Alla Abdalova, biography: the path to the profession
The singer's real name is Albina, but she is known under the stage name that she chose for herself. Abdalova was born on the eve of the start of the Great Patriotic War - June 19, 1941. A native of Moscow, she was fond of music since childhood and sang superbly. It seemed that her path was predetermined: the girl entered GITIS to receive training as an operetta artist.
Her teacher was Maria Maksakova herself, who considered her student very promising. Alla had a rather low, but very rich, warm timbre. She was destined for an excellent stage career, but her mezzo-soprano did not succeed in entering the Bolshoi Theater. But Abdalova was gladly taken to the Operetta Theater.
Biography[ | ]
Born June 19, 1941.
She graduated from GITIS, where she was a student of Maria Maksakova. Mezzo-soprano Abdalova was distinguished by a low, warm, rich timbre. During her studies, Alla, “ a gray-eyed singer with a slender figure and non-Soviet elegance
", had a reputation as one of the most gifted students in the operetta department, and auditioned for opera roles. At the same theater institute, two years younger than Abdalova, her future husband Lev Leshchenko also studied. The performers met in 1964 at a concert dedicated to the Great October Revolution.
After an unsuccessful attempt to enter the Bolshoi Theater, she was accepted into the Operetta Theater.
For a long time she sang in Leonid Utesov’s orchestra. She worked at Mosconcert.
Abdalova performed some songs together with Lev Leshchenko, including from the stage of the Hall of Columns of the House of Unions[1]. As a performer, she participated in Alexandra Pakhmutova’s author’s evenings in the Hall of Columns of the House of Unions[2].
A 1976 video recording of a concert performance of the song “Old Maple” with her husband, Lev Leshchenko, has been preserved and is popular among music lovers[3].
After 1976, when her marriage to Leshchenko broke up, Alla Abdalova’s creative activity began to decline. For some time she sang in the church choir.
A new surge of interest in the singer’s personality arose on television and in the press at the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century: often against her will, Abdalova became the hero of several stories on federal television channels, her old videos became popular again on YouTube, primarily in a duet with Leshchenko [4][3].
Meet Leshchenko
Lev Leshchenko also studied two years younger at GITIS. One day he walked the girl home, but this did not become the beginning of a romance. A little later they performed together in a concert dedicated to the October holidays. Leshchenko saw Abdalova on stage and was struck by her foreign elegance, charm and feminine beauty. He again accompanied the gray-eyed beauty home, but this time he had already begun to court Alla Abdalova. The biography and personal life of the artist are of particular interest today precisely because this student romance led the couple to marriage. They got married when the girl was in her 5th year, she was already 25, and Leshchenko was finishing his 3rd year.
Everything was serious: the bride’s luxurious white dress, the groom’s suit, forty guests. This marriage lasted 10 years.
Living together
At first, the couple lived with Lev Valeryanovich’s parents. Both worked at the Operetta Theater, where they recorded many duets. One of the most lyrical is “Old Maple”. What does Alla Abdalova say in her interviews, her biography, photos of which are presented in the article? At that time, she was well acquainted with the Fradkins and constantly asked Mark Grigorievich to introduce her husband to David Tukhmanov, a composer who was extremely popular in those years.
The acquaintance took place. Tukhmanov wrote “Victory Day” and was looking for a performer for the song. Fradkin recommended Lev Leshchenko, who at first did not really like the composition, but Alla Abdalova insisted that her husband agree to sing it at the concert. This was the right decision, because the song took off and became a real calling card of the artist.
Lev Valeryanovich's career took off, he received a two-room apartment in Chertanovo. It would seem that life together should only get better. But it turned out that everything was wrong.
Lev Leshchenko and Alla Abdalova: resentment for life
Lev Leshchenko and Alla Abdalova: a grudge for life
Lev and Irina Leshchenko are rightfully considered one of the strongest couples in Russian show business. They have been together for 36 years. But not everyone knows that before this marriage, Lev Valeryanovich was already married. And now his wife drags out a miserable existence, blaming him, her ex-husband, for all the troubles.
Their duet “Old Maple” is still remembered by especially devoted music lovers. Alla Abdalova and Lev Leshchenko are a unique tandem that existed not only on the stage, but also in real life.
Alla (or Albina) Abdalova graduated from GITIS. There she, a student of the great Maria Maksakova, was one of the most talented students in the operetta department. Her future husband Lev Leshchenko also studied at GITIS, two years younger.
