Izolda Vysockaya First wife of Vladimir Vysotsky Country: Russia

Biography of Izolda Vysotskaya

Izolda Konstantinovna, the first wife of Vladimir Vysotsky, claims that her acquaintance with Volodya VYSOTSKY, which took place at the Moscow Art Theatre School, did not make any impression on her. "He was lively, mischievous, slightly freckled, and seemed to be immediately in love with all the girls," the actress recalls. "After our graduation performance, when we had a banquet planned, this boy took me for a walk. My protest and sincere objection, as well as the fact that I was married, did not help. The romance was swift. Very quickly, Vladimir and Izolda became inseparable. He called her Izuley, and she called him Volchonok. Volodya dedicated poems to his beloved, showered her with flowers, and gave her cute, sometimes ridiculous gifts. "I remember he brought me a ripe tangerine and shoes with broken heels. Volodya did it so that we would be the same height on our walks, and he could hold me by the neck - it was fashionable back then," Izolda Konstantinovna smiles. "High heels caused unnecessary problems, and Volodya got rid of them without regret. At that time, Vysotsky was 19 years old, Izolda was 20, and their feelings were hot and youthful. One beautiful day, Vladimir brought his beloved home, to a communal apartment on Pervaya Meshchanskaya Street. "It all happened very naturally and simply," recalls Izolda Konstantinovna. "Without questions like why, isn't it too early, and what's the point... The room where the lovers settled was a passage room, and their little "nest" had to be set up behind a curtain, but they lived happily - youth does not want to be sad. And then the time of separation came - after graduating from the Moscow Art Theatre School, Izolda went to work at the Kyiv Drama Theatre. Volodya stayed in Moscow, with another year of study ahead of him. "Nevertheless, we communicated quite often - the flight from Moscow to Kyiv was short, and there were also the telephone and mail. In the summer of 1958, Volodya and I went to Gorky, to visit my relatives. I sent a telegram saying, 'I'm coming home with my new husband...' "I remember that no one met us at the station, and Volodya rushed to look for a taxi, and at that moment my mother appeared out of nowhere. I remember her jokingly asking, 'Is this clown your husband?' Volodya was in his Beatlesque jacket, which they hadn't seen in Gorky before: it was something unusual for the province. Vysotsky lovingly and touchingly treated the relatives of his beloved, who, according to Izolda Konstantinovna, reciprocated. "Vladimir fascinated my grandmother by eating a whole half-liter jar of strawberry jam when he came to visit us," the actress laughs. "He lived in a hotel room and rented a cabin there. There was nowhere to put a folding bed in our house, and we didn't even have a folding bed. After Izolda returned to Moscow, it was decided to get married. The only obstacle was that the bride was still not divorced from her previous husband. The problem was solved with the help of Volodya's influential relative, and in April 1960, Iza Meshkova-Zhukova became Vysotskaya. "Our wedding with Volchonok is a separate story. We didn't have rings or a veil, I held a bunch of snowdrops in my hands, and my shoes were again without heels - that's what Volodya wanted," the heroine continues. "In the Riga registry office, where we were married, instead of Mendelssohn's march, the music from the film 'Taming of the Shrew' was playing. Everyone laughed. Because of laughter, I dropped the flowers twice. The first time, life seemed like a fairy tale, although not always happy. The only thing that irritated the young wife was Volodya's guitar. "He never parted with it for a minute and tormented me with his strumming. I didn't pay any attention to the songs he composed at that time, and from time to time, I was annoyed that the guitar received more attention than me," says Vysotskaya. "We had fun arguing. It was so delightful to say a bunch of words, rush out of the house, get in a taxi and say, 'Straight, please!' and know that Volodya was chasing after me in a taxi. And making up at home was also wonderful! Then problems began - neither of them had successful careers, they lacked money, and Vladimir started drinking. Having a child could have saved the family, but Izolda had a miscarriage due to the interference of her mother-in-law, Nina Maksimovna, who categorically did not want to be a grandmother. There was a terrible scandal, after which Izolda had a miscarriage. The former mother-in-law apologized many years later when Izolda also became a "former" herself. Soon, the couple had to separate again - Izolda accepted an offer from the Rostov Theatre and, full of creative hopes, left the capital. "Volodya and I corresponded and called each other frequently. I was waiting for him - the Rostov Theatre offered him work, and suddenly my Moscow friend told me that a certain Lyusya Abramova was pregnant with Vysotsky," Izolda Konstantinovna recalls. "I immediately called him, and he lied to me. He said he had been faithfully devoted to me. However, the news brought by my concerned friend turned out to be true. Soon, rumors began to spread in Moscow that Vysotsky's wife did not want a divorce, was hiding, and allegedly had been declared wanted nationwide. Upon learning this, Izolda Konstantinovna immediately sent the necessary documents for divorce to the capital, and from that moment on, her paths with Vysotsky diverged. Vladimir stayed in Moscow, and Izolda toured various theaters in the country. She worked in Perm, Vladimir, Liepaja, and Nizhny Tagil, where she settled permanently and remarried. The news of Vysotsky's death caught her by surprise, and she could not attend the funeral, only escaping for the "fortieth day" memorial service.
