She never had to prove anything to anyone. As soon as she appeared on stage and began to sing sensitively, the audience fell silent and let themselves be carried away by the depth of her unmistakable speech. Nevertheless, the life of a famous chansonnier was not always easy. The communists forbade her to sing, she had to go to prison due to Karel Gott’s fee and lost her only son Matúš.
She hated her name
Hana Hegerová was born in Bratislava into a banker’s family. Although she was to follow her father’s footsteps and devote her entire life to finance and business, she fortunately chose ballet and later theater. The girl’s parents had Carmen Mária Farkašová entered in her birth certificate, but the future singer hated her name from the bottom of her heart. That’s why she started performing under her mother’s maiden name as Hana Čelková.
So weird that she’s beautiful
While Hana was still singing in Slovakia in the 1950s, she later moved to Prague and got a great opportunity at the legendary Semafor Theater. “She’s so weird that she’s beautiful,” he said of the budding star, according to the Web aktualne.cz singer and composer Jiří Šlitr.
She didn’t consider herself a singer
Although Heger was spoken abroad in superlatives and was nicknamed Edith Piaf from Prague or the First Lady of Chanson, the singer remained standing on the ground and did not experience her fame much. She didn’t consider herself the first lady of anything, let alone chanson, and she didn’t even surprisingly think she was a singer. “It just came out,” she said modestly in an interview with People’s Newspaper.
The communists gave her a stop sign
The fact that she sang abroad, where she was a huge success and even met members of the Beatles on her travels, was, of course, in the stomachs of the Communists. And they repaid her in their typical way, not allowing her to perform. “It was worst for me at the time of the ban, when my relationship broke up. I had to learn to live alone and without work, “she recalled Flash Hegerová, who then broke up with director Ján Roháč.
She had to go to jail
The problem came when the singer’s account was accidentally charged with a higher amount of money, which actually belonged to Karel Gott. Because Heger thought it was her fee from Germany, she kept it in good faith. However, the court did not believe her explanation and convicted her of embezzlement. The chansonnier then spent half a year in prison.
Jan Werich taught her to drink whiskey
Few people know that Heger paid for a great gourmet. She loved Irish whiskey, which was taught to drink by actor Jan Werich. “It’s more tender and delicious,” Hana delighted on the web lidovky.cz.
Pears and French chansons
Similarly, journalist Ondřej Suchý also remembered the singer in Miroslav Graclík’s latest book, The Queen of Chanson. “I will not forget the atmosphere that I came to where I came up with my ideas for Mrs. Hana that morning – the windows were shining with beautiful sunshine, the calm was colored by a quiet French radio station,” said Jiří Suchý’s brother. Maybe it’s not suitable for that, but since then French chansons and French have been associated with the smell of pear, “added Suchý in the publication.
She didn’t take every job
The fact that the singer was so successful was probably helped by the solid and unshakable values she internally held. For example, she carefully chose what she would sing. “I am vain and I have to believe every word. I have to work hard to get into every text, to be able to put it on, “she once said Lidový noviny.
I’m probably Asian
Looking at Heger’s unique beauty, everyone must have wondered where her roots must have gone. “I think I’m probably Asian,” she told her People’s Newspaper Hana. She knew from her parents that she had Hungarian, German and Czech ancestors as well as Slovaks with blue blood. “I even have a coat of arms. From my mother’s family, and there’s an owl covered in an arrow, “she added.
She wanted a rooster in wine for her birthday
When she was eighty, she did not disappoint as a famous gourmet because she wanted a rooster in wine for lunch. Although she loved France and sang in French, she had not yet tasted this delicacy.
Shopping at second handech
Singer Eva Hurychová also confided in Miroslav Graclík’s book the memory of a unique artist. “I once praised her costumes in which she performed or what she wore during the day. She smiled amusedly and said, “And do you know where I got it from?” No, I didn’t know. Suddenly she said confidently: “I buy all things for myself in German second hands, where I always find beautiful pieces, and they are for a few bucks.”
Her son Matúš died
Undoubtedly, she experienced the worst moment when her only son Matúš died prematurely. He was only sixty years old, and Heger didn’t want to talk much about his departure. “It wasn’t cancer at all, but he had a terminal illness,” she told the newspaper briefly some time ago Aha!. Fortunately, she had two grandchildren, Matouš and Marek, and great-granddaughters of Beata and Adinka.
Listen to the beautiful song Who would look back, which the singer sang with Petr Hapka.
