Childhood
Lev Valeryanovich Leshchenko was born in Moscow, during wartime - February 1, 1942. His father, Valeryan Andreevich, was awarded orders and medals for his participation in the Great Patriotic War and service in the KGB border troops in the post-war period. Lev’s mother, Klavdia Petrovna, died at the age of 28, a year after the birth of her son. In 1948, the boy had a stepmother, Marina Leshchenko, whom the artist later always remembered with warmth and gratitude. In 1949, she gave birth to her husband’s daughter Valentina. 
Leva often went to the military unit where his father served, which is why they called him the son of the regiment. He dined only in the soldiers' canteen, went to the cinema in formation and practiced at the shooting range. From the age of four, Lev wore a military uniform and rode soldier's skis in winter, which were three times longer than the boy himself.
Little Lev often visited his grandfather Andrei Leshchenko, who was very fond of music and often played the old violin for his grandson and taught Lev to sing. Since childhood, the boy was fond of the songs of Leonid Utesov, so when the opportunity arose, he joined the choir at the House of Pioneers, and at school he began performing with the compositions of his favorite artist.
After school, Leshchenko tried to enter the theater GITIS, but it did not work out for him. Therefore, until 1960, he worked as a simple stagehand at the Bolshoi Theater, and then worked at a precision measuring instruments factory as a fitter. 
In 1961, the future artist was drafted into the army. Lev Valeryanovich wanted to be a sailor, but his father sent him to serve in the tank forces in the GDR. In 1962, the unit command sent the singer to a military song and dance ensemble, where Leshchenko soon became a soloist. He was entrusted with singing in a quartet, conducting concerts, as well as reading poetry and singing solo. In the army, Lev Leshchenko continued his preparation for entering a theater university.
Carier start
After the service, yesterday's soldier came to GITIS again. By that time, the entrance exams were already over, but Lev was given a chance, since his brilliant talent was remembered. Despite the fact that the members of the selection committee did not highly appreciate the material he had chosen for audition, Leshchenko was enrolled in the course. 
Studying at GITIS transformed Leo. A year later, no one doubted that a real artist was studying on the course. As a sophomore, Leshchenko got a job at the Operetta Theater. His first role was as a sinner in the production of “Orpheus in Hell” with only one line: “Let me warm myself.” But that was only the beginning. As Lev Valeryanovich himself said, he studied with Pokrovsky, Efros and Zavadsky.
At the same time, work began for him at the Mosconcert. Lev Leshchenko was in a trainee group, and during the summer holidays the young artist went on tour around the USSR with concert crews.
Creativity of Lev Leshchenko
In 1966, Lev Leshchenko became an artist at the Moscow Operetta Theater, and five years later he was already a soloist-vocalist of the USSR State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company. In the spring of 1970, the artist won the fourth All-Union Variety Artists Competition. Two years later, Lev Valeryanovich became a laureate of the international competition “Golden Orpheus” (Bulgaria) and won in Sopot (Poland) with the song by Mark Fradkin based on the verses of Robert Rozhdestvensky “For that guy”.Lev Leshchenko - “For that guy”
The singer always considered David Tukhmanov’s song “Victory Day,” which Leshchenko first performed on May 9, 1975, to be a landmark for his musical career and his achievement. It was in his performance that this song found its sound and found a response in the hearts of listeners.
During these years, Lev Valeryanovich continued to record songs that became hits, including “Thank you for the silence,” “Don’t cry, girl.”
Lev Leshchenko - “Victory Day”. 1975
The artist’s collaboration with Alexandra Pakhmutova and Nikolai Dobronravov turned out to be very fruitful. Leshchenko performed songs by the famous duet “We Can’t Live Without Each Other”, “Love, Komsomol and Spring”. Songs based on poems by Larisa Rubalskaya, Leonid Derbenev, and Yuri Vizbor were also popular.
In 1977, the singer was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR, and a year later he was awarded an honorary prize named after the Lenin Komsomol. In 1980, Lev Leshchenko received the Order of Friendship of Peoples, and three years later, for outstanding services, he became People's Artist of the RSFSR. In 1985, the Order of the Badge of Honor appeared in the artist’s collection.
Lev Leshchenko and Tatyana Antsiferova - “Goodbye, Moscow” (1980)
In 1990, Lev Leshchenko became the head of the Musical Agency theater of variety performances. Two years later, the institution was given state status. “Musical Agency” today has united several groups and organized cooperation with most pop stars in Russia and neighboring countries. The theater's most successful project was the musical film "Military Field Romance" (1998), in which military-patriotic songs were performed by Lev Leshchenko, Vladimir Vinokur and Larisa Dolina.
For more than ten years, Lev Leshchenko has been working as a teacher at the Gnessin Music and Pedagogical Institute. His students became quite famous on the stage: Marina Khlebnikova, Olga Arefieva, Katya Lel, Varvara.
During his creative life, Lev Leshchenko released more than 10 records, magnetic albums and CDs. During his creative career, Leshchenko performed and recorded joint songs with Valentina Tolkunova and Sofia Rotaru, Anna German and Tamara Gverdtsiteli.
Lev Leshchenko and Anna German - “Echo of Love” (1977)
In 2001, a book by Lev Leshchenko entitled “Apology for Memory” was published. In it, the artist spoke about his contemporaries and about his life. In the winter of 2002, Lev Leshchenko received the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, fourth degree.
Lev Leshchenko has a voluminous, soft, low baritone and at the same time a courageous and velvety timbre. Due to such a voice and thanks to his pleasant appearance and charm, the artist was very popular in his youth and middle age. His image contrasts with the assertive and abrupt demeanor on stage of Vladimir Vinokur, with whom the singer has often performed in tandem since the 90s.
In 2011, the artist participated in the television project “The Phantom of the Opera” on Channel One, where the singer professionally performed romances and arias from classical works.
