The lead singer of the group "Carmen" is Sergei Lemokh. Creative path

The group "Kar-men" was one of the most popular Soviet and Russian musical groups in the early and mid-nineties. She became a cult dance of that time. The group was created in 1989 by Sergei Lemokh and Bogdan Titomir. But a year later the team broke up. Titomir went into solo work. However, the musical project did not cease to exist. The lead singer of the group “Carmen” and songwriter Lemokh continued

Start

Sergei was born on May 14, 1965 in the city of Serpukhov. The future stage idol studied at the Moscow Cooperative Institute and graduated in 1988 with a degree in merchandising. But he also has musical education: 7 years of school and 4 years of jazz studio. The future lead singer of the Carmen group began his career in show business in 1981. He played and sang in restaurants and worked as a DJ. Somewhat later, he joined the musicians first with Dmitry Malikov, and then with Vladimir Maltsev, for whom he wrote the song “Paris, Paris”. Subsequently, it was with this composition that the history of the Kar-men group began.

Nineties

The first album of the project turned out to be unusual: the songs told about different countries and cities. The name of the disc was given accordingly - “Around the World”. The next album, “Car-Mania,” was released without the participation of Bogdan Titomir.

Since 1991, the project's popularity began to reach its apogee. The group “Kar-men” won first places in various competitions and won the “Ovation” award. In the same year, Sergei Lemokh wrote several songs that gained great popularity.

The third album “Kar-men” was a collection of the best songs, consisting of remixes of old themes and several new compositions. In 1993, the group actively toured Russia. The lead singer of "Carmen" starred in several commercials, took part in the television game "Marathon-15", and also made the soundtrack for the domestic cartoon "Captain Pronin".

The following year, the group released two discs at once: “Russian Massive Sound Aggression” and “Live...”. It is noteworthy that all the songs for them were written by Lemokh himself, and most of them occupied top positions in the music charts. After this, the group experienced a creative lull.

The next album was released only in 1996. It consisted mostly of slow songs and was called "Your Sexy Thing." In the same year, the group went on tour to Germany and the USA, and also took part in international festivals.

In 1997, the group performed on the television show “Surprise from Pugacheva,” presenting a remix of her composition “Robinson.” This period of time is also notable for the release of Lemokh’s solo album, “Polaris.”

Two thousandths

In 2001, the group celebrated its 10th anniversary by going on tour in Russia and Germany, which lasted a whole year.

The project continues to live, new songs are played and concerts are held in nightclubs. The lead singer of the group “Carmen” keeps up with the times, he releases fresh and fashionable material. Of course, he is not as popular as before, but audiences happily meet him at concerts that take place several times a month.

In 2014, several of the group’s hits became the soundtrack to the popular TV series “Fizruk”. Lemokh is currently participating in a new project. The young rock band “SidHouse” invited him to release a joint album.

Personal life

The lead singer of the Carmen group was married twice. The first marriage ended in divorce. The fame that came to the artist separated the spouses. But Lemokh and Natalya maintained friendly relations. They have two children: Alisa and Lyudmila. The musician is unable to pay enough attention to his daughters due to his busy work schedule. Sergei's second wife, Ekaterina, is a member of the Kar-men group.

Georges Bizet (lived 1838-1875) “Carmen” based on the short story of the same name by Prosper Merimee has now gained worldwide fame. The popularity of the musical work is so great that in many theaters it is performed in the national language (including in Japan). The summary of the opera “Carmen” by Bizet generally corresponds to the plot of the novel, however, there are some differences.

Opera production

It may seem surprising to a modern listener that the first production of the opera, which took place on March 3, 1875 in Paris (Opera-Comique Theater), was a failure. The scandalous debut of "Carmen", accompanied by an abundance of accusatory comments from French journalists, nevertheless had its positive effect. The work, which received such a wide response in the press, could not help but attract the attention of the world. About 50 performances took place on the stage of the Comic Opera Theater alone during the premiere season.

