Mikhail Shemyakin of Alyosha Dimitrijevic and Russian cabaret in Paris

Vladimir Polyakov, Glaser, Shemyakin walk in the cabaret" The Prince "in Paris

Vladimir Polyakov and Alexander Glaser in" Tsarevich "< br />
Mikhail Shemyakin and Vadim Delaunay" Tsarevich "

Alesha Dimitrijevic - a lot of talent and a great singer. The first time I heard him in Leningrad and immediately fell in love. There was such a famous sorokopyatochka, which I copied and I on the "Dnepr - 1" often drove Alyosha. Our record was made nesrazu, of course, I worked for a certain number of years, and as soon as the first money earned, decided it would be a great sin not to write these wonderful voices that remain - Alesha Dimitrijevic and Vladimir Polyakov. This - the only two giants who were - I mean, not only themselves, but also records that after their death remained. I was puzzled by the fact that when I asked them, "Guys, where are you can buy your records?", They said that they do not, there is sorokopyatki somewhere Vladimir Dimitrijevic Valya sings. And I was amazed that for decades drunken hussar listening, remembering Mother Russia enjoying these really unique voices, and no one did not occur to think about whether these voices remain for Russia? And I decided that I should. Above each plate we worked on two years of very hard they got to me - the Roma work difficult, but nevertheless they are still sound.
You can say that you were a friend of Alyosha Dimitrijevic?
he called me, we were on excellent terms.
With him it was hard in the studio - because he was undisciplined person?
difficult, because he was a man of real Kabatsky in the highest sense of the word, and so when musicians gathered in a specially hired a recording studio and he and Vladimir Polyakov, who was much older than he, of course, after the first song composed for the program, both began to demand a glass of champagne. I already knew what was going to end, but they said we will not continue to sing. And as soon as they took a glass of champagne on the chest, they are carried entirely in that program. Began to cry during the performance, because people are very emotional. According to this for two years managed to make only one entry, because the records were being ripped off, unfortunately. Vladimir Polyakov started singing "March Akhtyrskaya hussar," and once reached the words "march forward, we are waiting for death," there will rend the great sobs of the powerful chest and all - now needed a big bottle of champagne, well, everything - and ended it is certainly already in the pub. Of course, it was very difficult to work with it - at the end of Kostya Kazan told me, "Teddy Bear, how much do we have gray hair were added after the creation of these discs!»
Alyosha himself insisted on the repertoire or something told you?
The repertoire was I, and played a large part in this great Bulgarian singer and a composer of serious level, Constantine Kazan. His article, "Vendetta", by the way, was written specifically for the company by Natalia Makarova, brilliantly performed and conducted himself. Constantine Kazan - Bulgarian Vysotsky, so to speak, for many years he sang in cabarets "Rasputin". Here we were with him and the program repertoire. He released and published in due course a wonderful book on the history of Russian taverns in Paris, which, unfortunately, is not reprinted in Russia. Oh, there's just - and unique photos and stories of all the "Scheherazade" and "Etoile de Moscou." Kostya - a very interesting person, who took a huge part in the creation of these records.
The record includes 12 items, there were some unreleased songs in reserve?
The reserve has one more record I dream of release. Once Alesha was my guest, and with good microphones managed to raskochegarilsya he raspelsya, sang the songs, too, would like to hear, but he considered them very indecent. There were these words: "My Korsetka, gold stitching, girl's mother says, walking, my daughter!". However, we had this idea to the now deceased director Lieberman, who was involved in the creation of the seven discs of songs of Vysotsky in records Shemyakin, create a disc "An Evening with Alyosha." But while thinking where to publish - yet this disc is not implemented. With Russian pirates I have come across and with the plates Vysotsky, and Alesha, and Volodya Polyakov. As they say in Russia, "have put one hundred percent - in the first class."
As a creative person, what kind of features you Aleshiny attracted most?
First of all, it was an extraordinarily charming man and a big, big bully awfully nice. All of this I loved it, not to mention the fact that he - an ambitious singer. Liked and Vladimir Vysotsky, who I met Alesha Dimitrijevic, and they are very good friends. They met with me, or, of course, without drinks, we went to the pub - so it is to listen to or a great Polyakova, or at least the great Alyosha Dimitrijevic. Although the first reaction was, when I sent disk Dimitrijevic, published in Paris, Vysotsky was quite negative: he called me and said, "Misch, well, what have you invested the money - he confuses the word, what it is, we have a wonderful gypsy theater "Romen". To which I said, "Well, you know, you listen carefully again, and then we'll talk again on this subject." And just two days later called me and said Volodya, "You know what, this is a brilliant singer!" And it asked me to meet him - and then they did have such a sincere friendship. On the disc, "Tightrope" in the general chorus sang Alesha Wysocki. Once there was a pretty unique drive that Yul Brynner ordered to destroy - he did not like. He loved pubs, of course, because he was involved in the Roma, and one day they went and recorded the drive where Yul Brynner sings, and he sings along with Alesha. But then, when sober, Yul Brynner was very unhappy with this drive, and even then it was considered quite rare. Was a wonderful person and very much help to the Roma.
Alyosha was a very wide soul, although typical of Roma. Sometimes he would ask me, "Where is the money you keep them?". Of course, he knew that the artists and sculptors money do not stay long in his pockets, "but if there are, in any case, no one in the bank, all transfers to and hide your gold coins!". And really, all that he earned, he translated into gold coins and hid in some banks, in common of glass, as in the joke. He was a wonderful wife, Teresa, is much younger than his years, a Frenchwoman, I think of Brittany, who every evening sat glumly in a cabaret, with difficulty understanding something, although she spoke little in Russian. Wonderful, too, was a woman, he came to her and then to New York, where at the time I was living, I was in the studio, singing, we met a few times - he wanted to do to move to New York to open a business, but neozhidenno something happened that he died. But first went Valya - the famous gypsy, huge, a thick, was her niece, even some relatives, so that something of the sort Dimitrijevic left.
Valya was, of course, very different in nature, it is often parodied in the famous Parisian taverns - such a beautiful mountain of meat, which she sang, sang Alyosha, the spectacle was certainly memorable. And when once we have had a drinking spree with Vysotsky - the famous and described in his song "The French demons", dedicated to this spree when we gulnuli little cabaret "Rasputin". When we came back to Vysotsky, has already taken on the chest in the tavern with Jean Tatlyana, we saw there Lyubimov, who was sitting with Madame Martini. Vysotsky is very rastroilo, saying hello, Volodya went grimly to one of the tables, we sat down, he asked for a cheeky vodka, looking straight at the eye of glass so Lyubimov. Alyosha came just Dimitrijevic, ran Val, singing, Volodya was already in a strong drunk, something began to tear out of his pocket during the song and throw a pretty big bill, throw banknotes. And Valya immediately, do solemnly and fast, but with great difficulty bending down, roused them and popped over vast bra. And when the song was over, I suddenly saw a side hissed at her Alesha Dimitrijevic, literally crawled to her bosom and began to pull out this crumpled piece of paper and after a while he began to pop them back in his pocket.
I usually do not celebrate their birthdays, especially since I had already at that age, if met, with tears in his eyes. So I'm all in work, and in mid-May will definitely come to St. Petersburg to manage the installation of the monument is also my late friend, Anatoly Sobchak.

Vadim Alexeev, May 2003