Personal life of Lev Leshchenko
The first wife of the People's Artist was singer Alla Abdalova. They met at GITIS (Lev was 2 years younger), and when Alla was finishing her fifth year, they got married. Together they formed the famous duet “Old Maple”. In 1974, a crisis arose in their relationship, and the couple decided to live separately. A year later, Lev and Alla gave their marriage a second chance. Wedding of Lev Leshchenko and Irina BagudinaWhile the student was on vacation, Lev did not show up at home, and when Irina flew back to Budapest, he returned to the apartment, where he found his suitcases packed - his wife guessed that he was having an affair. Leo thanked her for not causing a scandal and left her life. They failed to maintain friendly relations.
In 1978, Lev Leshchenko and Irina got married for the second time. For the sake of her husband, Irina left her career and became an assistant director at the Leshchenko Theater. Subsequently, Lev and Irina were unable to have children for health reasons, but this did not affect the strength of their marriage.
Despite his age, the artist continues to be active in sports and enjoys basketball, tennis, and swimming. He is the honorary president of the basketball club of the city of Lyubertsy "Triumph".
Lev Valeryanovich Leshchenko. Born on February 1, 1942 in Moscow. Soviet and Russian pop singer. People's Artist of the RSFSR (1983).
He told about the circumstances of his birth: “I was born in February 1942 in Sokolniki. At that time, the Germans were in the Moscow region and a fierce battle was going on for Moscow. Maternity hospitals were not working, and therefore my mother gave birth to me right in the apartment - they lived in two-story house, still built by a merchant. Two grandmother neighbors delivered the baby... Family legend says that at the time of my birth he managed to bring a loaf of bread and a quarter of alcohol. The old women diluted the alcohol with water and rinsed me in this solution, having previously heated the room with a stove, which was done extremely rarely, although the cold at home was terrible - plus three or four degrees."
His roots are in the village of Nizy, Sumy district, Kharkov province, where his grandfather Andrei Vasilyevich Leshchenko was born, who in 1900 moved from here to the village of Lyubimovka, Kursk province, where he got a job as an accountant at a sugar factory. As Leshchenko said, his grandfather was a musically gifted man, he sang in a church choir and played the violin in a string quartet at the factory.
Father - Valeryan Andreevich Leshchenko (1904-2004), graduated from a gymnasium in Kursk, worked on a state farm, and in 1931 he was assigned to Moscow, where he began working as an accountant at a vitamin plant in Krasnaya Presnya. Drafted into the Red Army, he fought in the Soviet-Finnish War, upon his return from which he was sent to serve in the NKVD. During the Great Patriotic War, he was deputy chief of staff of a special-purpose regiment of convoy troops and was awarded many orders and medals. At the end of the war and until his retirement, he continued to serve in the MGB, the Main Directorate of Border Troops of the KGB. Died at the age of 99.
Mother - Leshchenko Klavdiya Petrovna (1915-1943), died at 28 years old. “Trouble came in September 1943. Something happened to my mother’s throat - either cancer or tuberculosis. How to treat if there is no medicine? They didn’t save it, they buried it,” said Lev Valeryanovich.
My grandmother, my mother’s mother, moved in with them from Ryazan. However, his father did not have a good relationship with her. However, she managed to baptize her grandson: “when my grandmother and I went to see her in Ryazan, she baptized me there in secret from my father. When dad found out about this, he was shocked, and they completely quarreled.”
Soon the father moved the family to Bogorodskoye, where his unit was based, and they settled in an officer’s barracks. The father was busy in the service, and in those years his adjutant, Sergeant Major Andrei Fisenko, was involved in raising the future singer.
Little Lev grew up like a “son of the regiment”: he dined in the soldiers’ canteen, practiced at the shooting range, and marched in formation to the movies. At the age of 4 he wore a military uniform; in winter he walked on soldier’s skis, which were three times longer than the boy. Lev visited his grandfather Andrei Leshchenko, who before the October Revolution was an accountant and loved music very much: grandfather Andrei played the old violin and taught his grandson to sing.
In 1948, he had a stepmother, Marina Mikhailovna Leshchenko (1924-1981), who gave birth to Lev Leshchenko’s sister, Valentina Valerianovna Kuznetsova (née Leshchenko) (born 1949). “Marina Mikhailovna Sizova turned out to be a kind-hearted, caring, patient stepmother. She came to Moscow from the village of Ternovka, which is along the Volgograd road, entered a medical institute here, and when she got together with her dad, she dropped out of school because she had to raise three children,” - the artist said.
His childhood was spent in Sokolniki, then the family moved to the Voykovsky district, where Lev went to school No. 201.
He attended the choir in the house of pioneers, went in for swimming, attended a literary circle and a brass band. At the insistence of the choirmaster, he gives up classes and only practices singing, performs at school, and sings popular songs.
Lev Leshchenko recalled: “I started singing in the second grade. I suddenly developed a voice, and the music teacher, Lyudmila Andronikovna, began taking me to different musical groups - showing me. She settled on the children’s choir of the Falconer’s House of Pioneers, where I then went for three years. Everyone gasped: “Oh, what a voice the boy has!” "In the tenth grade, I started singing seriously. I bought all sorts of records - I especially liked Italian tenors - I listened and sang. Although I had a strong baritone, which later, in college, turned into a bass-baritone."
After school, he tried to enter theater universities, but he did not succeed, so from 1959 to 1960, he worked as a stagehand at the Bolshoi Theater.
Then, from 1960 to 1961, he worked as a fitter at a precision measuring instruments factory. Then he was drafted into the army, he wanted to be a sailor, he said so at the military registration and enlistment office, but his father spoiled his plans, thanks to him Lev was sent to serve in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, in the tank forces.
On January 27, 1962, the unit command sent Lev Leshchenko to the song and dance ensemble, where he became a soloist of the ensemble. In the ensemble, he sang in a quartet, led concerts and read poetry, and sang solo. In the army he begins to prepare for exams at the theater institute.
After the army, Leshchenko came back to enroll in GITIS in September 1964, the exams were already over, but he was given a chance, since they managed to remember the promising performer. In his second year, Leshchenko was accepted into the Operetta Theater at the invitation of the main director Georgy Anisimov, the singer’s teacher at GITIS. The first role - “sinner” in the play “Orpheus in Hell”, consisted of 2 words: “Let me warm myself.”
