time he married a woman younger than himself. And this marriage is also fruitless ...

If you are hinting that something is wrong with Lev Valerianovich, then you are mistaken! He is fine with this. And I was not barren, I had to have several abortions from him.

- What for?

Yes, he sometimes said that it would be necessary to give birth to children. But in reality, everything turned out differently. Having become pregnant, I thought for a long time what to do. I was haunted by doubts whether we would be together in the future. I asked him: “Do you love me? If yes, then I will give birth. He didn't answer me. So I went to the midwife. Another time, she flew in again, again I ask him what to do. And he is not up to it. He came from Japan, he has impressions ... He muttered something like do as you like. Foolishly, perhaps, I asked the doctor which one of me had been scraped out. She says, "Boy." I didn’t tell my husband that we would have had a son. Then she already went for abortions, without consulting. Once the doctor told me after the operation: “Alla, you could have two great boys. Twins". Like I was scalded. I barely made it home. I come and see: Leva collapsed in an armchair, chattering on the phone with Slava Dobrynin. And Slava, I'll tell you, is still that woman walker. I hear they agree to hang out with the girls. And Leva at the same time smiles, as if nothing had happened, and also asks me: “What are you, old woman?” I answered him: "Do what you want." But in general, Leva was not a goon, I never found him with anyone. Before Irina, his current wife, he never cheated on me with anyone. He is a decent person.

Attractive man

Many women liked Leva, but not only women, - Abdalova laughed good-naturedly, remembering a funny story.

1972 was a real breakthrough for Lev Leshchenko. He won the Golden Orpheus in Bulgaria, then received an invitation to participate in a competition in Sopot, Poland.

IN THOUGHTS OF THE PAST: Abdalova regrets that she offered Leshchenko to leave

Alla and Leva lived in poverty. Lev Valerianovich did not have suitable clothes. Someone advised to turn to fashion designer Vyacheslav Zaitsev. The couturier invited the singer to come to the atelier for a fitting.

Have you noticed that Lev Valerianovich's butt is so ... well, not quite, as it should be for a peasant. In general, the dream of pederasts, - Abdalova giggles mildly. - The first time he was caught by homosexuals in the toilet at the operetta theater. I look, my man flies out of the latrine all white: “I almost killed just now!” I ask: "Faggot, or what?" And I joke: “Nothing surprising, you have a butt oh-oh-oh, I don’t have one.” So the fashion designer also appreciated it. Lyova persuaded me to go along, he always insisted that I be present at his business conversations, because he is shy. But at that time I did not agree. And then I look: the husband jumps out from Zaitsev, trembling already with indignation. Immediately he declares to me: “I will not go to him again!”

Leshchenko had to go to Sopot in his wife's trouser ensemble. Red wool double-breasted suit with elasticated pants. According to Abdalova, he still hangs in her closet like a memory.

Edita Piekha could not resist and quipped: what was Levochka doing? And I answered: “In your negligee, Edita Stanislavovna!” Abdalova laughs.

Even after two victories at prestigious festivals in the Soviet years, Leshchenko was not at all torn apart by the organizers of the concerts. Abdalova, according to her, tried to help her husband, using her connections. And even the crown song "Victory Day", he, as Abdalova says, sang with her help.

Mark Fradkin and his wife treated me very sincerely. I often visited them at home and tried to take Lyova with me. Once Mark called David Tukhmanov and recommended Lev to him as a performer. David brought "Victory Day". Leva did not like the song at first. I felt that this is what I need. He winced, but I managed to convince him.

Gave it up without a fight

ALBINA ALEKSANDROVNA: I took a photo to the meeting as proof that I used to be a beauty

Albina Alexandrovna fell silent and picked up a bouquet of flowers that I gave her.

These are the ones Leva gave me. I have always believed him. And he deceived me. I immediately felt that he had a woman on the side, and said: “I need you all. Once you have another - go away. And then she filed for divorce. He himself would never have decided to break up. That was stupid!

He said that a friend was going to introduce him to Irina, his current wife, but fate got ahead of him: they accidentally ran into each other in the elevator. I know this friend. This is Fima Zuperman. In those years, he was a famous card sharper. Fima led a nocturnal lifestyle. He came to our house in the evening and stayed until the morning. I could not stand it, I drove everyone, because in the morning Leve either went to the recording, then to the concert, and he did not get enough sleep. Fima got angry and somehow threatened: “You don’t like my company, so I’ll divorce you from Leva.” And divorced. He deliberately arranged everything, brought Leva and Irina together. And that Leva couldn’t give birth to children ... But, in spite of everything, I still love Leva and wish him only happiness.

Abdalova has not seen Lev Leshchenko for more than 30 years, since they broke up. Even on TV. She doesn't have it. She receives a small pension. Therefore, he moonlights - sings in temples.

I led Albina Alexandrovna to the entrance. At parting, she said:

Call me tomorrow please. And then after all, no one calls me except my sister.

REFERENCE

* Albina ABDALOVA born June 19, 1941, performer of romances. She sang in the orchestra of Leonid Utyosov. Together with Lev Leshchenko, she recorded the songs "Old Maple", "Song of Young Neighbors", a song for the film "Yurkin Dawns". She worked at the Mosconcert, now retired.

* Lev LESCHENKO was born February 1, 1942. Since 1970 he has been a soloist of the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, after victories at the Golden Orpheus and in Sopot, he has been a laureate of the Lenin Komsomol Prize, since 1983 he has been a People's Artist of the RSFSR, a performer of many dozens of hits that have become classics of the national stage.

* Irina LESCHENKO (BAGUDINA) was born on May 15, 1954. Lev Valerianovich met her in 1976 in Sochi, where he toured, and Irina rested. She is the daughter of diplomats and graduated from the University of Budapest. They got married in 1978. There are no children in the marriage.

Source - "Express newspaper"