Vera Kalman

(Makinskaya Vera)

When the gypsy was touching the strings the viola was taking breath and the “Can you remember me…” was being heard.

I couldn’t express my tears. I had never thought that this sentimental melody of Csárdás Queen could be played as a requiem. The queen of the operetta was being buried, the operetta was being buried itself because Vera Kalman was being buried. The mortuary of the central cemetery of Vienna foundered under flowers. The children’s farewell wreath, made of rosebud was put next to the photo of Emery Kalman and Vera Kalman. Farther away there were wreathes of friends, musical companies, the Russian Embassy and the Russian Cultural Collage with the colours of the Russian flag. After all Vera never came home, although in her last interview for the Russian television she asked the prime minister to recall her officially.

Vera was born in Perm and emigrated in her childhood. She could speak several European languages and could keep her wonderful mother tongue. For the Russian prime minister at that time not the operetta was the main problem. He played much more dramatic roles mostly in tragedies, sometimes he even got into operatic situations.  

While he was playing on the violin I was thinking about Vera. How her life followed the spirit of the operetta because there must have been inevitable elements in it. She got married twice. Both to the loved Emery Kalman who fell in love into the young Vera and loved her till his death.   There were sharp changes in Vera’s life. For example, in a ball when she ran off with a French diplomat who fell in love her. She left all clothes and jewels behind that she had got from Emery Kalman. Soon the diplomat died and Emery begged Vera to come back him. Remarch also courted her but she felt this love boring and commonish.

And what else were there in her long life?  Vera knew a lot of prominent people of her century. There were some tragedies in her life she did never speak about. One of her daughters was sacrificed by a sect with such a dreadful death that Vera devised another story to be able to accept what had happened.

According to it, her daughter died as a member of the Red Team. I had taken a leave of Vera earlier. Approximately a year before. Petya Hudikov, a well-known conductor of the Don Cossack Choir in Austria told me that Verocska had got back and she was in a very bad way. You should have come to farewell. I was finished in a while and realised only at the exit that I had to get dressed to a dying person and bring flowers.