Do Belarusian pop singers envy Iryna Darafeeva?
A singer Alyaksei Hlyastou envies Iryna Darafeeva because of the state’s financial assistance while Darafeeva is sure that there are no other singers worthy of assistance in Belarus. Alesya continues putting up her posters herself and is happy about people coming to her concerts without being forced to. Alyaksei Hlyastou has expressed his indignation about the Ministry of Culture supporting only Iryna Darafeeva and demanding high-quality musical products from Belarusian pop singers in the talk-show “Riposte” recently.
“They talked about the way of getting rid of phonograms at the concerts of Belarusian singers and dancing ensembles. I explained that hiring a musical ensemble, paying for the rehearsal hall and studio cost a lot”, - told Alyaksei Hlyastou to ERB.
Moreover, he added that he did not know any other Belarusian singer who was financed by the government in the same way:
Hlyastou: “At the moment I should say there is no any other person supported in the same way as Iryna”.
ERB: “It turns out that our musicians envy her?”
Hlyastou: “Sure. I do not exclude the possibility”.
ERB: “And you too?”
Hlyastou: “Me? Maybe, but I am not green with envy. In any case, if I got such assistance I would be very happy because it would allow me to make the majority of my dreams come true”.
ERB decided to find out what other Belarusian stars envied “the face of the country” and were dreaming about such a financing.
A singer Alesya confessed that she did not envy Iryna. Moreover, she is sure that any financing is worthless without the outcome:
Alesya: “If Iryna was so lucky to draw attention and if she has the honour and opportunity of expressing herself, it would be great if she managed to achieve something. The main thing is the outcome. The result it will lead to. For example, I travel around the country and put up my posters myself. I have full houses and I do not cancel my concerts. Moreover, people are not forced into going to my concerts - they do it because they want to. This is the main indicator. That is why I think there is nothing to envy her about”.
Iryna Darafeeva thinks that she deserves the assistance and says she does not know anyone else worthy of it at the moment:
Іryna Darafeeva: “For example, I have read our new guide on show-bossiness. I saw 200 singers there but there was not a single person who would sing Belarusian songs. Of course it is all about the preference of listeners and devoted work like mine. I devoted 2 years of my life to it, I travelled around the country and gave 165 charity concerts for children and military men. I think if someone did the same, they would also deserve the assistance”.
By the way, the singer can give a reply to Alyaksei Hlyastou. According to her, an artist cannot be considered a Belarusian singer is he or she does not have one or two Belarusian songs to perform:
Іryna Darafeeva: “I can tell Alyaksei Hlyastou that the state does support our singers. But I think that if a singer says he or she is a Belarusian singer they should have at least one or two Belarusian songs to perform…”.
A young singer Hanna Sharkunova does not envy Iryna Darafeeva. Hanna thinks that Iryna deserves it because of her long-tern and devoted work:
Hanna Sharkunova: “What envy can there be if she has been singing for about 20 years and I have been singing for only 2 years? There is some difference, isn’t there? She is a strong woman and she deserves it, she deserved the support in the end. Nobody helped her for a long time. She had to survive on her own. She worked on her own. I do not know why, but I do not envy her. Anyway, I did the impossible over the past two years”.
Alyaksandra Chalei, European Radio for Belarus.
“They talked about the way of getting rid of phonograms at the concerts of Belarusian singers and dancing ensembles. I explained that hiring a musical ensemble, paying for the rehearsal hall and studio cost a lot”, - told Alyaksei Hlyastou to ERB.
Moreover, he added that he did not know any other Belarusian singer who was financed by the government in the same way:
Hlyastou: “At the moment I should say there is no any other person supported in the same way as Iryna”.
ERB: “It turns out that our musicians envy her?”
Hlyastou: “Sure. I do not exclude the possibility”.
ERB: “And you too?”
Hlyastou: “Me? Maybe, but I am not green with envy. In any case, if I got such assistance I would be very happy because it would allow me to make the majority of my dreams come true”.
ERB decided to find out what other Belarusian stars envied “the face of the country” and were dreaming about such a financing.
A singer Alesya confessed that she did not envy Iryna. Moreover, she is sure that any financing is worthless without the outcome:
Alesya: “If Iryna was so lucky to draw attention and if she has the honour and opportunity of expressing herself, it would be great if she managed to achieve something. The main thing is the outcome. The result it will lead to. For example, I travel around the country and put up my posters myself. I have full houses and I do not cancel my concerts. Moreover, people are not forced into going to my concerts - they do it because they want to. This is the main indicator. That is why I think there is nothing to envy her about”.
Iryna Darafeeva thinks that she deserves the assistance and says she does not know anyone else worthy of it at the moment:
Іryna Darafeeva: “For example, I have read our new guide on show-bossiness. I saw 200 singers there but there was not a single person who would sing Belarusian songs. Of course it is all about the preference of listeners and devoted work like mine. I devoted 2 years of my life to it, I travelled around the country and gave 165 charity concerts for children and military men. I think if someone did the same, they would also deserve the assistance”.
By the way, the singer can give a reply to Alyaksei Hlyastou. According to her, an artist cannot be considered a Belarusian singer is he or she does not have one or two Belarusian songs to perform:
Іryna Darafeeva: “I can tell Alyaksei Hlyastou that the state does support our singers. But I think that if a singer says he or she is a Belarusian singer they should have at least one or two Belarusian songs to perform…”.
A young singer Hanna Sharkunova does not envy Iryna Darafeeva. Hanna thinks that Iryna deserves it because of her long-tern and devoted work:
Hanna Sharkunova: “What envy can there be if she has been singing for about 20 years and I have been singing for only 2 years? There is some difference, isn’t there? She is a strong woman and she deserves it, she deserved the support in the end. Nobody helped her for a long time. She had to survive on her own. She worked on her own. I do not know why, but I do not envy her. Anyway, I did the impossible over the past two years”.
Alyaksandra Chalei, European Radio for Belarus.