Nevertheless, after some time the opera was withdrawn from the show and returned to the stage only in 1883. The author of the opera “Carmen” himself did not live to see this moment - he died suddenly at the age of 36, three months after the premiere of his great work.

Opera structure

Bizet's opera Carmen has a four-part form, each act of which is preceded by a separate symphonic intermission. All overtures of the work in their development contain musical material that, to one degree or another, represents a given action (general picture of events, tragic premonition, etc.).

Place of action and specific characters

The plot of the opera "Carmen" takes place in the city of Seville and its environs (Spain) in the beginning. 19th century. The specific character of the characters chosen by the author of the opera was somewhat provocative for that time. The images of ordinary tobacco factory workers behaving rather cheekily (some of them smoke), soldiers, police officers, as well as thieves and smugglers ran counter to the strict requirements of secular society.

In order to somehow smooth out the impression created by such a society (women of easy virtue, fickle in their affections; men sacrificing honor in the name of passion, etc.), the author of the opera “Carmen”, together with the authors of the libretto, introduce a new character into the work. This is the image of Michaela - a pure and innocent girl, which was not in the novel by Prosper Merimee. Due to this heroine, touching in her affection for Don Jose, the characters acquire greater contrast, and the work, in turn, acquires greater drama. Thus, summary The libretto of the opera "Carmen" has its own specifics.

Characters

Character

Vocal part

mezzo-soprano (or soprano, contralto)

Don José (Jose)

Jose's bride, a peasant woman

Escamillo

bullfighter

Romendado

smuggler

Dancairo

smuggler

Frasquita

friend Carmen, gypsy

Mercedes

friend Carmen, gypsy

Lilyas Pastya

innkeeper

no vocals

Guide, gypsies, smugglers, factory workers, soldiers, officers, picadors, bullfighters, boys, young people, people

First action

Let's look at the summary of the opera "Carmen". Seville, city square. Hot afternoon. Off-duty soldiers stand outside the barracks, next to a cigar factory, cynically discussing passers-by. Michaela approaches the soldiers - she is looking for Don Jose. Finding out that he is not there now, she leaves, embarrassed. The changing of the guard begins, and Don Jose appears among those who took up the guard. Together with their commander, Captain Zuniga, they discuss the attractiveness of cigar factory workers. The bell rings - it's a break at the factory. The workers run out into the street in a crowd. They smoke and behave quite cheekily.

Carmen comes out. She flirts with young men and sings her famous habanera (“Love has wings like a bird”). At the end of the singing, the girl throws a flower at Jose. Laughing at his embarrassment, the workers return to the factory.

Michaela appears again with a letter and a gift for Jose. Their duet “What the Relatives Said” sounds. At this time, a terrible noise begins in the factory. It turns out that Carmen slashed one of the girls with a knife. Jose receives orders from the commander to arrest Carmen and take her to the barracks. Jose and Carmen are left alone. The seguidilla “Near the Bastion in Seville” sounds, in which the girl promises to love Jose. The young corporal is completely fascinated. However, on the way to the barracks, Carmen manages to push him away and escape. As a result, Jose himself is taken into custody.

Second act

We continue to describe the summary of the opera “Carmen”. Two months later. The tavern of Lilyas Pastya, Carmen's friend, is the very place where the young gypsy promised to sing and dance for Jose. Unbridled fun reigns here. Among the most important visitors is Captain Zuniga, Commander Jose. He tries to woo Carmen, but he doesn't succeed very well. At the same time, the girl learns that Jose’s period of detention is ending, and this makes her happy.

The bullfighter Escamillo appears and performs the famous couplets “Toast, friends, I accept yours.” The tavern's patrons join in his singing in unison. Escamillo is also fascinated by Carmen, but she does not reciprocate.