He studied, according to him, with Pokrovsky, Ansimov, Goncharov, Zavadsky, Efros.
From the same year, work began at the Mosconcert and the trainee group of the Operetta Theater. During the summer holidays, Leshchenko tours with concert teams throughout the USSR.
Since 1966, Lev Leshchenko became an artist at the Moscow Operetta Theater. And on February 13, 1970, the singer became a soloist-vocalist of the USSR State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company.
In March 1970, he became a laureate of the IV All-Union Competition of Variety Artists (II prize). In 1972 - laureate of the Golden Orpheus competitions (Bulgaria) and in Sopot (Poland).
Lev Leshchenko - Don't cry, girl
In 1977, the singer was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR, and in 1978 he was awarded the Lenin Komsomol Prize. The footage of the end of the Olympics has already become textbook: to the sounds of Alexandra Pakhmutova’s song “Goodbye, Moscow,” the Olympic Bear flies into the sky.
In the video there are thousands of people at Luzhniki and large-scale crying faces of guests and athletes. The song was performed
Lev Leshchenko and Tatyana Antsiferova - Goodbye, Moscow
In 1980, he was awarded the Order of Friendship of Peoples, in 1983, for outstanding services, Lev Leshchenko was awarded the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR, and in 1985 he was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor.
In 1990, he created and headed the musical agency theater of variety performances, which in 1992 was awarded State status. The main activity of the theater is organizing tours and concerts, presentations, and creative evenings. Today, the Music Agency unites several large groups, and also collaborates with almost all pop stars, both in Russia and neighboring countries. Over the years, with the participation of the theater, the BFT company, together with director Oleg Ryaskov, produced the musical television film “War Field Romance,” which became a laureate at the 1998 IFF in Volgograd. The theater also took part in the production of the video film “Anniversary... Anniversary... Anniversary...” and the anniversary program of David Tukhmanov “In the wake of my memory”, the program “10 years of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia”. The premiere of the musical TV show “STAR and Young” took place.
Lev Valeryanovich teaches at the Gnessin Music Pedagogical Institute (now the Gnessin Russian Academy). Many of his students became famous pop artists: Marina Khlebnikova, Katya Lel, Olga Arefieva, Varvara and many others.
Over the years of creative activity, Lev Leshchenko has released over 10 records, CDs and magnetic albums. Among them: “Lev Leshchenko” (1977), “Earth Gravity” (1980), “Lev Leshchenko and the Spectrum Group” (1981), “In the Circle of Friends” (1983), “Something for the Soul” (1987 ), “The White Flower of Bird Cherry” (1993), “The Best Songs of Lev Leshchenko” (1994), “Not a Moment of Peace” (1995), “Scent of Love” (1996), “Memories” (1996), “World of Dreams” ( 1999), “A Simple Motive” (2001), as well as over 10 minions. Lev Leshchenko also performed dozens of songs on compilations and original composers' records.
Lev Leshchenko - Farewell
In 1999, a personal star of Lev Leshchenko was laid on the Square of Stars of the State Central Concert Hall “Russia”.
In 2001, Lev Leshchenko’s book “Apology of Memory” was published, in which the artist talks about his life and his contemporaries - outstanding people of art, sports and politics.
On February 1, 2002, Lev Leshchenko was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree.
Lev Leshchenko's voice is a soft, voluminous low baritone, with a manly velvety timbre. In his youth and middle age, Lev Leshchenko was very popular both due to his voice and appearance. Leshchenko has always been distinguished by a fit figure, soft, graceful facial features, and a kind smile. This image of him contrasts with the harsh, assertive, grotesque manner of stage behavior with which Leshchenko often performs in duets.
In 2011, he took part as a participant in the Channel One television project “The Phantom of the Opera.” In 2015, he performed as an honorary guest at the KUBANA rock festival.
On March 11, 2014, he signed an appeal from cultural figures of the Russian Federation in support of the policies of Russian President V.V. Putin in Ukraine and Crimea. Among other Russian pop stars, Lev Leshchenko is included in the Ukrainian sanctions list. He is prohibited from entering Ukrainian territory.
According to Forbes magazine, Lev Leshchenko is the “corporate poet” of the oil giant Lukoil. A corporate anthem was written based on his poems with the following words: “We walked along the highway, climbed ahead, / We bit into the ground, we froze in the tundra, / Fate tested us to the breaking point, / And life then did not seem like paradise to us.”
He is friends with Vagit Alekperov. According to Forbes, for the Musical Agency pop theater, headed by Lev Leshchenko, partnership with Lukoil is the main source of income.
Russian Railways, Gazprom, and smaller companies also turn to Leshchenko’s services. At these corporate events, Leshchenko not only performs himself, but also brings artists working with other producers.
Lev Leshchenko in the program "Alone with Everyone"
Lev Leshchenko's height: 180 centimeters.
Personal life of Lev Leshchenko:
Was married twice. Have no children.
First wife - (born 1941), singer and theater actress. Married from 1966 to 1976.
They got married when Leshchenko was in his third year. Alla Abdalova was a fifth-grade student and was considered the most talented and promising at the university. “A classical singer, with a beautiful deep mezzo-soprano, a student of Maria Petrovna Maksakova. She was taken into the trainee group of the Bolshoi Theater. But it so happened that because of me she joined the stage. When at the beginning of my third year I was invited to play at the Operetta Theater, I told the artistic director of our course, director Ansimov: “Georgy Pavlovich, I will work for you, just take one more girl.” Not that I set a condition, but I asked very persistently. Alla was hired, and she worked there for two years,” said Lev Valeryanovich.
The discord in the relationship began when Lev Leshchenko’s career took off, he toured a lot, and they began to work in different teams.
