Arkady Solomonovich Pogodin (russian: Арка́дий Соломо́нович Пого́дин, born Piliver, russian: Пиливер; 1901,

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

— 1975,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

singer who worked in variety theater and

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

. At 16 years of age, Pogodin started appearing on theater stage in small roles. In 1922 he moved to Moscow, where he started working in small variety theaters performing funny songs. In 1924 he was already appearing on the stage of the prestigious

Hermitage Theater The Hermitage Theatre ( rus, Эрмитажный Театр, Èrmitážnyj Teátr, ɪrʲmʲɪˈtaʐnɨj tʲɪˈatər) in Saint Petersburg, Russia is one of five Hermitage buildings lining the Palace Embankment of the Neva River. The Hermita ...

. In 1938 Pogodin was invited to sing the lead role of Albert in an operetta titled ''Delicate Diplomacy'' ("Тонкая дипломатия" by

Johann Strauss Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ove ...

) at the Moscow Theater of Miniatures; he performed at the theater in the 1938–1939 season. Then he accidentally met theater director A. Arnold who invited him to sing the lead role in the operetta ''Chocolate Soldier'' (based on a work by

Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

, with music by the

Pokrass brothers The Pokrass brothers were Soviet composing siblings: * Dmitry Pokrass (1899–1978) * (1905–1954) — the youngest brother, Soviet musician * Samuel Pokrass (1897–1939) — the elder brother; emigrated to the United States in 1920s Dmitry wa ...

) that was set to open the 1939 summer season in the CDKA park. The operetta, which played in the park for a month, featured many famous artists including the

Alexander Tsfasman Alexander Naumovich Tsfasman (russian: Александр Наумович Цфасман; born December 14, 1906 - died February 20, 1971) was a Soviet Jazz pianist, composer, conductor, arranger, publisher and activist. He was an important figu ...

Jazz Orchestra, Maria Mironova, etc. After that Tsfasman invited Pogodin to perform with his orchestra in the Khudozestvenny movie theater and on Saturdays and Sundays after midnight on the radio. Pogodin also recorded a number of gramophone records. And here composer and friend

Konstantin Listov Konstantin Yakovlevich Listov (russian: Константи́н Я́ковлевич Листо́в; – 6 September 1983) was a Soviet composer. He is the composer of many widely popular songs, which include "Pesnya o Tachanke" (" Song of the Tach ...

offered Pogodin to become the first artist to sing a new song he wrote. The song, titled "V Parke Chair" ("В парке Чаир"), instantly made "widely known in narrow circles" Pogodin a popular and trendy singer. In December 1939, he decided to take part in the first All-Russian Variety Artists Contest and became a Laureat along with such singers as

Klavdiya Shulzhenko Klavdiya Ivanovna Shulzhenko (russian: Кла́вдия Ива́новна Шульже́нко, uk, Клавдія Іванівна Шульженко; – June 17, 1984) was a Soviet popular female singer and actress. Biography Shulzhenko ...

Keto Dzhaparidze Ketevana Konstantinovna Dzhaparidze ( ka, ქეთევან კონსტანტინეს ასული ჯაფარიძე, russian: Кэтевана Константиновна Джапаридзе; February 11, 1901, Kvishkh ...

, etc. Since then he toured a lot and continued to sing on the radio. His gramophone records were very popular. Among his songs that were played everywhere were: "V Parke Chair", "Vozvrata Net" ("Возврата нет"), "Ya Zhdu Pisma" ("Я жду письма"), "Oglyanis" ("Оглянись"). Football matches at the time would usually open with his song "Schastlivy Dozhdik" ("Счастливый дождик").

Family

Arcady Pogodin was the third husband of actress

Olga Aroseva Olga Aleksandrovna Aroseva (russian: О́льга Алекса́ндровна Аро́сева; 21 December 1925 – 13 October 2013) was a Soviet and Russian actress whose career spanned more than 65 years. Aroseva was better known for her work ...

. They married when he was almost 70 and she 24 years younger and stayed together until his death in 1975.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pogodin, Arkady 1901 births 1975 deaths Soviet male singers