It's getting late. Jose appears. Delighted by his arrival, Carmen escorts the remaining visitors from the tavern - four smugglers (bandits El Dancairo and El Remendado, as well as the girls Mercedes and Frasquita). A young gypsy woman performs a dance for Jose, as he was promised before his arrest. However, the appearance of Captain Zunig, who also came on a date with Carmen, destroys the romantic atmosphere. A quarrel breaks out between the rivals, ready to escalate into bloodshed. However, the gypsies who arrive in time manage to disarm the captain. Don Jose has no choice but to abandon his military career. He joins a smuggling gang, to Carmen's delight.

Third act

What else does the summary of the opera “Carmen” tell about? An idyllic picture of nature, in a secluded place among the mountains. The smugglers have a short break. Don Jose yearns for home, for peasant life; the smugglers' trade does not appeal to him at all - only Carmen and his passionate love for her attract him. However, the young gypsy no longer loves him, and things are approaching a breakup. According to the fortune telling of Mercedes and Fransquita, Carmen is in danger of death.

The halt is over, the smugglers go to work, only Jose remains to look after the abandoned goods. Suddenly Michaela appears. She continues to look for Jose. Her aria “I assure myself in vain” sounds.

At this time, the sound of a shot is heard. Frightened, Michaela hides. It turns out that Jose, who saw Escamillo, was the shooter. A bullfighter in love with Carmen is looking for her. A fight begins between the rivals, which inevitably threatens Escamillo’s death, but Carmen, who arrives in time, manages to intervene and save the bullfighter. Escamillo leaves, finally inviting everyone to his performance in Seville.

The next moment, Jose discovers Michaela. The girl tells him the sad news - his mother is dying and wants to say goodbye to her son before her death. Carmen contemptuously agrees that Jose should leave. In anger, he warns her that they will meet again, and only death can separate them. Roughly pushing Carmen away, Jose leaves. The bullfighter's musical motif sounds ominously.

Act Four

The following is a summary of the opera “Carmen” about the festive festivities in Seville. Residents of the city in smart clothes are all in anticipation of the bullfighting performance. Escamillo is scheduled to perform in the arena. Soon the bullfighter himself appears, arm in arm with Carmen. The young gypsy woman is also dressed with great luxury. A duet of two lovers sounds.

Escamillo, and behind him all the spectators rush into the theater. Only Carmen remains, despite the fact that Mercedes and Fransquita manage to warn her about Jose hiding nearby. The girl defiantly says that she is not afraid of him.

Jose enters. He is wounded, his clothes have turned into rags. Jose begs the girl to return to him, but receives only a contemptuous refusal in response. The young man continues to insist. An angry Carmen throws him the gold ring he gave him. At this time, a choir sounds behind the stage, glorifying the victory of the bullfighter, Jose’s lucky rival. Losing his mind, Jose takes out a dagger and plunges it into his lover just at the moment when the enthusiastic crowd in the theater welcomes Escamillo, the winner of the bullfight.

The festive crowd pours out of the theater onto the street, where a terrible picture opens before their eyes. A mentally broken Jose with the words: “I killed her! Oh, my Carmen!..” - falls at the feet of his dead lover.

Thus, “Carmen” is an opera, the summary of which can be described in almost two sentences. However, the range of human feelings and passions that the heroes of the work experience cannot be conveyed in any words - only with music and theatrical acting, which Georges Bizet and the opera actors managed to masterfully accomplish.

"Kar-Man" is a Russian musical group that worked in a genre whose name was invented by the musicians themselves - exotic pop. The star flashed brightly in the early 90s. Now each of the soloists is known mostly to fans of club life.

Compound

The idea of ​​uniting into one team was suggested to Sergei and Bogdan by the composer. He also became the first producer of musicians. The members of “Kar-Man” did not suddenly start appearing on stage; before that they worked with Vladimir Maltsev: Titomir as a bass guitarist, Lemokh played keyboards. They wrote the song “Paris” for Vladimir, which was later included in the first album.