The singer recalled: “From the moment Alla and I scattered among different organizations, life began to separate us - we each endlessly went on our own tours. At the same time, I became more and more popular, and she, with all her unconditional talent, remained in the shadows . Which, of course, hurt her. Conflicts, reproaches, violent quarrels began. The situation became tense. The explosion occurred in 1974 after my one and a half month trip to Japan with some ensemble. Reconciliation was already difficult for us, but then the differences reached their peak peak. I arrived, and it began: “You only think about yourself, you cheated on me there, you had affairs!” It was simply unbearable, my nerves couldn’t stand it, I felt that I wouldn’t last long like this. And Alla and I separated. However, the next year we still tried to glue the relationship back together. But you can’t step into the same river twice. Honestly, creative people rarely get along together. At the heart of the problem is jealousy - both creative and human."
Alla Abdalova - the first wife of Lev Leshchenko
According to the memoirs of Alla Abdalova, “before Leva, I had men, and he didn’t come to me as a virgin. But never - neither before nor after - I lost my head like that.” The reason for the breakup of the family, according to Abdalova, was Leshchenko’s affair with Irina Bagudina and the numerous abortions that she was forced to have during marriage due to her husband’s reluctance to have children. She especially grieved the loss of two twin boys. After her divorce from Leshchenko, Alla Alexandrovna never married again and never gave birth to children, which she later bitterly regretted. Along with loneliness, bad habits gradually entered Abdalova’s life.
Second wife - Irina Pavlovna Leshchenko (nee Bagudina, born 1954). They met in 1976 on tour in Sochi. They were introduced by his friend, who was dating Irina’s friend. At that time she was studying in Hungary to become a diplomat.
“And, imagine, I fell in love with Ira almost immediately. It happens like this: I saw it, and inside it was like a signal - mine! As if someone from above whispered: this woman was sent to you, destined, she is your destiny. First of all, Ira attracted me visually - she still looks good, but then she was a rare beauty: a spectacular brunette, though too thin for my taste, but most importantly, she exuded a kind of peace and unaffected love of life. And she was unusually feminine - impeccable style, charm, a little bit of slyness, an insinuating voice, cheerful sparkles in her eyes. And I was also struck by her indifferent attitude towards my person,” said the singer.
In 1978 they got married.
He is interested in sports. As a fan he loves tennis, basketball, swimming. He was the honorary president of the Lyubertsy basketball club “Triumph” (before the team moved to St. Petersburg).
Discography of Lev Leshchenko:
1971 - “Don’t Cry, Girl”
1974 - “Melt Water”
1975 - “Lev Leshchenko”
1975 - “Songs of Yuri Saulsky”
1976 - “Songs of Soviet composers”
1976 - “Lev Leshchenko”
1979 - “Lev Leshchenko”
1980 - “Gravity of the Earth”
1981 - “Parental House”
1983 - “In the Circle of Friends”
1987 - “Something for the soul”
1989 - “Favorite. Songs of Vyacheslav Rovny"
1992 - “The White Color of Bird Cherry”
1994 - “Lev Leshchenko sings for you”
1996 - “Scent of Love”
1996 - “Memories” (2 CDs)
1999 - “World of Dreams”
2001 - “Simple motive”
2002 - “Best”
2004 - “In the Mood for Love”
2004 - “Song for two” - songs by Vyacheslav Dobrynin
2004 - “Territory of Love”
2006 - “Be Happy”
2007 - “Names for all times. Nightingale Grove"
2009 - “Songs of Alexandra Pakhmutova and Nikolai Dobronravov”
2014 - “Anniversary edition. Unknown songs"
2015 - “I’ll give it to you”
Video clips of Lev Leshchenko:
1985 - “Old Tram”
1993 - “There”
1994 - “No need” - duet with Lada Dance
1996 - “Why didn’t you meet me?”
1997 - “Muscovites” - duet with the group “Lyceum”
1997 - “Song of Forgiveness” - duet with Alena Sviridova
1997 - “Hope”
1998 - “Victory Day” - duet with the group “Lyceum”
1999 - “World of Dreams” - duet with Angelica Agurbash
1999 - “Moscow tram”
2009 - “The Girl from the Past”
2011 - “Berezovsky’s Anthem”
Filmography of Lev Leshchenko:
1967 - “The Path to Saturn” - episode
1967 - “Sofya Perovskaya” - episode
1974 - “Yurkin Dawns” - vocals with A. Abdalova, song “Promise”
1975 - “Looking for the Dawn”
1979 - “The grandmothers said in two…” - performs the song “Where have you been?”
1995 - “Old songs about the main thing” - summer resident
1997 - “Old songs about the main thing 3” - announcer of the “Time” program
1998 - “War Field Romance”
2005-2007 - “Doomed to become a star”
2013 - “Treasures of O.K.” - cameo. Performs the song “Don’t Cry, Girl!”
