Talk:Ivan Rebroff
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[edit] The Singer died 27.02.2008
Ivan Rebroff died yesterday. http://www.welt.de/kultur/article1736112/Saenger_Ivan_Rebroff_ist_tot.html
--87.78.163.252 (talk) 15:21, 28 February 2008 (UTC)
Wow. Memories come flooding back. My father was all into Rebroff when I was a kid in Australia; us kids were babysat while the folks went to see Rebroff perform in Kalgoorlie, mid-70s. What a voice, plus a talent with the guitar/violin.--Mulgamutt (talk) 21:32, 28 February 2008 (UTC)
[edit] Russian ancestry?
The article says "was a German singer of Russian ancestry" - where does the "Russian ancestry" come from? I find it neither in his official biography at http://www.ivan-rebroff.de/ nor in the German Wikipedia nor anywhere else I look. As far as I know, he was a German who decided to focus on Russian folk songs and took a Russian pseudonym, but I have never read that there was any real family connection to Russia. Gestumblindi (talk) 22:24, 28 February 2008 (UTC)
You are quite right. I belonged to the Troika Balalaika Ensemble between 1966 and January 1969 and then there was no mentioning of Russian ancestry or half-yiddish, as he said in recent times. Rebroff liked to use every spin that he could find, including having been a member of the Don Cossacks. In those days, Rebroff said to me he had studied violin (dropped out), acting (finished) and singing. He said then that he was Catholic. In the seventies (according to Quick magazine) he was estranged from his brother, a sports reporter and his father. He lived in a castle north of Frankfurt, where I once visited his managers (1978), who acted like they were living there also. When I knew them 40 years ago, Ivan did not speak Russian. He knew a few words, and the Russian in our group was instructed to speak Russian somewhat loudly to create the impression, Ivan understood. 00:31, 2 March 2008 (UTC)
- From the German Wikipedia article on Rebroff: "als Sohn eines hessischen Ingenieurs und einer Russin geboren" --217.232.202.215 (talk) 08:08, 29 February 2008 (UTC)
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- This (German) news article casts doubt on his mother being a Russian, but seems to confirm that his father was of such ancestry. --217.232.202.215 (talk) 10:35, 29 February 2008 (UTC)
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- The "Sohn ... einer Russin" wasn't in the German Wikipedia when I posted my question here. It is unsourced and was now changed to "einer angeblichen Russin" anyway ("an alleged Russian woman"). The FAZ article doesn't confirm Russian ancestry; it says: "Um seine Herkunft und um die Familie ranken sich Legenden. Die Mutter war angeblich Russin, der Vater ein hessischer Ingenieur mit russischen Vorfahren." ("Legends surround his ancestry and family. The mother was allegedly Russian, the father a Hessian engineer with Russian ancestors.") As it is phrased, the father's "Russian ancestors" could be seen as part of the "legends". I will anyway rephrase this part of the article introduction to "allegedly of Russian ancestry" since it isn't clear, I think. Gestumblindi (talk) 15:53, 1 March 2008 (UTC)
- Note, I did not add that information to the article, merely moved it from a stylistically bad paragraph up to the lead. The article was completely unreferenced, but since that statement didn't seem like it violated WP:BLP, i didn't unilaterally remove it, unlike the statement the article contained about him being born 2 months premature on a railway, or something to that effect. --Storkk (talk) 09:21, 7 March 2008 (UTC)
- The "Sohn ... einer Russin" wasn't in the German Wikipedia when I posted my question here. It is unsourced and was now changed to "einer angeblichen Russin" anyway ("an alleged Russian woman"). The FAZ article doesn't confirm Russian ancestry; it says: "Um seine Herkunft und um die Familie ranken sich Legenden. Die Mutter war angeblich Russin, der Vater ein hessischer Ingenieur mit russischen Vorfahren." ("Legends surround his ancestry and family. The mother was allegedly Russian, the father a Hessian engineer with Russian ancestors.") As it is phrased, the father's "Russian ancestors" could be seen as part of the "legends". I will anyway rephrase this part of the article introduction to "allegedly of Russian ancestry" since it isn't clear, I think. Gestumblindi (talk) 15:53, 1 March 2008 (UTC)
[edit] "Confirmed bachelor"?
The phrase "confirmed bachelor" is often used as a euphemism for homosexuality. I would suggest it should be omitted, because it causes confusion. If Rebroff was gay, say so; if he was not, simply say that he never married. AuntFlo (talk) 06:22, 17 March 2008 (UTC)
- I agree. He never said he was gay. 82.234.153.213 (talk) 08:44, 29 March 2008 (UTC)
