The ‘Soviet Elvis’ who sang in Carmen
OperaThe 1970s star Muslim Magomayev was known as ‘the Soviet Elvis’ for his immense popularity.
After two years of study at La Scala he married a leading Bolshoi mezzo, Tamara Sinyavskaya.
For two decades he was a Soviet heart-throb, but heavy smoking and a heart condition led to his early death in 2008.
Dmitri Hvorostovsky called him ‘my idol’.
How many singers left after themselves something of THAT variety and quality (see the links below)? And those playlists represent only a part of MM’s musical legacy! Truly – one of the greats…
The YouTube playlists:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mnpAjdWGWrTTke7Vo_skgmMuGkbDhR11c
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nEbfv0PJfRvybU5OtD8G4EGJ_Zp8TqzcU
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_m1xIzxr6J8x03Bq8o5svc9OHKB_DWemHE
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lGq7Ab_pbSNIHy_-3K8JT8H1sAIA1CVlE
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_maWxLpq7vCppowLxf8EJabLo_zSKX6NQo
His wife Tamara Sinyavskaya was also a fine singer (and a beauty). She sings Olga on the EMI recording of ONEGIN conducted by Rostropovich.
Sorry but there is absolutely no way anyone can compare to Elvis or even a slight % like him… No one can even try or begin to…
Don’t worry, nobody had ever compered Muslim Magomayev to Elvis. People in SSSR hardly new Elvis and would laugh at idea.
* “hardly knew”
Truly great… and the songs he sang in his native Azeri were among the best