| Singer Country: Georgia |
Those who are older surely remember the little girl who first performed the "Orange Song". Forty years have passed since then, but the song has not been forgotten, neither in Russia nor in Georgia. It was later performed by Alla Pugacheva and Marina Vladi, and now, surprisingly, young singers have picked it up: "Orange sky, orange mother, orange camel...". The lyrics were written by Grigory Gorin and Arkady Arkanov, and the music was composed by Konstantin Pevzner. Specifically for eight-year-old Irma Sokhadze. She was already singing jazz beautifully in Georgia at that time. They say she sounded just like Ella Fitzgerald. We met during the peak of another cold war between Russia and Georgia, when our health inspector Onishchenko fought tirelessly against Georgian wine. Irma understood from childhood that talent is about dedication and perseverance. And almost nothing else. The entire 300-million Soviet Union perceived her as the "orange girl" for a long time, which both annoyed and provoked her. She had to prove that she did not remain in that orange childhood. And now she says: "In the scale of Georgia, I have already proven that long ago. Now I need to - no, not prove, but show it to my dear Muscovites."
Irma Sokhadze studied at the Central Music School for gifted children. In 1974, she graduated with a gold medal. She enrolled in the conservatory for piano and simultaneously studied musicology at the theoretical faculty. After graduation, she earned a red diploma.
Irma is a perfectionist in life. Very diligent. Very disciplined. Very responsible. She laughs: "Although it is known that pure-blooded Georgians are carefree. Their life philosophy is: 'Why rush?'. She arrives three hours early to concerts (even for ensembles where she only sings two songs). And she rehearses every day. For a very long time. If she gets distracted during the day, then at night. ("To the horror of my family.") Art is an interpretation of experience. She is convinced of this. Nothing comes out of nothing. There is a psychological law: everything must be paid for, otherwise it will eventually become invalid. That is why Irma, from childhood, taught herself to be accountable for her words as she would be for her actions.
Now she has four programs: "These are romances, then 'purely Georgian' songs, then twenty-four of my bard songs, and jazz." In the forty years since the premiere of the "Orange Sky", she has had many tours, a major solo performance in Georgia every two to three years, and countless small concerts. Approximately once every ten years, she has had major concerts in Moscow. Irma Sokhadze worked for twenty-five years at the First (State) Georgian television channel. She started as a junior editor and left as deputy director-general. She had many of her own programs, such as "Musical Octagon". ("It was something like your 'Musical Ring', remember? However, it is difficult to get Georgians to compete. In Georgia, everyone wants to be the first. But this show lasted for a long time, it was always live and performed live.") She sighs: "And today, thanks to the influence of Russian pop music, only 5-10% of Georgian performers sing live, the rest mime to last year's tape. Can you imagine that? In Georgia! They are afraid to sing live, they have almost forgotten how."
Irma also organized charity marathons on television. She raised money for orphans, refugees from Abkhazia, and those affected by military actions. ("At first, it was a shock for Georgians: someone is suffering, someone is hungry, someone has nowhere to live, someone has lost all their loved ones... Then there were so many misfortunes that the shock passed. All of Georgia was without electricity, without heat, queuing for bread at night... It was like being at war. But people supported each other. The concerts never stopped. Imagine: the audience sitting in winter coats, in fur hats, and I myself singing on stage in a coat (well, I tried to choose such coats that it would be like an image, not revealing that I was shaking from the cold), the lights constantly going out... But, strangely enough, everything turned out for the best. Without electricity, in the crowded rows of spectators, I would finish singing, or shout, or whisper the song, and the audience would join in... That's when I understood: a whisper is more important than a shout. And I understood the meaning of art: it lies in the quality that endures.") Then came the "Rose Revolution" in Tbilisi. Irma's entire family worried about Mikheil Saakashvili and supported him as best they could. After all, the fate of democracy in Georgia was being decided.
But after the victory, new people came into politics. And into television. They said: we don't need anyone who worked for the state television. And they also said: we don't need anyone over forty. However, no one fired Irma. She left on her own.
Irma's biography continued as her personal life in art. She explains: "Strangely enough, leaving television did not make me feel unhappy. I had time to sort out my thoughts. I lived with my family. My husband and I have been together for 31 years. And we have two wonderful daughters. One is 29 years old, the other is 20. In Tbilisi, I give small charity concerts. A lot of very, very small concerts. With the money from one concert, we bought a television for an orphanage, and with another, we bought something else. This is what saves me."
"The cold of bygone times" is what Irma Sokhadze feels today. "Something is deteriorating in people's relationships with each other. Even in Georgia. During the most difficult times, our neighbors were not just neighbors, but family. We cooked meals for three or four families, and all the children would sleep at one neighbor's apartment or another. We survived only because of this, we were saved by this. No, don't think that good neighborly relations have been broken in Georgia. But our relations with our neighbor, Russia... Why are the bridges severed? Some mutual xenophobia.
I am not interested in politics. But I do not believe that it is Russia cutting off our gas. Maybe the person doing it has Russian citizenship, but that is not Russia. And what about those who are playing the Abkhazia or South Ossetia card? Why is no one explaining that these are internal parts of Georgia? Why are people being misled? And these visas, and the inappropriate statements of politicians on both sides... Now when I watch TV, I get so tense that I start to panic. But we need to think about the positive."
Irma thinks about the positive. And she believes in the power of people's diplomacy. In Georgia, she sings Russian songs. (And today, especially today, she writes songs in Russian.) And in Moscow, she sings Georgian songs. Songs with "enduring quality".
Why can't people, why can't countries understand that hating each other is a very exhausting occupation?
P.S. Speaking of people's diplomacy, my friend Yadwiga Yufarova told me: across from her house, a Georgian cafe appeared. And just at that moment, when diplomats from both countries were threatening us with "adequate measures" and imposing visa restrictions, overnight a sign appeared in front of the cafe: "Georgian and Russian cuisine. Cafe 'Two Friends'. In memory of Mikhail Yegorov and Meliton Kantaria, who raised the Victory Banner over the Reichstag."