The official date of formation of the group is January 1990. Stylish and fashionable guys, performing dance hits with a bomb delivery, became the first male duet on the musical Olympus of new Russia. The musical direction they professed quickly gained popularity, in some sources called “travelers’ club”, in others – exotic pop. At first the group was called “Exotic-pop duet”, then “Carmen” followed.

Later, according to Lemokh, the guys followed the lead of the fans and changed the name, dissociating themselves from analogies with the loving Spanish beauty. As Sergei later said, the phrase “Car-Man” contains a reference to the American concept “CarMan”, which means “road person, traveler” or “truck driver”.


For less than two years, “Kar-Man,” as they say, sold out stadiums, won the first domestic charts, and cassettes with songs sold out with a bang. Simple but fiery songs performed by brutal guys with creative haircuts and original “outfits” were heard not only by spectators at concert venues in Russia, but also abroad. The team collected a bouquet of awards and titles: “Discovery” and “Group of the Year”, “Ovation”, “Hit of the Year”, “Starry Rain”.

The group at different times included the colorful Cuban Mario Francisco Diaz, the dark-skinned actress Diana Rubanova, and Marina Kabaskova and Sergei Kolkov performed on backing vocals.


At the peak of popularity, Bogdan Titomir left the team. According to numerous sources on the Internet, the split occurred due to the fact that the participants, being strong personalities, each began to pull the blanket over himself. Conflicts began. Moreover, as Titomir subsequently claimed, the group stopped developing, and he allegedly offered to write other music, but did not meet with understanding from Sergei.

There is also a version that the record label Gala Records offered the guys a ten-year contract, but allegedly Bogdan did not want to commit himself to such long-term obligations.

Music

The first album of "Kar-Man", in full accordance with the "style of travelers", was called "Around the World". It included hits whose titles mentioned one or another geographical name: “London, Good Bye”, “Delhi”, “My Girl from America”.

The second Carmania record, for which the soloists prepared the material together, Sergei released alone, having re-recorded the vocal parts. After Titomir left, the Kar-Man brand went to Lemokh, he updated the lineup, composed the words and music himself, and continued to enjoy success. Although on the forums fans of the group noticed that Bogdan’s backing vocals could still be heard here and there.

Compositions from the new album continued the “geographical” theme: “Filipino Witch”, “San Francisco”, “Caribbean Girl”, “Bombay Boogie”. A video was shot for the title theme "Bad Russians".

In online fan communities, the situation with the next Car-Man album called “Diesel Fog” was discussed. Some fans claim that the record was published in 1993, an edition was printed at the Soyuz studio, but was withdrawn from sale due to copyright problems.

They managed to sell a small amount, and now this cassette is the longed-for dream of fans. Allegedly, the album was later reworked and released at the Gala studio, but under the name “Russian Massive Sound Aggression” (RMZA).


There are also those who believe that “Diesel Fog” is a product of piracy, and that the songs “Killer Robinson” and “Dancing in Miami” mentioned in the album never existed.

The musicians themselves call “RMZA,” which has been reissued twice over the years, without false modesty, “the first and only album in the style of “classical” techno in the CIS.”

In 1994, the group delighted listeners with the live album “Live...”. It includes already known songs and instrumental compositions. In addition, “Ciao, bambino!” and “Angel of Love” were performed for the first time. Sergey made a dance version of the famous hit “Hotel California” by the equally popular group Eagles.

In the period from 1994 to 1996, “Car-Man” fell out of the sight of music lovers. According to music portals, the group was working out a contract in Germany. The result was the English-language album This is Car-Man. Lemokh noted that it makes sense to release a musical product outside Russia only when you are sure that the people of the country where the album is being written will listen to the songs. The approach to music abroad is different from domestic. Moreover, in Sergei’s homeland everything was fine in terms of quality, but the conditions for recording “are many times better there.”

To mark their fifth anniversary, the group released the long-awaited disc “Your Sexy Little Thing,” which was dominated by slow songs. "Southern Shaolin" was accompanied by a music video.

