Natalia Andreyevna O'Shea (, née Nikolayeva, , known as Hellawes, ; born 3 September 1976) is a Russian

harpist The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual string (music), strings running at an angle to its sound board (music), soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing ...

, singer-songwriter, linguist, lead singer and leader of Melnitsa ( folk-rock), (traditional Celtic folk) and Romanesque (

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

). Earlier she took part in the Till Eulenspiegel project (

), for which she was a vocalist, author and co-author of many songs.

Biography

Natalia is a linguist, and expert in

Indo-European languages The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...

especially

Celtic languages The Celtic languages ( ) are a branch of the Indo-European language family, descended from the hypothetical Proto-Celtic language. The term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edward Lhuyd in 1707, following Paul-Yve ...

. She has a PhD of philological sciences and was a lecturer in

Lomonosov Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Al ...

. Earlier she worked in

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

in Dublin (Ireland). Natalia has been living and working in Ireland (

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

) and in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

(

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

) since 2004, but periodically she returns in Russia to take part in concerts of " Melnitsa", " Clann Lir" or in solo concerts. O'Shea has been appearing on the stage since 1998. She is one of the most popular folk-rock singers on the Russian scene and cult author-performer in the youth (and especially in student) midst of Moscow, Saint-Petersburg and other cities. Also she is a very popular singer for the players of ''role-playing game movement''. The Hellawes's songs have spread through the Internet and have won recognition of listeners long ago in many cities of Russia and outside.

Personal life

On August 21st, 2004, Natalia married James Cornelius O'Shea, who was at the time a member of staff at the Irish Embassy. On July 22nd 2008 Natalia O'Shea gave birth to a daughter, Nina Caitríona O'Shea, in

(

). On April 15th 2011 she gave birth to their second daughter, Úna Tamar.

Discography

Hellawes

* ''Running to Paradise'' (Melanar, 1996) * ''Дорога сна'' (The Road of Dream) 1996 * ''Лунный день'' (The Lunar Day) (Melanar, 1996) * ''Сольные записи'' (The Solo Album) 1999 * ''Леопард в городе'' (Leopard in the City) (2009) * ''Новые ботинки'' (The New Boots) (2013)

Melnitsa

* ''Дорога сна'' (The Road Of Dream) (2003) * ''Master of the Mill'' (2004) * ''Перевал'' (Mountain Pass) (2005) * ''Зов крови'' (Call of the Blood) (2006) * ''The Best'' (2007) * ''Дикие травы'' (Herbs) (2009) * ''Ангелофрения'' (Angelophrenia) (2012) * ''Алхимия'' (Alchemy) (2015) * ''Химера'' (Chimera) (2016) * ''2.0'' (2019) * ''Манускрипт'' (Manuscript) (2021) * ''Символ Солнца'' (Sun Symbol) (2023)

References

External links

Helavisa.ru
(official website)
Brief Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oshea, Natalia Linguists from Russia 1976 births Moscow State University alumni Living people Celtic studies scholars Russian folk singers Russian women folk singers Russian women linguists Russian harpists Russian women harpists Russian guitarists Russian women guitarists Folk rock musicians