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Tamara GverdtsiteliGeorgian and Russian singer, actress, composer,
Date of Birth: 18.01.1962
Country:  Georgia |
Content:
Biography of Tamara Gverdtsiteli
Tamara Gverdtsiteli is a Georgian and Russian singer, actress, and composer. She is a true Georgian woman, admired by all who walk the streets of Tbilisi. With her long black dress and an airy scarf draped over her shoulders, she exudes a captivating charm. Tamara is so beautiful that people can't help but turn their heads and admire her as she passes by. She is truly out of this world.
Although Tamara now wears bright dresses, breaking away from the traditional black, she remains deeply connected to her Georgian roots. As she travels further away from her homeland, she feels a stronger sense of her Georgian blood. Her life has taken her from Tbilisi to Moscow, Paris, New York, Boston, and back to Moscow. And at less than forty years old, she still has much ahead of her.
Tamara's name has become recognizable to everyone, even those who have only heard of her from afar. However, she never intentionally sought fame or recognition. She simply always sang. Tamara was born and raised in sunny Soviet Georgia. Today, that Georgia can only be seen in old film journals, where vineyard workers lovingly tend to the vines under the scorching sun, and flocks of sheep graze on the mountainside. Tamara, too, is like those film journals. At the age of ten, her mother brought her to the children's ensemble "Mziuri." Even then, her voice was unique - strong, beautiful, and recognizable.
"Mziuri" traveled not only throughout the Soviet Union but also all of Europe. In Georgia, Tamara's name was known to everyone. She was recognized on the streets. And from that time on, she began her star-studded career, which she continues to live today. Adapting to the "stardom" as a child cannot be easy, but Tamara seemed to have adjusted well and learned to live a normal life. However, it is not easy when everyone, even those who don't personally know her, recognizes her name.
Tamara later entered the conservatory, studying piano and composition. None of the other girls from "Mziuri" became musicians. It would be incorrect to say that Tamara was the most talented and, therefore, succeeded. Talent, after all, is not enough; it requires hard work. And Tamara has worked tirelessly to perfect her craft. Singing is her life. She sings not only on stage, in the studio, or during rehearsals but even while cutting salad or simply relaxing. She has been fortunate in her career. At the age of nineteen, Tamara won her first prize at the "Red Carnation" competition in Sochi. This was followed by more competitions, more victories, festivals in Dresden, San Remo, and the "Golden Orpheus" in Bulgaria. She went on tours and recorded albums with the symphony orchestra, singing beautiful love songs in Georgian and a few Soviet patriotic songs that evoke nostalgia for the Soviet Georgia of the past.
Tamara has performed for soldiers in Afghanistan, even during bombings when she sang by candlelight. She also got married. Tamara married the chief director of the drama programs at Georgian television. Margaret Thatcher attended their wedding, not because Tamara was already well-known in England, but because the best registrar's office in Tbilisi was shown during their registration. Later, their son Sandro, the most important man in Tamara's life, was born. Tamara is undoubtedly a true Georgian woman, but perhaps not typical. Typical Georgian women are always by their husband's side, not creating their own destiny and likely living their entire life in Georgia. In a television program, Nani Bregvadze, the most recognized Georgian singer, said about Tamara, "She left everything and went away; I couldn't do that. But I understand her; she is obsessed with music." It may seem strange to us, but not everyone in Georgia understood her. Some believed that Tamara had abandoned her homeland when her fate, career, and success called her to other countries and capitals. When tanks marched through Tbilisi, she took her mother and son away from the war, to New York.
In 1991, Tamara was a successful young singer, living a somewhat isolated life from the show business world. She was not just an ethnic singer or an "artist from a Soviet republic." Although she sang songs in Georgian, which were not understood by most people in the Soviet Union, she was simply a different breed, too aristocratic to sing popular music. However, her song "Vivat, the King!" became a hit and is still associated with her name today.
In 1991, her agent sent her cassette to the famous composer Michel Legrand in Paris. Normally, Legrand's office received dozens of such cassettes every day, but after three days, they called Tamara and said that Mr. Legrand would be delighted to meet her in Paris. When Tamara recalls this moment, she still feels a sense of wonder. While it may not seem strange to us that a talented singer was invited to work in Paris, Tamara herself has trouble fully believing in the reality of her time spent there. The streets of Paris, the chestnut trees, the Parisian accordions, the city of Edith Piaf, and her repertoire that enthralled the Parisian audience... Every morning, there were studio sessions with Legrand, the composer of "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg." The highlight of her time in Paris was a concert at the Olympia, the country's main hall. She and Legrand played two grand pianos, improvising on the melodies of "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" in jazz, blues, rap (the first and last time Tamara worked in this style), and gypsy music. Then she sang, and the audience erupted in applause. Tamara laughs when she remembers the sweating emcee shouting in the hall, "Tamara... Tamara..." as he struggled to pronounce her last name, and finally giving up, "Remember this name - Tamara!".
After her contract in Paris ended, Tamara returned to Moscow and soon moved with her family to America. However, she didn't have any plans to conquer the New World; she simply found it easier and more convenient to live there for various reasons. She toured America and Canada, primarily performing for the Russian-speaking audience. But when her concerts in prestigious venues were advertised well, English-speaking (and in Canada, French-speaking) audiences also attended. They came and left in awe because Tamara's repertoire transcends language barriers. She has an extensive repertoire, singing in seven languages (aside from her native Georgian and Russian, she also speaks English, French, Italian, and some Hebrew). She sings ancient folk songs (when she performs "Hava Nagila," the audience rises to their feet), many composers write music specially for her voice, she performs operatic arias, French chansons, and songs she has composed herself (her favorites are based on Marina Tsvetaeva's poems). She is also invited to sing in musicals. However, Tamara admits that she feels hesitant about singing jazz and blues.
Tamara lived in America, and one day, a man fell madly in love with her. He saw her somewhere as a guest and didn't even know she was a singer. He was a lawyer from Boston. He offered her everything he could and everything that is usually offered in such situations. And so, Tamara and her family ended up in Boston. However, this didn't change her life much; her life follows the same rhythm in every city she lives in. So, it's not surprising that her family will be close by.
As for what Tamara will do in Moscow, we don't yet know. Recording albums and shooting music videos would be great. It's sometimes fascinating that despite being in show business since childhood, Tamara is not someone from the showbiz world. (In twenty years, she has released only two albums!) Perhaps, she has had incorrect management, or maybe she believes she has more important things to do, like sit at the piano and play the unwritten music.
In general, she takes everything in stride. Tamara says, "I have never fought for a place in show business. It exists regardless of whether I appear frequently or rarely. Those who love me will miss me, and those who don't love me will continue not to love me."