True, he drew attention to Abdalova not at all within the walls of his alma mater. One day, both Alla and Leo were invited to perform in a concert dedicated to the November revolutionary holidays. It was there, seeing Abdalova’s performance from behind the scenes, that Leshchenko was struck on the spot. Her amazing gray eyes, slender figure, some kind of non-Soviet elegance. But the main thing is a low mezzo-soprano with an amazing timbre.
- What, don’t you know her? - his classmates shrugged their shoulders when he began to ask everything about this mysterious girl. — Alla Abdalova. Our pride and hope.
Since then, Lev tried to court the talented student. Either he will watch for her after class, or he will accidentally meet her behind the scenes. However, by that time Alla herself was not averse to establishing a close acquaintance with Leshchenko - after all, he was considered, as she later recalled, an eligible bachelor. Incredibly attractive and promising, the meetings that almost all the girls at GITIS dreamed of.
JEALOUSY
At first, Leshchenko and Abdalova simply walked along the streets. Then they began to live together. Two years later, when Alla was already in her fifth year and preparing to receive her diploma, they decided to get married.
The wedding, although a student one, was nevertheless very magnificent. There were 40 guests, and the celebrations themselves lasted two days. The groom was, as expected, in a festive suit. The bride is wearing a white dress, which was sent to her all the way from abroad (Albina’s sister, being married to a counselor at the Soviet embassy, lived in the UK).
At first, everything turned out just fine for the young people. Although they had to live with Lev Leshchenko’s parents, this did not upset them at all, because both were full of plans for the future. After graduating from the institute, Albina was accepted into the troupe of the Operetta Theater, where her husband had worked since his student days. There they worked together for the first time, performing many duets. Then Alla was invited to work for Leonid Utesov. And Lev continued to work at the Operetta Theater, only after a while moving to serve at the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company.
A few years later, the couple moved into their own apartment. However, left alone, without the constant presence of relatives, for some reason they began to move further and further away from each other. There were several reasons. Firstly, their work schedules chronically did not coincide: when one returned from tour, the other was just packing his bags. Therefore, they met less and less often, even though they lived in the same apartment. Not the best option for a young family...
Well, plus everything, jealousy interfered with their relationship. Yes, not ordinary, but creative. While Leshchenko’s career was quite successful, Alla, for whom everyone at GITIS predicted a brilliant future, could not find that very note of hers that would allow her to move from an ordinary singer to the category of stars. Therefore, Abdalova perceived any success of her husband almost as a personal insult. In those years, Lev, as he admitted later, often recalled the words of Anna Matyushina, his teacher at GITIS: “Never marry an artist. A struggle of ambitions, squabbles, conflicts, scandals will begin.”
...The first time they seriously quarreled was in 1974. The date is known for sure, because Lev Leshchenko was then at the height of his career and had just returned from a long month and a half tour of Japan. Of course, I wanted to share the emotions that were overwhelming. Tell us how you were greeted in a distant country, so different from the USSR. However, at home he heard only reproaches from his wife: they say, you only think about yourself, are not interested in how I lived without you, and he himself probably had affairs left and right. Word for word, a huge scandal began. Leshchenko then packed his suitcase and moved out of the shared apartment. The couple lived apart for a whole year. However, then they decided to try again to mend the broken cup of family life. But, alas, the second attempt to improve relations did not work out...
A HOLIDAY ROMANCE
Although officially Leshchenko and Abdalova continued to be considered husband and wife, it would be a stretch to call their coexistence a full-fledged family. And it was then, during a summer tour in Sochi, that Lev Leshchenko met the one whom he would later call the main woman of his life. A young student Irina Bagudina studied as an exchange student in Hungary, and came to the resort Sochi during the holidays. Since she had been living in Budapest for almost four years, she had no idea about the existence of singer Lev Leshchenko. But I saw the eyes of my new acquaintance, which were so open to the world that I wanted to immediately look at this world with him.
Although Leshchenko’s wife was waiting in Moscow, and Irina was having a rather serious affair in Hungary at that time, they both forgot about everything then, rushing headlong into a new relationship, like into a pool. “We seemed to be hovering above the situation then,” Irina will say later.
During the days that both were in Sochi, they practically never separated. And even when they returned to Moscow, Lev did not go home at all - to his legal (for now) wife - but to his new acquaintance. They spent almost a week together - until the end of Irina’s student holidays.
Only when Leshchenko put his beloved on a plane to Budapest did he finally show up with his wife. Which by that time, of course, realized that her husband had an affair on the side. In response, she simply put two suitcases with his things in the corridor.
