Legendary singer Tolkunova Valentina became the ideal of a Soviet woman. She was called the soul of Russian song. Many viewers imagine her as sweet and modest, but in life Valentina Vasilievna was a rather tough person.
Early years, adolescence
Valentina Vasilievna was born in Armavir on July 12, 1946. Her father is a military man, her mother was an employee of the railway station.
The Tolkunovs moved to the capital in 1948. The family was friendly, their parents loved music. The songs of Shulzhenko Klavdia, Utyosov Leonid and other performers often sounded in the house.
The girl sang in the choir, the leader was Dunaevsky Semyon. After school, Valentina studied at the Institute of Culture, and then at Gnesinka.
Creative biography
After graduation, Tolkunova was admitted to the VIO-66 vocal and instrumental orchestra. Its leader was Yuri Saulsky. The singer became popular after performing the song "I'm Standing at a Half-Station". With this composition, Tolkunova became the first in the Artloto competition.
For the first time, Valentina Vasilievna performed solo in 1972 at the concert of Oshanin Lev, the performances were broadcast on TV. Then Tolkunova met with Shulzhenko Klavdia.
Since 1973, the singer has been regularly invited to the Song of the Year competition. Then she appeared in the programs "Blue Light", "Morning Mail", participated in creative evenings of famous composers.
The composition "Talk to Me, Mom" gained popularity, which sounded on the radio. She was written by the composer Migulya Vladimir. There were no political overtones in the singer's repertoires, all the songs were about people.
Since 1975, Valentina Vasilievna has collaborated with Ashkenazi Davil, a composer. Together they performed the song "The Gray-Eyed King". Tolkunova also recorded songs for films and cartoons.
The singer's first solo concert took place in 1979. Later there were other performances. Valentina Vasilievna performed folk, popular songs. There were also songs about the war, they were released as a separate disc.
In 1986, the opera "Russian Women" appeared, created by Ilya Kataev specifically for Tolkunova. In the same period, the singer appeared in the musical film "I Believe in the Rainbow".
In 1987, Tolkunova created a musical drama theater, the performances became successful. In the 2000s, spiritual songs were included in the repertoire, the singer often attended services in temples. Valentina Vasilievna became the owner of several honorary titles, many awards and prizes.
Personal life
The singer's first husband is Yuri Saulsky, the head of the VIO-66 ensemble. Valentina was 18 years younger. The couple lived together for 6 years and then divorced.
After 3 years, Tolkunova met with Yuri Poporov, a journalist. Later he got married, they had a son, Nikolai. Married life was overshadowed by her husband's frequent business trips.
The artist also had an affair with Baranov Vladimirov, a physicist. However, Tolkunova did not dare to leave her family for him.