The 1998 album “King of Disc” was released in three versions: regular, so-called gift with a booklet, and licensed from the company “JERI”. A video was shot for the title track “Dance Disco”. A year later, fans received the Back to the Future remix album.

In 2001, Lemokh organized an annual show tour around the country “Kar-Man” - 10 years.” Before this, a series of discs called “Legends of Russian Disco” was released.

To comments about where the group had disappeared, Sergei replied that the lack of performances in popular places and showings on TV did not mean that “Kar-Man” had ceased to exist. In an interview, the musician called the Slava cultural center the main venue for concerts and talked about job offers in Canada and Germany.

In 2002, Kar-Man, together with the production center Music Hammer, announced the start of work on a kind of tribute to the group’s songs. Alternative and underground club bands were invited to make covers of famous hits. However, how the project called “Car-Mania: AlterNative edition” ended is unknown.

The Kar-Man musicians boasted their next new product after 8 long years, it was the album “Nitro”. The latest remix album "Ultrasound" and the video "Baby" feat City Zen & D.J. Jump were released in 2014.

The Kar-Man group now

In the new millennium, the songs of “Kar-Man” are already listened to by the children of those who made up the first army of fans of the group. Forever young and in good physical shape, Sergei Lemokh is still in demand as a musician. There are many photos on Instagram using the hashtag with his last name, the authors of which consider it lucky to capture themselves next to the lead singer of the legendary group.


Judging by the official website of “Kar-Man”, the group works in the “custom” format - gives concerts at corporate events, in restaurants and nightclubs. They sound good old hits and new remixes.

In July 2018, as part of the “Golden Hit” program, “Kar-Man” will perform at the international arts festival “Slavic Bazaar in Vitebsk”. “Kar-Man” collaborates with DJs Filatov & Karas, the result of this collaboration was the tracks “You you you” and “Bullet”.

Clips

  • 1990 – “Paris”
  • 1991 – “London, good bye!”
  • 1992 – “Ciao, bambino!”
  • 1993 – “Mamaia Cannibals”
  • 1994 – “Sound Aggressor”
  • 1996 – “Southern Shaolin”
  • 1998 – “Dance Disco”
  • 2012 – “Music”
  • 2014 – “Baby”

Discography

  • 1990 – “Around the World”
  • 1991 – “Pocket”
  • 1994 – “Russian massive sound aggression”
  • 1996 – “Your sexy thing”
  • 1999 – “Back to future”
  • 2000-2001 – “Legends of Russian disco”
  • 2008 – “Nitro”

Georges Bizet is considered to be "Carmen". Her story was not easy, and this wonderful work did not immediately resonate with the public and critics. After all, “Carmen” is an opera in which one of the fundamental principles of plot construction at that time was violated. For the first time, not aristocrats, but ordinary people with their sins, passions, and vivid feelings were brought onto the stage.

The play premiered at the Opera Comique in Paris in 1875. The reaction that followed left its creator bitterly disappointed. Georges Bizet, author of the opera Carmen, was considered one of the talented composers of his time. He created his opera at the peak of his career. The libretto was written by L. Halévy and A. Meillac based on the novel by P. Mérimée. The audience who attended the premiere performance had divided opinions. The first performer of the role of the gypsy Carmen was the singer Celestine Galli-Mathieu. She managed to perfectly convey the courage of the heroine. Some were delighted by this, while others were outraged. The newspapers called the opera ugly, scandalous and vulgar.

However, Carmen is an opera whose genius was appreciated much later and truly loved. Our classical composer P.I. spoke about this. Tchaikovsky, he called it a masterpiece. One of the most memorable melodies that fill the opera is the heroine’s aria “Love, like a bird, has wings.” The composer created it based on the melody of the habanera and the seductive description of the gypsy woman in P. Merimee’s short story. In addition to this aria, “Toreador March” and Suite No. 2 became truly popular.