“Thank you very much for avoiding scandals. “All the best to you,” with these words Leshchenko took his suitcases and left for another life. At first he lived with his parents, later, when Irina graduated from her studies and returned to Moscow, he moved with her to a rented apartment. And since then he never tires of repeating how lucky he was to meet such a woman in his life.
Irina sacrificed her profession for the sake of her husband - even though she studied abroad. She, who was destined for a career as an economist, chose to simply be the wife of her loved one.
The only thing that darkened their marriage all these years was the lack of children. Only recently Irina admitted that she had devoted more than ten years to solving this problem. But it didn’t happen. And only the singer’s ex-wife, Alla Abdalova, believes that in this way life itself takes revenge on Leshchenko for her unfulfilled fate and her unborn children.
CONTINUOUS RECOGNITIONS
...We tried to contact her many times. Alla-Albina’s home phone was silent for almost six months, although we called her almost every day. I had to go to her house and try to meet in person. However, there was no full-fledged conversation - only reproaches against the ex-husband...
As you know, in any divorce, both spouses are always to blame. Apparently, the marriage of famous singers was already on its last legs at the time Leshchenko met his second wife. Yes, and Alla could not restrain her husband, giving vent to her emotions. In any case, even she herself admits today that it was possible to save their union. According to Abdalova, her former boyfriend is an indecisive and even cowardly person. Who knows: if she had not put the suitcases with his things out the door and filed for divorce, this holiday romance would have ended on its own. But everything happened the way it happened.
However, after the official divorce, Lev Leshchenko behaved absolutely like a man. He did not divide the property through the court. After the divorce, Abdalova got a large three-room apartment in a good area of Moscow, and they shared a car. Also, the ex-husband offered any help - be it material or moral. However, Alla, full of grievances, did not even want to listen to him. And soon their communication stopped completely.
...It happens that a divorce, even a very painful one, becomes a kind of launching pad for abandoned women - “I’ll prove to my ex how wrong he was.” However, Albina was simply broken by the separation from her husband. Her career declined rather quickly. She never married again. But she began to touch the bottle more and more often. And today he drags out a truly miserable existence, receiving an almost beggarly pension.
In a conversation with her, you understand that she is still living in the past, blaming her ex-husband for all her troubles. “I could have given birth to four children, two of them were twin boys. But Levushka didn’t want children, so I had abortions,” says the woman. The whole conversation revolves around this slippery topic. But she basically doesn’t want to talk about what Alla has been doing all these long 30-odd years after breaking up with Leshchenko. She just repeats what a wonderful couple they were, how Levushka loved her. And he assures—it seems more to himself—that he will definitely return to her someday...
LESCHENKO ABOUT HIS FIRST WIFE: “I AM SINCERELY SORRY FOR HER”
- I think that if she had not spent her life on some abnormal things - in terms of health, first of all - she could well have saved herself... In fact, I have not seen her for 40 years. The fact is that she a proud person and... quite aggressive in some ways. She categorically refused all my help, although it would not have been difficult for me to help her in any way. But when a person is so aggressive... And specifically towards our relationship, not towards me. Because she didn’t say anything bad about me, thank God. But as far as relationships go, yes: she thinks that I did the wrong thing, and probably can’t forgive me for that. I think she has this resentment for the rest of her life, so, of course, I sincerely feel sorry for her. She was a good singer and could have made a career. But there were some complexes, obviously, she closed herself off, and now it’s very difficult for us to communicate. Nevertheless, I have absolutely bright feelings about our youth, everything was wonderful, and this is a part of my life that I do not reject.
Photo from the family archive
Discord
Leshchenko himself, who considers his first marriage to be a student’s, calls creative rivalry the main reason for the breakup of the family. He was in great demand, tours followed tours. Alla Abdalova, a biography whose personal life is interesting to today’s reader, was not doing so well. She left the theater, sang for some time in Utesov’s orchestra, and moved to the Mosconcert. Their tour schedules did not coincide, they saw each other less and less, and alienation arose. And in 1976, Leshchenko met Irina Bagudina, a young student from Budapest.
He was so passionate that upon returning from tour, he talked to the girl on the phone almost every day, immediately revealing the truth to his wife. Alla did not hold her husband, although she was in great pain. She agreed to the divorce. Leshchenko left his wife the apartment along with its furnishings, but this could not compensate for the loss. Subsequently, the singer said that she did not go outside for a whole month. For her, Lev Leshchenko remained the main love of her life. She never remarried.
