Day of Culture and Arts

🤩 Opera baritone and renowned pop singer Eduard Anatolyevich Khil was born on September 4, 1934, in Smolensk. The peak of his fame came in the 1960s-70s, and he experienced a dazzling resurgence in 2010.
Khil's childhood coincided with the Great Patriotic War (World War II). In an incredible twist of fate, the young boy was evacuated from Smolensk just an hour and a half before German forces captured the city. Little Edik ended up in an orphanage.
After Smolensk was liberated, Khil returned to his parents. Suffering from severe malnutrition, he developed dystrophy, and only his grandmother managed to nurse him back to health, restoring both his weight and strength. Despite the hunger-filled years, Khil never abandoned his dream of joining the army. Twice, he and his friend Misha tried to run away to the front lines, but both times the boys—only nine years old—were caught and brought back.
In his youth, Khil lived in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), where he enrolled in a printing technical school—and unexpectedly fell in love with opera. One day, a friend invited Eduard to a performance of Rusalka (The Mermaid). The music, the atmosphere of the opera, and the powerful voices struck him like an explosion.
Khil began collecting records of arias and romances, sometimes even singing along with Chaliapin—playing the great bass’s records and joining in on The Demon’s aria. 🤩
Khil seriously trained to become an opera singer, but fate had other plans. A chance opportunity to attend a concert by Klavdiya Shulzhenko, the legendary Soviet pop singer, changed everything. By his own admission, this experience transformed his perspective on estrada (popular stage music). Gradually, pop influences seeped into his repertoire, ultimately leading him to shift his artistic path entirely.🤩

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