Meeting in Foros
An amazing meeting ...I had one like that too. I was lucky enough to meet the person I want to introduce you to on July 3.2003 in Foros. This is Marina Fyodorovna Freddy and she turns 95 this year!
Does this name mean anything to you? Then I'll start in order. In 2003, the 130th anniversary of the birth of Fyodor Ivanovich Chaliapin was celebrated. His daughter Marina Fyodorovna Freddy, the only living daughter of the singer, was invited to the celebration of this anniversary. Irina Cordier, the organizer of the festival of opera art that was then held in Crimea, found Chaliapin's daughter in Rome and invited her to take part in the celebrations on the occasion of the anniversary.
And after 87 years Mrs. Freddie is back in Foros. She thought about this estate for many years and dreamed of meeting him again. Here, back in 1916, Maxim Gorky and her father rested and worked on a book, combining business with pleasure.
Then Fyodor Chaliapin arrived at the Foros estate with his second wife Maria and two daughters Marfa and Marina in a chic Ford, the car of the owner of the Ushkov estate. In those days, the autobiographical story “Pages of My Life” was practically written.
Marina Fedorovna, having arrived in Foros, recognized only the Ushkovs' house and the vases around it. Everything else was not from her childhood memories, time has changed a lot.
Knowing that the Italian guests were accommodated in apartments specially prepared for them in the palace building, I came to the library reading room, hoping to at least see the daughter of our great compatriot here. Probably, it was my day, and happiness smiled at me. Not even 10 minutes had passed, when suddenly Marina Fedorovna also went there. The librarian introduced us, and an interesting conversation ensued.
At that time I was working on the creation of the chronicle of Foros, and therefore I was interested in literally everything that happened in Foros in 1916. I learned about some details of Chaliapin's stay in Foros from the diaries of Kolya, the youngest son of the first priest of the Foros church, Pavel Undolsky. In them, I discovered a very interesting fact: during the days of Fyodor Chaliapin's stay in Foros, his voice was heard near the temple on the rock. The artist sang so - that the peals of his bass reached the rocks!
Our meeting lasted for 2 hours, but I did not notice it, our conversation was so fascinating and interesting. Having told me everything that she remembered about the Foros estate, Marina Fyodorovna burned with a desire to see the house in which she was constantly with her sister Martha and the nanny. When we left the palace building, she looked around and exclaimed: “Where are the vases? ”, after which she said that the entrance was decorated with 2 beautiful marble vases.
I was amazed - 87 years have passed, but he remembers such details! She recalled the park with particular enthusiasm: “It was a real zoo. What kind of animals and birds were not there! Just birds of paradise. I have never seen anything like it anywhere else. "
Later, I wrote in detail about my impressions of the meeting and conversation with Marina Fedorovna in the book “Foros. History Pages. My interlocutor was remembered as a highly educated, intelligent and, despite her advanced age, not without charm, a secular lady. By the way, in her youth, Marina participated in a beauty contest among emigrants in Paris and received the title of Miss Europe. She inherited her beauty from her mother, who won the heart of the artist.
On March 14 this year, Marina Fedorovna turns 95 years old!! ! May God grant her many more years of life!
Your obedient servant Pavel Firsov. Look for me on the site foros. net. en