P.S. Izolda Vysotskaya lives alone in her later years, her son Gleb works as the chief engineer in a private firm in Yekaterinburg. The actress continues to perform in the theater, and she was recently awarded the title of People's Artist of Russia. Last year, Vysotskaya released a memoir about Vladimir Semenovich titled "Short Happiness for a Lifetime." "In various memoirs about Vysotsky, I read things about him and myself that made my hair stand on end, there was too much falsehood there," says Izolda Konstantinovna. "I hope that in my book, I was able to show the young Volodya as he really was... Early morning in early spring 1957. Moskvina Street. Waiting for a taxi with a classmate. And here you go, Volodya Vysotsky, inconspicuous, quiet... And a miracle happened. A boy with a hurried, slightly trembling gait, bold and tender, funny and caring, became dear and beloved. ...Warm, sunny April 25, 1960, in the Riga registry office... I struggle to hold onto a bouquet of snowdrops, and a funny guy approaches and impudently says, 'Bride, share the flowers with our bride!' I share, I don't mind, we find it funny. Our witnesses - Volodya's classmates - Marina Dobrovolskaya and Gena Yalovich. They are also in love and funny. We are called. The march from 'Taming of the Shrew' resounds, and with laughter, we enter the solemn room, and the solemn woman tells us, 'Dear comrades, strengthen the Soviet cell!' We find it very funny. We are quickly invited to sign and are declared husband and wife. From now on, I am Vysotskaya... Autumn of 1960 - constant disappointments. We tried to play something with Volodya, but we couldn't make anything work, just like we couldn't dance or be in public together... My unemployed torment began. Volodya suffered. He was promised the lead role in 'Pig's Tails,' believed he would play it, fantasized, but he wasn't even given rehearsals. In the end, Volodya wandered from one wing to another with a drum in the chorus. Later, he played the Forest Spirit in 'The Scarlet Flower.' That's probably it. It was bitter. We naively believed in the sacred art... In the city with the billboards 'V. Vysotsky, I. Bortnik.' We push through the crowd to the dressing room, where sandwiches, tea, coffee, and pastries are thoughtfully prepared. We hurry to start. "What can I do for you, Vladimir Semenovich?" "Just one thing. Make Izolda comfortable." They look at me suspiciously and concernedly and take me to the overcrowded hall. Volodya comes out, and I find myself at his feet, tilting my head back to see him, and dissolve in the universal rush of love. The break between concerts is ten minutes, no more. We are alone again. At Volodya's request, no one is allowed to approach us. Volodya feeds me, eats a few slices of sausage himself, sips coffee, and sings to me what he can't sing from the stage. I listen to the second and third concerts from behind the scenes, where they put a chair for me. Volodya sings different songs, hardly repeating any, and places the microphones in such a way that I can see better. – 'Are you comfortable?' I cry, not hiding my tears.