Red stars : personality and the Soviet popular song, 1955-1991 / David MacFadyen.
| Author/creator | MacFadyen, David, 1964- |
| Format | Book |
| Publication Info | Montreal : McGill-Queen's University Press, ©2001. |
| Description | xi, 319 pages : portraits ; 24 cm |
| Subjects |
| Contents | The Soviet popular song after Stalin -- Lyric or civic: personality and theatricality -- Why sing estrada? Philosophical contexts of the genre -- Edita Pekha: gentle voice of the thaw -- Iosif Kobzon and the civic response -- Irina Ponarovskaia and Sofiia Rotaru: in and out of Russia -- Lev Leshchenko and Valerii Leont'ev: two nightingales -- Alla Pugacheva: redefinine estrada -- Alla Pugacheva: redefining personality. |
| Abstract | This book traces the history of Soviet popular song after 1955 by looking at the careers of the singers Edita P'ekha, Iosif Kobzon, Lev Leshchenko, Sofiia Rotaru, Valerii Leont'ev, Alla Pugacheva, and Irina Ponarovskaia. Their songs, played frequently on Soviet radio and purchased in the hundreds of millions, tell the story of Soviet popular culture since the death of Joseph Stalin, David MacFadyen discusses national identity, gender, and the development of celebrity in a socialist state, ultimately tackling the question of whether it is possible for artists to achieve genuine self-expression while under continuous political scrutiny. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 273-307), filmography (pages 307-309), discography (pages 310-315), and index. |
| ISBN | 0773521062 : |