Elena Borisovna Frolova (russian: link=no, Елена Борисовна Фролова; born 1 October 1969, in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

) is a Russian singer-songwriter, composer, and poet. She is author and performer of songs based on poems by many Russian poets of twentieth century, including

Marina Tsvetaeva Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva (russian: Марина Ивановна Цветаева, p=mɐˈrʲinə ɪˈvanəvnə tsvʲɪˈtaɪvə; 31 August 1941) was a Russian poet. Her work is considered among some of the greatest in twentieth century Russia ...

Sophia Parnok Sophia Yakovlevna Parnok (russian: София Яковлевна Парнок, yi, סאָפיאַ פארנוכ; 30 July 1885 O.S./11 August 1885 (N. S.) – 26 August 1933) was a Russian poet, journalist and translator. From the age of six, ...

Joseph Brodsky Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky (; russian: link=no, Иосиф Александрович Бродский ; 24 May 1940 – 28 January 1996) was a Russian and American poet and essayist. Born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), USSR in 1940, ...

Anna Barkova Anna Alexandrovna Barkova (russian: link=no, А́нна Алекса́ндровна Барко́ва), July 16, 1901 – April 29, 1976, was a Soviet poet, journalist, playwright, essayist, memoirist, and writer of fiction. She was imprisoned fo ...

Andrei Belyi Boris Nikolaevich Bugaev ( rus, Бори́с Никола́евич Буга́ев, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ bʊˈɡajɪf, a=Boris Nikolayevich Bugayev.ru.vorb.oga), better known by the pen name Andrei Bely or Biely ( rus, Андре ...

Varlam Shalamov Varlam Tikhonovich Shalamov (russian: Варла́м Ти́хонович Шала́мов; 18 June 1907 – 17 January 1982), baptized as Varlaam, was a Russian writer, journalist, poet and Gulag survivor. He spent much of the period from 1 ...

Maria Petrovykh Maria Sergeyevna Petrovykh ( rus, Мария Сергеевна Петровых, p=mɐˈrʲijə sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvnə pʲɪtrɐˈvɨx; – 1 June 1979) was a Russian poet and translator. Early life Petrovykh was born in Norskii Posad, a vill ...

, Veniamin Blazhenny,

Bulat Okudzhava Bulat Shalvovich Okudzhava (russian: link=no, Булат Шалвович Окуджава; ka, ბულატ ოკუჯავა; hy, Բուլատ Օկուջավա; May 9, 1924 – June 12, 1997) was a Soviet and Russian poet, writer, musici ...

, and many others, as well as her own poetry.Solar thread of Elena Frolova
by

Zakhar Prilepin Yevgeny Nikolayevich Prilepin (russian: link=no, Евге́ний Никола́евич Приле́пин; born 7 July 1975), writing as Zakhar Prilepin (russian: link=no, Захар Прилепин), and sometimes using another pseudonym, Ye ...

Novaya gazeta ''Novaya Gazeta'' ( rus, Новая газета, t=New Gazette, p=ˈnovəjə ɡɐˈzʲetə) is an independent Russian newspaper known for its critical and investigative coverage of Russian political and social affairs. It is published in Mo ...

, 07-04-28 Frolova is one of few performers who uses Russian folk instrument

gusli ''Gusli'' ( rus, гусли, p=ˈɡuslʲɪ) is the oldest East Slavic multi-string plucked instrument, belonging to the zither family, due to its strings being parallel to its resonance board. Its roots lie in Veliky Novgorod in Novgorodian Ru ...

and ancient

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

, along with classical six-string guitar for the accompaniment. During 25 years of work she created more than 630 songs and published more than 40 music albums.

Biography

Born in Riga, Frolova composed her first song at age of 15. That was song on poem "I wrote on the slate" by Marina Tsvetaeva. She was a winner of many song and music festivals, including the Second All-Union Festival in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

in 1988. Since 1988 Elena performed together with Vera Evushkina, in the author's duet "VerLen". She is a co-founder and active member of creative group "ASiA", together with Tatiana Aleshina, Alexander Derevyagin and Nicholai Yakimov. She is a member of juries in Russian art song festivals, including

Grushinsky festival Grushinsky festival (russian: Грушинский фестиваль) is an annual Russian Bard (Soviet Union), bard song festival that was established in 1968. It takes place near the city of Samara, Russia, Samara, on the Mastryukovo lakes. The ...

. During last few years, Elena made a number of tours in trio "Trilogy" with performer of

Russian romance Russian romance (russian: рома́нс ''románs'') is a type of sentimental art song with hints of Gypsy influence that was developed in Imperial Russia by such composers as Nikolai Titov (1800-1875), Alexander Alyabyev (1787–1851), Alexa ...