Bibliography of Lev Leshchenko:
2001 - “Apology for Memory”
Songs performed by Lev Leshchenko:
“Alyoshenka” (E. Martynov - A. Dementyev) (music - poetry)
“Scent of Love” (A. Ukupnik - E. Nebylova)
“Aty-Bati” (V. Migulya - M. Tanich)
“Oh, what a pity” (A. Nikolsky)
“Ballad of Mother” (E. Martynov - A. Dementyev)
“White Birch” (V. Shainsky - L. Ovsyannikov)
“White Stork” (E. Hanok - A. Poperechny)
“Careless birds fly” (A. Zhigulin - I. Gabeli)
“We were young and happy” (M. Minkov - L. Rubalskaya)
“In the land where the hills are” (L. Lyadova - V. Petrov)
“The Cherry Orchard” (V. Dobrynin - M. Ryabinin)
“You are leaving” (A. Nikolsky)
“White Blizzard” (O. Ivanov - I. Shaferan)
“In dazzling white” (O. Sorokin - A. Lucina)
“Where have you been” (V. Dobrynin - L. Derbenev)
“Where is my home” (M. Fradkin - A. Bobrov)
“The main thing, guys, is not to grow old in your heart,” together with Joseph Kobzon (A. Pakhmutova - N. Dobronravov and S. Grebennikov)
“City Flowers” (M. Dunaevsky - L. Derbenev)
“Bitter Honey” (O. Ivanov - V. Pavlinov)
"Victory Day"
“Gentlemen Officers” (A. Nikolsky)
“Let's talk” (G. Movsesyan - R. Rozhdestvensky)
“Victory Day” (D. Tukhmanov - V. Kharitonov)
“Long farewell” (E. Kolmanovsky - E. Yevtushenko)
“Dear Birds” (A. Palamarchuk - N. Tverskaya)
“Vicious Circle” (M. Minkov - M. Ryabinin)
“Belated Love” (A. Ukupnik - B. Shifrin)
“For that guy” (M. Fradkin - R. Rozhdestvensky)
“Lace” (N. Pogodaev - K. Krastoshevsky)
“Fly with Aeroflot planes” (O. Feltsman - A. Voznesensky)
“Beloved Women” (S. Tulikov - M. Plyatskovsky)
“Magnitka” (A. Pakhmutova - N. Dobronravov)
“Mine both close and far” (I. Krutoy - R. Kazakova)
“We are one” (K. Gubin - K. Gubin)
“Love lives on Earth” (V. Dobrynin - L. Derbenev)
“We can’t live without each other” (A. Pakhmutova - N. Dobronravov)
“Memory is dear to us” (Yu. Yakushev - I. Kokhanovsky)
“Write me a letter” (V. Dobrynin - M. Ryabinin)
“The Beginning” (G. Movsesyan - R. Rozhdestvensky)
“Don’t cry, girl” (V. Shainsky - V. Kharitonov)
“Not a minute of peace” (V. Dobrynin - L. Derbenev)
“She was right about everything...” (I. Kataev - M. Ancharov)
“Late Woman” (A. Savchenko - R. Kazakova)
“The Last Meeting” (I. Krutoy - R. Kazakova)
“Last Love” (O. Sorokin - A. Zhigarev)
“Why didn’t you meet me” (N. Bogoslovsky - N. Dorizo)
“I invite all friends” (K. Gubin - K. Gubin)
“Gravity of the Earth” (D. Tukhmanov - R. Rozhdestvensky)
“Farewell” (V. Dobrynin - L. Derbenev)
“Parental home” (V. Shainsky - M. Ryabinin)
“Native Land” (V. Dobrynin - V. Kharitonov)
“Wedding horses” (D. Tukhmanov - A. Poperechny)
“The heart is not a stone” (V. Dobrynin - M. Ryabinin)
“Nightingale Grove” (D. Tukhmanov - A. Poperechny)
“Ancient Moscow” (A. Nikolsky)
“Old swing” (V. Shainsky - Yu. Yantar)
“Old Maple” (A. Pakhmutova - M. Matusovsky)
“Tatiana’s Day” (Yu. Saulsky - N. Olev)
“Tonechka” (A. Savchenko - V. Baranov)
“Meadow grasses” (I. Dorokhov - L. Leshchenko)
“I love you, capital” (P. Aedonitsky - Yu. Vizbor)
How old is Lev Leshchenko? It seems that he is forever young - the artist changes so little over the years that he looks at us from the stage. He is recognized by his stately figure, special manner of movement and, of course, by his magical, seemingly voluminous voice, which seems to float from the stage and makes the entire audience freeze. Meanwhile the singer has already celebrated his 75th birthday.
Biography of Lev Leshchenko
Lev Leshchenko was born on February 5, 1942. His mother died early, but his father, on the contrary, lived to be 99 years old. In 1948, he brought his stepmother into the house, and soon their daughter Valentina was born, who became Lev’s half-sister.
Valeryan Leshchenko was a military man, and little Lev grew up like a real “son of the regiment” - he wore tailored military clothing, ate in the soldiers’ canteen, and went to the shooting range. The boy’s love of music was instilled in him by his grandfather Andrei, who never missed an opportunity to play the violin for his grandson.
Lev Valeryanovich spent his childhood in Sokolniki. He became interested in creativity, was a member of the choir at the House of Pioneers, and studied in a brass band, but gradually focused on vocals. It was not possible to enroll in a theater university immediately after school, and for some time the future pop star worked as an ordinary stagehand at the Bolshoi Theater, and then completely went to work as a mechanic at a factory.
The draft came, and Leshchenko, following his father’s advice, went to serve in the tank forces. There his singing abilities were fully appreciated, and from 1962 Lev performed with a military song and dance ensemble, where he soon became a soloist. This practice allowed him to enter GITIS after completing his service. Although they took him reluctantly - he was not impressed - however, a year later they recognized him - not in vain. His low baritone and special timbre gradually became his calling card aspiring singer. Already in his second year, Leshchenko worked at the Operetta Theater and Mosconcert, and spent his summer holidays touring as part of concert teams throughout the Soviet Union.
Musical career of Lev Leshchenko
Lev Leshchenko's career was on the rise. Soloist-vocalist of the Moscow Operetta Theater and the State Television and Radio of the USSR, winner of the 1970 All-Union competition among pop artists, participant and laureate of international competitions, holder of the titles of Honored (1977), and then People's Artist of the RSFSR (1980), holder of the Order of the Badge of Honor (1985 ) and “For Services to the Fatherland” 4th degree (2002). In the 1980s, he was already a recognized authority on the Soviet stage, whose name is known in every home. Leshchenko, Pugacheva, Kobzon - perhaps not a single holiday program on television could do without these artists.
Since 1990, Lev Leshchenko became the head of " Music agency» - a theater of variety performances, mainly engaged in organizing concerts, creative evenings, and various performances. The singer has released many of his own albums (first records, then CDs), his compositions are included in numerous collections. For a long time he has been collaborating with Vladimir Vinokur, and their half-joking duet “ Vovchik and Levchik"The audience was very fond of it.
The artist also carried out teaching activities, helping the release of such performers as Katya Lel, Marina Khlebnikova and others. Today he does not appear on stage very often, but in February 2017 he gave a big concert, thus celebrating his 75th anniversary.