Due to its atypicality for that time, the opera turned into a popular performance. Carmen describes the life of ordinary people, and at the same time, the opera is not devoid of romanticism. If we describe the summary of the opera “Carmen”, we can summarize it in a few phrases. The plot is based on the third chapter of the novel of the same name by P. Merimee, and it is about love. The play takes place in Spain, so the composer filled the opera with classic Spanish melodies: flamenco, paso doble, habanera.

The main character of both the short story and the opera is the gypsy Carmen. The opera presents her as uninhibited, free, and does not recognize laws. The gypsy is capable of changing the fates of everyone who happens to be close to her. She attracts the attention of men, enjoys their love, but does not consider their feelings. According to the plot, a beautiful gypsy woman works at a cigarette factory. A fight lands her at the police station. Her guard was Sergeant Jose. She was able to make him fall in love with her and convince him to let her go. For the sake of the gypsy, Jose lost everything: his position, respect in society. He became a simple soldier. Carmen collaborated with smugglers and flirted with the bullfighter Escamillo. She was tired of Jose. He tried to return his beloved, but she abruptly told him that it was all over. Then Jose killed his beloved Carmen so that no one would get her.

J. Bizet was very upset by the failure of the premiere performance of “Carmen”. The opera, later recognized as a masterpiece, took a lot of energy from the composer. Shortly after the premiere, 3 months later, the composer died at the age of 37. On the verge of death, J. Bizet said: “Jose killed Carmen, and Carmen killed me!”

Nevertheless, the story of a free life, unbridled passions and accidental death due to jealousy has been attracting audiences to theaters for many years. To this day, Carmen is successfully performed on the most famous opera stages in the world.

Countries

USSR USSR
Russia, Russia

Where Compound Other
projects Kar-man Kar-man

Story

Initially, the duo referred to themselves as an “exotic pop duo”. They took the name “Carmen” as the name. In 1990, the name changed to “Car-Man”. As the performers themselves comment, in this way they “meet the wishes of the listeners, obscuring the initial reminder of the insidious Spanish rival of today’s young seductresses.” The name can be considered as “man-car”; the performers themselves prefer the synonym “traveler”. In this regard, the group’s first album, entitled “Around the World” (1990), had a unique concept: each song from it in one way or another talks about different cities and countries.

The group first appeared on television in the spring of 1990, on the “2x2” TV channel, performing several songs (unknown source), then in the summer of the same year in the “Variety Vernissage” program, with the video “Paris”, and already at the end of the year, summed up in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets”, the duo became a leader in two categories: “Discovery of the Year” and “Group of the Year”.

The group received a number of awards: “Hit-90” (), “50x50” (), “Star Rain” (), “Ovation” ().

In April 1991, Bogdan Titomir left the project, deciding to pursue a solo career; . Sergei Lemokh rewrote all of Titomir’s vocal parts for the next album “Karmania”, and as a result the album was released in 1992.

Excerpt from the title song “Captain Pronin”
Playback help

Lemokh takes part in third-party projects: he acts in commercials, records the soundtrack for the animated series “Captain Pronin”, writes musical intros for TV shows, etc.

In parallel with his work at Kar-man, Sergei Lemokh worked as a composer, writing several songs for other artists (Natalia Senchukova, Lada Dance, Natalia Gulkina, Igor Seliverstov).

Compound

  • Sergey Lemokh - vocals, lyrics, arrangements.
  • Sergey Kolkov - dancing, backing vocals.
  • Alexey Makarov - dancing.
  • Oleg Rychkov - dancing.

Former members:

Discography

Before the album Around the world, in 1990, 3 songs were recorded: “Man of the year”, “Night with you”, “Singapore”. It is also known that one song on the album Karmania was recorded as a duet in 1991 (“A Guy from Africa”), but after Bogdan Titomir left the group, Sergei Lemokh rewrote all the vocal parts.