Julia Ziganshina and singer-songwriter Elmira Galeeva, Since 1989, Elena Frolova worked in Moscow Theatre of Music and Poetry directed by

Elena Kamburova Elena Antonovna Kamburova (russian: Елена Антоновна Камбурова; born July 11, 1940) is a Russian singer and actress. In addition to numerous solo albums, her voice is recorded in more than a hundred film soundtracks. She is a ...

. She is a member of

Union of Russian Writers The Union of Russian Writers (russian: Союз российских писателей, translit=Soyuz rossiyskikh pisateley) is a non-governmental organization uniting Russian and writers (novelists, poets, essayists, etc.). It was established i ...

. Since 1991, she made many tours with her solo concerts in Russia, Germany, Italy, France, and Israel. Her songs on poems by Russian poets of the Silver Age and her own poetry brought her wide recognition. According to Marina Gershenovich : "The cycle of songs based on poems by Marina Tsvetaeva makes you to believe in the idea of reincarnation. The image of Marina is just as real as your own perception of reality. Coming through the music and voice of Elena, Tsvetaeva rebels, loves, tell prophecies, makes fun, and creates... One can bring back from the death someone he truly loves. Elena Frolova does it with her songs." A documentary about work by Frolova on poetry by Tsvetaeva was created by Irina Roerig Elena Frolova playing gusli

In 1996, Elena has mastered a new instrument,

, to perform Russian folk and other songs. Since 2002, she participates in World Music festivals and concerts in Russia, many countries around the Europe, Israel, Argentina, and Mexico. She performed in

Théâtre de la Ville (meaning the City Theatre) is one of the two theatres built in the 19th century by Baron Haussmann at Place du Châtelet, Paris, the other being the Théâtre du Châtelet. It is located at 2, place du Châtelet in the 4th arrondissement. Inc ...

, Bienvenue à la Maison des Cultures du Monde and Théâtre des Abbesses in Paris, Teatro de la República in Mexico, as well as in Barcelona, Madrid, Brussels and Antwerp. Since 2008 she has been a regular guest at the Festival of Arts in

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best abr ...

. Frolova took part in the congress "The historical experience of the Soviet Communist totalitarianism: the opposition to Gulag" in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

in 2003 with the program on poems by

. In March 2004, she represented Russia at the First International Festival "Eurasia Diva" in Moscow. In 2007 she published a book of her poetry, "Song for Eurydice". Frolova also participates in creation of

animated movie Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

s. She performed

romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

''Don't wake her up at dawn...'' on words by

Afanasy Fet Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet ( rus, Афана́сий Афана́сьевич Фет, p=ɐfɐˈnasʲɪj ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈfʲɛt, a=Ru-Afanasiy Afanas'yevich Fyet.oga), later known as Shenshin ( rus, Шенши́н, p=ʂɨnˈʂɨn, a=Ru-Afa ...

in '' My Love'' by Aleksandr Petrov and composed music for animated version of ''The Legend of Lady Godiva''

Poetry

Elena composed many songs on her own poetry, one of the most popular being ''A Straw''. Many of her poems and songs have strong spiritual and

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

components, such as her ''Journey into Eden'', a song dedicated to

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...

,"Franciscus Assisiensis"
also dedicated to Viktor Luferov, words and music by Frolova and ''Disciple Day''.

Concerts published on YouTube

*''Blessed are the humble in spirit'' (Introduction, Part 1, Part 2a, Part 2b, Part 3), 2010–2011, link to DVD, 2013
Russian Romance, Selected songs
Moscow, 2011
Film-concert "Dorozhenka (That path)."
Minsk, 2006 *''Road to Heaven'', concert in

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...

, 2003 *Concert in

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administra ...

, 2009, where she presented songs on poetry by

and Gubanov (Part 1) and her own poetry (Part 2) *''Elena Frolova and Dmitry Strotsev'', part 1 and part 2, 2006 *''Ten years to duet VerLen, Part 1'' and Part 2, 1998 *Concerts and interviews on TV: Music of meetings and One who came to us, Above the roof, 2010

Selected discography

*Songs on her own poetry **''Wanderer'' 1995 **''My white sparrow'', 1995 **''Heaven loves you'', 1997
Dear road
Russian folk songs; poetry by

Sergey Yesenin 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 Frolova, 2002 ** ''Travel to Paradise'', 2005 **''Solar thread'', 2006 ** ''Songs of heart'', 2009 **''Lada'', Russian folk songs, Esenin and Frolova, 2009, records a
thankyou.ru
*Songs on poetry by Tsvetaeva **''Angel and lion'', Tsvetaeva, Blok and Mandelshtam, 1992 **''Annunciation Day'', 1995 records **''My Tsvetaeva'' part 1 and part 2, 2002 **''El sol de la tarde'', 2008 **''Khvanyn'-Kolyvan'', 2007 *Discs with Vera Evushkina **''Verlen'', 1992 **''Listen by heart'', 2008 (1996–1998, 2006 records) **''Oh, listen!'', 2003
My love, color the green
Tsvetaeva, Esenin and others, 1995 *''Dove flied'', 1999 *Poetry by