Personal life of Lev Leshchenko, family and children
Lev Leshchenko was married twice, with his first wife, Alla Abdalova, he lived for 10 years, from 1966 to 1976. Being both people of creative professions (Abdalova is a theater artist and singer), they often did not see eye to eye, quarreled, separated and reunited, and eventually divorced completely. By the way, songs sung by spouses as a duet, were popular. Among the most famous are “Old Maple”, “The main thing, guys, is not to grow old in your heart”, “Song about Moscow”(“...I will never forget a friend if I became friends with him in Moscow”) It remains to add that Lev Leshchenko’s children from his first marriage are a myth that sometimes appears in the yellow press. They did not have children, although they could have been born. Alla had an abortion several times.
Marriage with Irina Bagudina, who was 12 years younger than the groom, took place in 1978. Soon after the wedding, it turned out that Lev Leshchenko and his wife did not have to dream about children - as a result of an unsuccessful pregnancy, the woman was forever deprived of the opportunity to have children. But this did not cause the separation; Leshchenko and his second wife Irina are still together.
Today, Lev Leshchenko is called a “corporate” artist by many. His “Music Agency” cooperates with Russian Railways, “Lukoil” and “Gazprom”, organizes concerts in which not only artists under Leshchenko’s “patronage” participate, but also many others. He is the honorary president of the basketball club in Lyubertsy and is on the Ukrainian “sanctions” list as an artist who is prohibited from visiting this country.
“All-Russian Nightingale” Lev Leshchenko is considered one of the most faithful and constant husbands among representatives of the national stage. Lev Valeryanovich has been happily married for more than 34 years. But, as it turned out, this is already the second marriage in Leshchenko’s life. First wife of Lev Leshchenko was a singer and theater actress. Albina or Alla Abdalova graduated from GITIS and worked in the operetta theater. They say they were a very beautiful couple: young, talented, they performed on stage together. It was thanks to Alla that Leshchenko became a famous singer. She had several abortions because Leo did not want children. They lived together for a considerable number of years - the marriage lasted from 1966 to 1978. Today Leshchenko is successful, rich and popular. And Lev Leshchenko’s first wife lives on a meager pension, completely alone.
In the photo: Lev Leshchenko's first wife Alla Abdalova (in her youth and now).
Lev Leshchenko met his second wife at one of the southern resorts. And it was a real holiday romance. Leshchenko continued to meet secretly with Irina Bagudina, the daughter of a diplomat, even after returning to Moscow. Alla Abdalova could not come to terms with her husband’s betrayal and filed for divorce. As Lev Leshchenko’s first wife says, the singer is by nature an indecisive and cowardly person, and if she had not thrown him out the door, the romance would have gradually ended on its own. Leshchenko would not have had the determination to leave home on his own initiative. It turns out, says Abdalova, that I myself pushed him towards my rival.
Leshchenko got married for the first time at the very end of the 60s, when he was a 3rd year student at GITIS.
His wife was Alla Abdalova, a graduate of the same institute. Their first meeting took place in 1964.
It was then that freshman Leshchenko saw with his own eyes the student who was rumored at GITIS as one of the most capable.
And this was not an exaggeration: Alla’s artistic director was the outstanding Soviet actor Lev Sverdlin, and she studied vocals with the legendary singer Maria Maksakova.
Lev Leshchenko recalls:
“By the will of fate, Alla and I were both among the performers at the concert dedicated to the October holidays. I stood backstage and waited for my entrance. And just in front of me, a charming girl whom I had never seen before performed a romance. I won’t hide, she made an impression on me - a tall, slender blonde with large gray eyes and a low, exciting mezzo-soprano voice.
- Who is this?
And he was surprised:
– Haven’t you heard about her? This is Alla Abdalova from the third year!
“Oh, so that’s what she’s like...” I say.
And the more I looked at her, the more my conviction strengthened that Alla was truly an extraordinary person. She had that special seriousness that is not often found in young people. I was also struck by the way she was dressed. She was wearing a very good quality beige dress, clearly not of domestic production, which sat with great grace. Her, apparently insanely expensive, imported shoes were distinguished by the same elegance. As it turned out later, Alla could afford such a luxury for one simple reason - her sister was married to a counselor at the Soviet embassy in Great Britain, where, as you know, women's clothing was not treated with the same puritanical severity as we do...
In a word, after that memorable evening I began to look for opportunities to meet Alla. And when a group of senior students and I once performed in the October Hall of the House of Unions, I went backstage and began casting a fishing rod to see if anyone was heading towards the Krasnopresnenskaya metro station (the fact is that I found out in advance that Alla lives in the Khoroshevskoye Shosse area ). Thus, I asked to be her escort. I walked her to the entrance, we stood there, talked, and said a very touching goodbye.
And the next day was November 7th. My relatives all went to the dacha for the holidays, and I was left alone in our apartment on Voikovskaya. I began to think about how best to spend the holidays with the girl I liked, but due to the catastrophic lack of money, I, alas, didn’t have much of a choice. Going to a restaurant or cafe was clearly out of the question, all that was left was a movie. On the other hand, it was a sin to miss such an opportunity to be together, without prying eyes, to take a closer look at each other, and, in the end, just have a good time. As a result, I invited Alla to visit me and, trying not to lose face in terms of food even with my modest capabilities, I set a table for two. I didn’t even forget about the candles. By the way, it was by candlelight that I noticed how beautiful her legs were.
Alla turned out to be a very calm, self-possessed, rather ironic person, that is, she possessed all the signs of true intelligence. I was already wondering if she came from some “professor’s” family... But it turned out that her family was the most ordinary, working class, and Alla herself was from Podolsk. Her sister was a dancer in the Song and Dance Ensemble of the Soviet Army under the direction of Boris Alexandrov, where, in fact, her future diplomat husband noticed her... In short, we spent a wonderful warm evening with Alla, after which our stormy student love began. . When I moved to the third year, and she, accordingly, to the fifth, we decided to get married...”
After the wedding, the young couple settled with their husband’s parents on Voykovskaya, since Leshchenko’s older sister also got married and vacated their living space. For several years, the young people lived with their parents, however, when things started to improve for them - Leshchenko became a soloist of the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, Alla also performed on stage (though there were not enough stars in the sky) - they managed to save money and in 1971 bought a cooperative apartment in Chertanovo.