Studio albums:

  • Around the world(magnetic album - Gala 1990) (Gala/Sintez, 1991 - vinyl, reissued on CD and MC Gala Records in 1994)
  • Karmania (Carmania) (Gala Records, 1991 - magnetic album, 1992 - vinyl, reissued on CD and MC in 1994)
  • Russian massive sound aggression(J.S.P., 1994; 1997; 2004)
  • Your sexy thing(Zeko, 1996)
  • Disc King(J.S.P., 1998; 2003)
  • Nitro(Quad-disc, 2008)

Live albums:

  • Live…(J.S.P., 1994; 2004)

Remix albums:

  • Back to future(J.S.P., 1999; 2003)
  • Ultrasound (2014)

Collections:

  • The Best of Car-Man(Jeff Records, 1993)
  • Legends of Russian disco(Master Sound Production, 2000)
  • Legends of Russian disco. Part 2(Master Sound Production, 2001)
  • Star collection(J.S.P. Records, 2001)
  • Grand collection(Quad-disc, 2009)

Other albums:

  • Polaris(Zeko, 1997, solo album by Lemokh)

Videography

  • Paris (1990)
  • My American Girl (1990)
  • London Goodbye (1991)
  • Hotel San Martino (1991)
  • Bad Russians (1991)
  • African Guy (1991)
  • Ciao, bambino (1992)
  • Mamaia Cannibals (1993)
  • Sonic Aggressor (1994)
  • Southern Shaolin (1996)
  • Dance Disco (1998)
  • Music (2012)
  • Baby (2014)

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Notes

Links

  • www.carmanmusic.ru - official website of the group "Car-Man"
  • on "Yandex.Music"

Excerpt characterizing Kar-man

She looked where he had gone, to the other side of life. And that side of life, which she had never thought about before, which had previously seemed so distant and incredible to her, was now closer and dearer to her, more understandable than this side of life, in which everything was either emptiness and destruction, or suffering and insult.
She looked to where she knew he was; but she could not see him otherwise than as he was here. She saw him again the same as he was in Mytishchi, at Trinity, in Yaroslavl.
She saw his face, heard his voice and repeated his words and her words spoken to him, and sometimes she came up with new words for herself and for him that could then be said.
Here he lies on an armchair in his velvet fur coat, resting his head on his thin, pale hand. His chest is terribly low and his shoulders are raised. The lips are firmly compressed, the eyes shine, and a wrinkle jumps up and disappears on the pale forehead. One of his legs is trembling almost noticeably quickly. Natasha knows that he is struggling with excruciating pain. “What is this pain? Why pain? How does he feel? How it hurts!” - Natasha thinks. He noticed her attention, raised his eyes and, without smiling, began to speak.
“One terrible thing,” he said, “is to bind yourself forever to a suffering person. This is eternal torment." And he looked at her with a searching look—Natasha now saw this look. Natasha, as always, answered then before she had time to think about what she was answering; she said: “This cannot go on like this, this will not happen, you will be healthy - completely.”
She now saw him first and now experienced everything that she had felt then. She remembered his long, sad, stern look at these words and understood the meaning of the reproach and despair of this long look.
“I agreed,” Natasha was now telling herself, “that it would be terrible if he remained always suffering. I said it that way only because it would have been terrible for him, but he understood it differently. He thought it would be terrible for me. He still wanted to live then - he was afraid of death. And I told him so rudely and stupidly. I didn't think that. I thought something completely different. If I had said what I thought, I would have said: even if he were dying, dying all the time before my eyes, I would be happy compared to what I am now. Now... Nothing, no one. Did he know this? No. Didn't know and never will. And now it will never, never be possible to correct this.” And again he spoke to her the same words, but now in her imagination Natasha answered him differently. She stopped him and said: “Terrible for you, but not for me. You know that I have nothing in life without you, and suffering with you is the best happiness for me.” And he took her hand and squeezed it as he had squeezed it on that terrible evening, four days before his death. And in her imagination she told him other tender, loving speeches that she could have said then, which she said now. “I love you... you... I love you, I love you...” she said, convulsively squeezing her hands, gritting her teeth with fierce effort.
And sweet grief overwhelmed her, and tears were already welling up in her eyes, but suddenly she asked herself: to whom is she telling this? Where is he and who is he now? And again everything was clouded with dry, hard bewilderment, and again, tensely knitting her eyebrows, she peered at where he was. And so, it seemed to her that she was penetrating the secret... But at that moment, just as something incomprehensible was opening up to her, the loud knock of the door lock handle painfully struck her ears. Quickly and carelessly, with a frightened, uninterested expression on her face, the maid Dunyasha entered the room.
“Come to daddy, quickly,” Dunyasha said with a special and animated expression. “It’s a misfortune, about Pyotr Ilyich... a letter,” she said, sobbing.