: ''Romance of a happy man'', 2010
Clouds are passing by
2005, poetry by Parnok, Shalamov, Blazhenny, Tsvetaeva, Gershenovich and others *''A little theater on the small planet of Earth'', 2009, poetry by

*''Letter'', 2003, poetry by

*''Wind from Viagolosa'', poetry by

, 2002
A concert
2003, songs on poems by

Osip Mandelshtam Osip Emilyevich Mandelstam ( rus, Осип Эмильевич Мандельштам, p=ˈosʲɪp ɨˈmʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mənʲdʲɪlʲˈʂtam; – 27 December 1938) was a Russian Empire, Russian and Soviet Union, Soviet poet. He was one of t ...

, Veniamin Blazhenny,

Anna Akhmatova Anna Andreyevna Gorenko rus, А́нна Андре́евна Горе́нко, p=ˈanːə ɐnˈdrʲe(j)ɪvnə ɡɐˈrʲɛnkə, a=Anna Andreyevna Gorenko.ru.oga, links=yes; uk, А́нна Андрі́ївна Горе́нко, Ánna Andríyivn ...

and others
Willow bird
songs on poems by Marina Gershenovich, Irina Ratushinskaya, Veniamin Blazhenny and others, 1999
Bright holiday of homelessness
1995, Brodsky, Tsvetaeva,

Yuri Levitansky Yury Davidovich Levitansky (russian: Ю́рий Дави́дович Левита́нский; January 22, 1922, Kozelets, Chernigov Oblast, Ukrainian SSR — January 25, 1996, Moscow, Russia) was a Russian- language poet and translator from th ...

Mikhail Kuzmin Mikhail Alekseevich Kuzmin (russian: Михаи́л Алексе́евич Кузми́н) ( – March 1, 1936) was a Russian poet, musician and novelist, a prominent contributor to the Silver Age of Russian Poetry. Biography Born into a noble fam ...

*Poetry by Dmitry Strotsev: part 1, part 2, link, 2002
Seconda Parte
disk in collaboration with creative group AZIA, 2002 *A concert, part 1, part 2, 2003
Mandelshtam Street
2005, songs on poetry by

*''Stairs of love'', poetry by

Leonid Gubanov Leonid Ivanovich Gubanov (russian: Леонид Иванович Губанов; 2 August 1928 – 24 February 2004) was a Soviet Russian actor, theater director, master of the artistic word (reader). Born in village of Rybatskoye in Leningrad ...

, 2008 *Discs with Elmira Galeeva and Yulia Ziganshina **''Trilogia'', 2006 **''Rosemary, sage...'', 2008 *''Dear Enemy'', 2007, poetry by

*''Russian Asian'', 2007, Barkova, Frolova, Parnok *''Running girl – Russian Psyche'', a concert, 2009 *''IZ NEDR И НА ВЕТВЬ'', 2009 *''Bird Tango'', Brodsky, Tsvetaeva, Blazhenny, Petrova, Frolova, 2010 *''A concert'', 2010 *''Amor mio. Αγάπη μου. My love'', Folk songs, poetic translations/texts to Russian by Frolova, 2011 *''A concert'', 2011 *''Ves, Soundtrack to the poetry collection'', poetry by Strotsev, Gershenovich, Vertinsky, Gumilev, Zabolotsky, Levitansky, 2013

References

Echo of Moscow Echo of Moscow (russian: links=no, Эхо Москвы, translit=Ekho Moskvy) was a 24/7 commercial Russian radio station based in Moscow. It broadcast in many Russian cities, some of the former Soviet republics (through partnerships with local ra ...

, hosted by

Natella Boltyanskaya Natella Savelievna Boltyanskaya (russian: link=no, Нате́лла Саве́льевна Болтя́нская (Киперма́н), born 20 May 1965, Moscow) is a Russian journalist, singer-songwriter, poet and ex-radio host on Echo of Moscow ...

* Texts of songs by Frolova (Russian) o
her site
an
Anthroposophy website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frolova, Elena Russian women singer-songwriters Russian folk singers Russian actresses Russian musicians Russian women poets Russian women musicians Russian bards Christian poets Living people 1969 births Russian singer-songwriters Soviet women singer-songwriters Soviet singer-songwriters 20th-century Russian women singers 20th-century Russian singers

Biography

Poetry

Concerts published on YouTube

Selected discography

References

External links