Personal life[ | ]
From 1966 to 1976 she was married to Lev Leshchenko[5]. After several years of dating, Alla married GITIS student Lev Leshchenko in her 5th year, in 1966, when she was already 25. As Abdalova recalled in an interview for the press, “ Before Leva, I had men, and I didn’t get him as a virgin. But never - neither before nor after - have I lost my head so much
" The marriage lasted 10 years, and ended in divorce at the request of Abdalova in 1976.
The reason for the breakup of the family, according to Abdalova in the press and on television, was Leshchenko’s new romance with Irina Bagudina, Alla’s jealousy, a conflicting tour schedule, as well as numerous abortions that Abdalova was forced to have in marriage due to her husband’s reluctance to have offspring with her. The singer experienced a special and lasting pain over the years due to the loss of two twin boys.
- Yes, he sometimes said that we should have 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 continue to be together. I asked him: “Do you love me? If yes, then I’ll give birth.” He didn’t answer me. So I went to the midwife. Another time I got knocked up again, again I asked him what to do. But he has no time for that. He came from Japan, he had impressions... He muttered something like, do as you please. Out of stupidity, perhaps, I asked the doctor who was scraped out of me. She says: "Boy." I didn’t even tell my husband that we would have a son. Then I went for abortions without consultation. One day, after an operation, a doctor told me: “Alla, you could have two great boys. Twins".
— [6]
After her divorce from Leshchenko, Alla Alexandrovna never married again and never gave birth to children, which she later bitterly regretted.
Along with loneliness, bad habits gradually entered Abdalova’s life, worsening every year and imperceptibly leading her to a marginal lifestyle. Nevertheless, she refused financial assistance to Leshchenko[4][3].
As of 2020, Alla Abdalova is retired, left her Moscow apartment, and lives with relatives in the village[3].
About children
Everyone knows that Leshchenko has no children. Does Alla Abdalova have them? The singer’s biography and personal life are described in Wikipedia, where there is a link to an interview in which the woman once admitted that she could become a mother four times. When she first told her husband about this, who had returned from tour, he reacted indifferently to the message: “Decide for yourself.” The singer got rid of the child. The second time the reaction was the same, and later Abdalova even stopped consulting with her husband, feeling that he was not interested in children.
Leshchenko once admitted that it was Alla who did not want children; this topic still remains quite painful for him.
Creativity[ | ]
In 2004, the Audio-CD “Romantic collection” was released. Retro”, where the song “Old Maple” is performed by Abdalova and Leshchenko:
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Filmography[ | ]
- 1974 - “Yurka Dawns” - vocals with L. Leshchenko, song “Promise” (M. Fradkin - R. Rozhdestvensky).
Today's day
The singer once performed on the stage of the Hall of Columns at the creative evenings of A. Pakhmutova, but after the divorce she abandoned her friends and work, and her career began to decline. The former GITIS star sang in a church choir, and drowned her personal grief in wine. She disappeared from sight; her colleagues did not know where to look for her.
It turned out that Abdalova no longer lives in the apartment left by her husband. She moved to the village to live with relatives, where she leads a reclusive life. She doesn’t even watch TV or follow her ex-husband’s career. According to some reports, Leshchenko wanted to provide the woman with financial assistance, but she refused this.
In 2004, a CD was released, which presented the collection “Romantic collection. Retro". Among others, it features songs performed by Alla Abdalova. The biography, personal life, and photos of the singer immediately attracted the interest of admirers of her talent. Representatives of the older generation remember the compositions performed by her: “Lilies of the Valley”, “And It’s Snowing”, “Snowfall”, “The Girls Are Standing”, “Black Cat”, “Daisies Hid” and others.
Abdalova never spoke badly about her ex-husband. The only thing she regrets is that at one time she did not dare to have children.
Notes
- [https://sobesednik.ru/culture/tz_28_10_leshenko The grave sin of Lev Leshchenko]
- [https://kkre-18.narod.ru/abdalova.htm Alla Abdalova]
- [https://youtube.com/watch?v=EVVcyRdOqmA Author's evening by Alexandra Pakhmutova in the Hall of Columns of the House of Unions on October 18, 1975] on YouTube
- ↑ 1234
[https://sobesednik.ru/culture/tz_28_10_leshenko The grave sin of Lev Leshchenko] - ↑ 12
[https://mirnov.ru/rubriki-novostey/otkroveniya-zvezd/lev-leschenko-i-alla-abdalova-obida-na-vsyu-zhizn.html Lev Leshchenko and Alla Abdalova: a grudge for life]
