On March 21, at the 130th anniversary of the birth of Alexander Vertinsky, a monument was opened to him.
Now another outstanding Kyiv resident Mykhailo Bulgakov has a new neighbor. The work of the eminent Ukrainian sculptor Borys Stepanovych Dovgan received a “registration” at the corner of Andrew’s Descent and Borychev Tik. The opening gathered Kyiv residents and representatives of the cultural elite of the city, as well as guests of honor: consuls of Georgia and Poland. Most people brought bouquets of flowers.
“There will be no such singer as Vertinsky: in whom everything was united. He is a legendary singer who was a free man, a man of the planet. Most importantly, it was formed in Kyiv, which he incredibly loved and was proud of. He considered Kyiv the best city on earth. Vertinsky is unique, I will not be tired of repeating it, and I am sure of it.
The idea of this monument appeared long ago. But for one reason or another, its implementation was delayed. For a long time we could not find a sculptor. Technically, there were people, but we were not lucky with intellectual component. We finally succeeded when Borys Stepanovych Dovgan took over. Besides his talent, he has a big inner world, full of intellect. And he is infinitely in love with music,” says Oleksandr Brey, the initiator of the creation of the monument, a well-known Kyiv collector, antiquarian, art historian and philanthropist.
Alexander Vertinsky was portrayed by sculptor in the image of Pierrot: most people know him by this role.
“This is happiness – to make a monument to a man of art. They have very few monuments. For me there are two Vertinsky: one in real life, the second – the images that he created. We tried to make Vertinsky with real features in the image of Pierrot. Pay attention to the hands: he sang even with them,” says Borys Stepanovych Dovgan, the author of the monument.
In the morning the sky of the capital was covered with clouds and at the moment when the monument was opened to the public, the sun shone: real magic and greetings from the Vertinsky. The dream of many Kyiv residents came true – Vertinsky “returned” to his homeland.
Such an important event would be incomplete without a musical part. New breath in famous songs “Your lips smell like incense”, “Tango Magnolia”, “Yellow Angel”, “Lord’s Ball” was breathed by El Kravchuk. For half an hour, he has turned into another famous image of Commedia dell’Arte – Harlequin. The singer is a longtime fan of Vertinsky and performed his songs surprisingly stylishly and respectfully to the memory of Vertinsky. Also, the romance “What I have to say” was performed, which, according to legend, the resident of Kyiv sang in memory of young heroes of the Battle of Kruty.
Together with the public, El Kravchuk sang “Along the long road” to make sure the event closed on a high note.
After the celebrations in Museum of one street, the exhibition “Kyiv – my tender Motherland” was opened, and an artistic envelope and a postage stamp dedicated to the anniversary of Alexander Vertinsky were also presented.
Text and photo: Yaroslava Matvieienko
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