However, soon this option did not suit them either (it was too far to get from there to the city center), and in 1974 Leshchenko bought another cooperative - on 3rd Rybinskaya Street in Sokolniki. But the couple did not live there for long either: taking advantage of the opportunity, Alla’s sister went with her husband to live abroad and left her luxurious apartment on Mira Avenue to her younger sister.
Meanwhile, by the time of the second move, family affairs for our heroes were no longer going well. There were several reasons. The first is long separations. Since the young people worked in different groups (Leshchenko served in the Operetta Theater, and Abdalova in Leonid Utesov’s orchestra), they went on tour at different times and saw each other very rarely. As a result, their life together turned, to put it mildly, into a kind of strange, conditional existence.
The second reason is creative jealousy. While Leshchenko became more and more popular every year, his wife, who showed great promise at GITIS, somehow got lost on the big stage. When her husband was already recognized as a star on an all-Union scale, Alla was considered a prima singer only within the Utesovo orchestra.
The first serious conflict in the Leshchenko family broke out in January 1974. He had just returned from a tour of Japan, and on the very first day after their meeting he and his wife had a scandal. And it’s grandiose.
And it all ended with Leshchenko packing his things and, leaving his apartment on Mira Avenue, moving to his home in Sokolniki. A year later, the couple seemed to have reconciled, and Abdalova even moved in with her husband. But, as it turned out later, this was a temporary reconciliation.
Lev Leshchenko is rightly considered the most faithful husband of the Russian stage.
He has been married to his wife Irina for 30 years. Few people know that his first wife was singer Albina Abdalova.
Fortune did not smile on the talented singer of romances. She is lonely, living on a meager pension. An Express Gazeta correspondent found her. Albina Alexandrovna told what prevented the outstanding singer from becoming truly happy.
AT KINOTAVR-2007: the nightingale of the national stage is inseparable from his second wife Irina
I tried to arrange a meeting with Albina Abdalova for three years. She politely refused with an iron voice. But this time something broke in her. She willingly supported the telephone conversation and unexpectedly agreed to meet.
...Trying to walk straight, she left the entrance. She was holding a photograph in her hands. “This is me in my youth. She was like this when Leva and I broke up,” she handed me the photo, as if making excuses for her current unpresentable appearance. On June 19 she turned 67 years old. Smiling guiltily, she doused me with a slight fume.
A CARING HUSBAND: makes sure that his wife is both watered and fed
Sorry, I drank a little,” she apologized, shyly covering her mouth with her hand. - I have almost no teeth now.
Calling on the phone, I asked to visit, but Albina Aleksandrovna did not give in to any persuasion.
“My house is a mess,” she admitted. Therefore, we had to talk in the yard, on a bench.
Leva and I lived in the next entrance, in a three-room apartment. Our first apartment is a two-room apartment in Chertanovo. From the radio committee where Leva worked, they built a cooperative. Of course, we didn’t have our own money - my sister helped. Later we moved here to Sokolniki, our friend contributed.
In addition, Leva was already a laureate of the Golden Orpheus.
He left me, as befits a real man - with one suitcase. Why do I need three rooms on my own? I exchanged for a two-room apartment. I wanted to show you photographs of us together - young, beautiful. But they got lost somewhere, I can’t find them. I put them away so as not to poison my soul.
Her eyes turned red, she took off her glasses and sobbed like an offended child.
When Leva left, I thought he would take our photographs as souvenirs. But no, I didn’t take a single photo.
I had to shoot a cigarette for my interlocutor. Having lit a cigarette, she calmed down a little and began to reminisce.
Love to the skies
LEO: such a handsome guy could drive anyone crazy
We studied together at GITIS in the operetta department. He is two years younger, although I am a year older than Leva, he just entered after the army. The girls were delighted: what a handsome guy appeared! He also had curls. For some reason he felt shy and straightened them out. But the fact that he had a lisp - he didn’t have complexes and didn’t work with speech therapists. I thought he was good anyway.
One day Leva looked into the dance class. I look - he is looking at me point blank. I'm not timid. After class she came up and asked: “What’s the matter?” He replied that I looked a lot like his niece. I was not at a loss: “Let’s take her to her and show her, I’ll see if you’re lying.” We arrived in Khimki, to his home. And for sure: I am the spitting image of my niece!
Levi's stepmother took our visit very seriously and decided that since Leva brought home a girl, it meant he was a bride.
One day I come to class, and he’s standing outside the classroom with a bouquet of daisies,” Abdalova continues. - It’s my birthday. And of all the flowers, I love daisies. He took me by the arm and led me into the front garden of GITIS. He sat him down on a bench and took out a bottle of wine. Then the guys ran to the store... I still can’t stand sweet wine. By the way, when visiting I always had to drink for two. Leva takes a sip, and his diction becomes so loud that you can’t understand anything, just hissing.
ALBINA: she was irresistible in her youth
Since then, Leva and Alla walked each other home after class. First he takes her to Karbyshev Boulevard, then she takes him to the Voikovskaya metro station. Then again he is hers.
Somehow we got so carried away that it was too late for Alla to return. He invited the girl to spend the night with him.
He said: “Don’t think anything bad: I have dad, mom and sister at home.” The family, of course, was fast asleep. Then he asked me: “Al, is this really our first time?” And I was fooling around, no, I don’t remember something.
- Was this your first love as an adult?
No, before Leva I had men, and Leva had women. Before registration, we lived with him for seven years. We met secretly - either at my sister's or at his parents'. Leva once told me: “We never slept with you except in heaven!” That is, everywhere!
It is truly a miracle if you are attracted to a man at any moment... even at the wrong time! There are people around, but I feel: he wants. And he should get it. And I want this too. That is, we are tuned in to the same wavelength...
Albina Alexandrovna took a deep drag on her cigarette and sighed: “After Lyova, I didn’t allow myself anything like that.” After all, you can only lose your head with the man you love.