In addition to the general feeling of alienation from all people, Natasha at this time experienced a special feeling of alienation from her family. All her own: father, mother, Sonya, were so close to her, familiar, so everyday that all their words and feelings seemed to her an insult to the world in which she had lived lately, and she was not only indifferent, but looked at them with hostility . She heard Dunyasha’s words about Pyotr Ilyich, about misfortune, but did not understand them.
“What kind of misfortune do they have there, what kind of misfortune can there be? Everything they have is old, familiar and calm,” Natasha mentally said to herself.
When she entered the hall, the father was quickly leaving the countess's room. His face was wrinkled and wet with tears. He apparently ran out of that room to give vent to the sobs that were crushing him. Seeing Natasha, he desperately waved his hands and burst into painful, convulsive sobs that distorted his round, soft face.
- Pe... Petya... Come, come, she... she... is calling... - And he, sobbing like a child, quickly mincing with weakened legs, walked up to the chair and fell almost on it, covering his face with his hands.
Suddenly, like an electric current ran through Natasha’s entire being. Something hit her terribly painfully in the heart. She felt terrible pain; It seemed to her that something was being torn away from her and that she was dying. But following the pain, she felt an instant release from the ban on life that lay on her. Seeing her father and hearing her mother’s terrible, rude cry from behind the door, she instantly forgot herself and her grief. She ran up to her father, but he, helplessly waving his hand, pointed to her mother’s door. Princess Marya, pale, with a trembling lower jaw, came out of the door and took Natasha by the hand, saying something to her. Natasha didn’t see or hear her. She entered the door with quick steps, stopped for a moment, as if in a struggle with herself, and ran up to her mother.
The Countess lay on an armchair, stretching out strangely awkwardly, and banging her head against the wall. Sonya and the girls held her hands.
“Natasha, Natasha!..” shouted the countess. - It’s not true, it’s not true... He’s lying... Natasha! – she screamed, pushing those around her away. - Go away, everyone, it’s not true! Killed!.. ha ha ha ha!.. not true!
Natasha knelt on the chair, bent over her mother, hugged her, lifted her with unexpected strength, turned her face towards her and pressed herself against her.
- Mama!.. darling!.. I’m here, my friend. “Mama,” she whispered to her, without stopping for a second.
She did not let her mother go, gently struggled with her, demanded a pillow, water, unbuttoned and tore her mother’s dress.
“My friend, my dear... mamma, darling,” she whispered incessantly, kissing her head, hands, face and feeling how uncontrollably her tears flowed in streams, tickling her nose and cheeks.
The Countess squeezed her daughter's hand, closed her eyes and fell silent for a moment. Suddenly she stood up with unusual speed, looked around senselessly and, seeing Natasha, began squeezing her head with all her might. Then she turned her face, wrinkled in pain, towards her and peered at it for a long time.
“Natasha, you love me,” she said in a quiet, trusting whisper. - Natasha, won’t you deceive me? Will you tell me the whole truth?
Natasha looked at her with tear-filled eyes, and in her face there was only a plea for forgiveness and love.