Gelena Martselievna Velikanova (russian: Гелена Марцелиевна Великановна, 27 February 1923 – 10 November 1998) was a Soviet traditional pop performer, who popular in the 1950s and 1960s and best remembered for her 1959 hit "Landyshi" (Lily of the Valley). She was honoured with the
People's Artist of Russia
People's Artist of the Russian Federation (russian: Народный артист Российской Федерации, ''Narodnyy artist Rossiyskoy Federatsii''), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the Russian Federation, is an h ...
title in 1992. Velikanova then lost her voice due to incompetent medical treatment and had to stop performing. She died in 1998, two hours before her farewell concert in Moscow.
Biography
Gelena Velikanova was born in Moscow; both her parents came from
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
, her father Marceli Welikanis, was a half- Lithuanian. She graduated from the secondary school in 1941 but had to abandon her plans of joining the musical college, due to the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
broke and her family were subsequently evacuated to
Tomsk
Tomsk ( rus, Томск, p=tomsk, sty, Түң-тора) is a city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast in Russia, located on the Tom River. Population:
Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. The city is a n ...
. In 1944 Gelena returned to Moscow, enrolled into the Glazunov Musical college. After the graduation, she continued her education in the Estrada department of the
Moscow Art Theater School
Moscow Art Theatre School is the studio school of the Moscow Art Theatre. It is a state educational institution that has existed since 1943. The initiator of the studio school was Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko.
In 1948, Gelena Velikanova debuted as a professional singer. In 1950, she started to perform regularly as a member of the Mosconcert stuff. Soon, she turned to more serious on music; songs with lyrics based on the poems by
Sergey Esenin
Sergei Alexandrovich Yesenin ( rus, Сергей Александрович Есенин, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ jɪˈsʲenʲɪn; ( 1895 – 28 December 1925), sometimes spelled as Esenin, was a Russian lyric poet. He is one o ...
and Novella Matveyeva, among others, started to appear in her repertoire. Velikanova's musical development has been influenced by her husband, poet Nikolai Dorizo. In 1969 Gelena Velikanova was honoured with the title Meritorious Artist of RSFSR, but soon lost the crystal-clear timbre of her high-pitched voice, due to incompetent medical treatment for her vocal chords. In 1986-1996 she taught at the Gnesin College and in the
Russian Academy of Theatre Arts
The Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (GITIS) (russian: Российский институт театрального искусства – ГИТИС) is the largest and oldest independent theatrical arts school in Russia. Located in Moscow, ...
.
In mid-1990s Velikanova enjoyed the renewed interest in her musical legacy. On 16 April 1998, the Velikanova Star was set at the Rossiya concert hall square. On 10 November 1998, the singer was about to give her farewell concert at the Moscow Actor House. She died in her home two hours before the show. She was buried at the Vagankovskoye Cemetery, in Moscow.