Time mercilessly erases the names of distant ancestors from the memory of new generations. New volumes take the place of old books. Once popular songs are played less and less often. Singer and artist Kira Petrovna Smirnova left her unique mark on the history of Soviet and Russian art.
Starting conditions
Each person has hidden abilities that he sometimes does not even suspect. The circumstances of a fast-moving life in the most unexpected way to discover dormant talents. Kira Smirnova was born on May 5, 1922 in an intelligent family. Parents at that time lived in the city of Kaluga. My father taught musical literacy at a local school. Mother served as a pianist in a drama theater. From an early age, the girl listened to good music in the house and early mastered the technique of playing the piano and guitar. Five years later, my father was invited to Moscow, and the family moved to the capital.
Like all children of that time, Kira went to school. In June 1941, she received a certificate of maturity, and the next day the war broke out. All plans and projects had to be postponed until better times. Smirnova was not taken to the front, and then she got a job at an ammunition manufacturing enterprise. An energetic and sociable girl easily got along with people. A week later, Kira began to actively engage in amateur performances. Here she was noticed by a well-known director and invited to join the visiting theater, which performed in the front line.
Creative activity
Smirnova served in the theater until the end of the war. She danced, performed parodies, sang satirical and lyrical songs. After the Victory, the theater was disbanded and Kira was invited to work as a proofreader in the editorial office of the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper. It would seem a simple task - to read the texts before publication on the pages of the newspaper and correct spelling and stylistic errors. And in this routine work, Smirnova found the use of her energy and imagination. She herself began to write poetry, humoresques and parodies. And not only write, but perform with them in public.
After several years, the talented performer was noticed and invited to radio and television. In 1956, Kira Petrovna took part in the All-Union Festival "Theater Spring" and received the first prize in the category of a parody number. Critics of that time noted the courage of the artist, who was not afraid to parody the stars of pop, theater and cinema. After a while, Smirnova began to ridicule clichés, tricks, vulgarity and vulgarity in art. In the early 60s, the already famous performer decided to radically change the direction of her work. She began to perform lyric songs and urban romances.
Recognition and privacy
For many years Smirnova worked in the troupe of the Moscow Music Hall. In 1964, Kira Petrovna was invited to perform in a recital at the famous Paris Olympia. In 1995 she was awarded the honorary title "Honored Artist of the Russian Federation".
The personal life of the artist was not very successful. For more than twenty years she has been married to the famous children's writer Boris Zakhoder. Then they decided to leave. They could not have children. Kira Smirnova passed away in January 1996.