Failed father
DUMP IN THE APARTMENT: old things are a reminder of the happy years lived with the singer
Once Lev Valerianovich complained that he did not have the opportunity to raise children. You didn't give birth. The second time he married a woman younger than himself. And this marriage is also barren...
If you are hinting that something is wrong with Lev Valerianovich, then you are mistaken! He's doing well with this. And I was not infertile; he had to have several abortions.
- For what?
Yes, he sometimes said that we should have children. But in reality everything turned out differently. Having become pregnant, I thought for a long time what to do. I was haunted by doubts whether we would continue to be together. I asked him: “Do you love me? If yes, then I’ll give birth.” He didn’t answer me. So I went to the midwife. Another time I got pregnant again, I asked him again what to do. But he has no time for that. He came from Japan, he had impressions... He muttered something like do as you please. Out of stupidity, perhaps, I asked the doctor who was scraped out of me. She says: "Boy." I didn’t even tell my husband that we would have a son. Then I went for abortions without consultation. One day, after an operation, a doctor told me: “Alla, you could have two great boys. Twins". I felt like I was scalded. I barely made it home. I come and see: Leva is lounging in a chair, chatting on the phone with Slava Dobrynin. And Slava, I’ll tell you, is one of those ladies’ men. I hear them agreeing to go out with the girls. And Leva smiles at the same time, as if nothing had happened, and also asks me: “What are you doing, old woman?” I answered him: “Do what you want.” But in general, Lyova was not a lover, I never caught him with anyone. Before Irina, his current wife, he never cheated on me with anyone. He's a decent person.
Attractive man
Many women liked Leva, but not only women,” Abdalova laughed good-naturedly, remembering the funny story.
1972 was a real breakthrough for Lev Leshchenko. He won the Golden Orpheus in Bulgaria, then received an invitation to participate in a competition in Sopot, Poland.
THINKING ABOUT THE PAST: Abdalova regrets that she suggested Leshchenko break up
Alla and Leva lived poorly. Lev Valerianovich did not have suitable clothes. Someone advised me to contact fashion designer Vyacheslav Zaitsev. The couturier invited the singer to come to the studio for a fitting.
Have you noticed that Lev Valerianovich has such an ass... well, not quite like a man should. In general, it’s a homosexual’s dream,” Abdalova giggles kindly. - The first time he was caught by homosexuals was in the toilet near the operetta theater. I saw my man fly out of the latrine all white: “I almost killed myself!” I ask: “A fagot, or what?” And I joke: “It’s no surprise, your butt is wow, I don’t have one like that.” So the fashion designer also appreciated it. Leva persuaded me to go together, he always insisted that I be present during his business conversations, because he is shy. But I didn’t agree that time. And then I see: the husband jumps out from Zaitsev, trembling with indignation. He immediately declares to me: “I won’t go to him again!”
Leshchenko had to go to Sopot in his wife’s trouser ensemble. Red wool double-breasted suit with elasticated pants. According to Abdalova, it still hangs in her closet at home as a memory.
Edita Piekha could not resist and sarcastically: what did Lyovochka wear? And I answered: “In your negligee, Edita Stanislavovna!” - Abdalova laughs.
Even after two victories at prestigious festivals in the Soviet years, Leshchenko was not at all torn apart by the concert organizers. Abdalova, according to her, tried to help her husband, using her connections. And, as Abdalova says, he even sang the signature song “Victory Day” with her help.
Mark Fradkin and his wife treated me very cordially. I often visited their house and tried to take Leva with me. One day Mark called David Tukhmanov and recommended Leva to him as a performer. David brought "Victory Day". Leva didn’t like the song at first. I felt: this is what I need. He winced, but I managed to convince him.
Gave it up without a fight
ALBINA ALEXANDROVNA: I brought a photo to the meeting to prove that I used to be a beauty
Albina Alexandrovna fell silent and took in her hands the bouquet of flowers that I gave her.
These are the ones Leva gave me. I always believed him. And he deceived me. I immediately felt that he had a woman on his side, and said: “I need all of you. Once you have someone else, leave.” And then she filed for divorce. He himself would never have decided to break up. What a fool she was!
He said that a friend was going to introduce him to Irina, his current wife, but fate got ahead of him: they accidentally collided in the elevator. I know this friend. This is Fima Zuperman. In those years he was a famous card sharper. Fima led a nocturnal lifestyle. He dropped into our house in the evening and stayed until the morning. I couldn’t stand it, I drove everyone away, because Leva was either going to a recording session or a concert in the morning, and he didn’t get enough sleep. Fima got angry and somehow threatened: “You don’t like my company, so I’ll divorce you from Leva.” And he got divorced. He specially arranged everything, brought Leva and Irina together. And that Leva couldn’t give birth to children... And I, in spite of everything, still love Leva and wish him only happiness.
Abdalova has not seen Lev Leshchenko for more than 30 years, since they broke up. Even on TV. She doesn't have one. She receives a small pension. Therefore, he earns money by singing in churches.
I walked Albina Alexandrovna to the entrance. In parting she said:
Call me tomorrow please. Otherwise, no one calls me except my sister.
REFERENCE
* Albina ABDALOVA born June 19, 1941, singer of romances. She sang in Leonid Utesov's orchestra. Together with Lev Leshchenko she recorded the songs “Old Maple”, “Song of Young Neighbors”, and a song for the film “Yurkin Dawns”. She worked at Mosconcert and is now retired.
* Lev LESCHENKO born February 1, 1942. Since 1970, the soloist of the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, after victories at the Golden Orpheus and in Sopot - laureate of the Lenin Komsomol Prize, since 1983 - People's Artist of the RSFSR, performer of many dozens of hits that have become classics of the national stage.
* Irina LESCHENKO (BAGUDINA) born May 15, 1954. Lev Valerianovich met her in 1976 in Sochi, where he was touring and Irina was on vacation. She is the daughter of diplomats and graduated from the University of Budapest. They got married in 1978. There are no children in the marriage.
Source - "Express newspaper"
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