Why did Solomiia Opryshko choose the pseudonym Klavdia Petrivna and what was the real-life heroine of the novel "Notes of Snub-nosed Mephistopheles"?

When creating her stage persona, the young performer Solomiia Opryshko, who had been hiding under a large hat for almost a year, was inspired by the main character of Volodymyr Vynnychenko's novel "Notes of Snub-nosed Mephistopheles," Klavdia Petrivna. The young singer adopted some of the features of the character, whom the writer described as a woman with a rich inner world but a non-standard appearance.

The book's protagonist was a sincere and gentle girl who constantly tried to please others. Suspilne Kultura explained what Klavdiya Petrovna was really like and how she inspired the young performer to create the image.

What we know about Klavdia Petrivna

Klavdia Petrivna is a married woman who lives apart from her husband and raises her young son Kostia on her own. Her chosen one, Yakov Mykhailiuk, considers his relationship with the heroine to be a kind of "charity," so he lives far away from his family and sends them financial assistance in the amount of 100 rubles a month. Klavdia Petrivna has an incredibly rich inner world and is constantly trying to realize herself. Due to a series of unsuccessful attempts to find her place in the cruel world, she loses confidence and is completely immersed in complexes and fears.

Volodymyr Vynnychenko described the character in the novel "Notes of Snub-nosed Mephistopheles" as an insecure, slightly clumsy, but sincere person who has beautiful, thick, and curly hair with a soft shine. However, the woman's appearance was quite unconventional, as she has small eyes, a large nose, and wide lips.

"Her voice is sincere, clear, and high. She often sings without words, with her lips pursed, and it sounds like a violin playing, alive, sighing with a deep sigh. Klavdia Petrivna does not like to be looked at for a long time, and therefore she tilts her face to the guitar, and when she stops playing, she raises it and smiles at me guiltily and questioningly," the work says.

Interestingly, Solomiia Opryshko herself is a very shy girl in real life, so she was afraid of failing like the heroine.

"The idea of not showing my face is not a PR ploy. It was Klavdia Petrivna herself who wanted it. Because she was afraid that if the songs didn't work, she didn't want to be embarrassed," Osty explained in an interview with MUZVAR.

The hat was Klavdia Petrivna's signature accessory

Until recently, Solomiia Opryshko, like her "prototype" in a Ukrainian novel, could not see her image without an accent hat.

"Without the hat, Klavdia Petrivna looks younger. For some reason, I note this with pleasure," Volodymyr Vynnychenko wrote.

The heroine had a difficult character

Klavdia Petrivna has always been a fussy and insecure person. She is nervous in public, shy, and tries to please everyone. The heroine creates comfort in her family home and sincerely cares for her young son Kostia.

To look more strict and "adult," Klavdia Petrivna wears restrained clothes, mostly black. She likes to show her creative side, so she doesn't shy away from the opportunity to sing or play the guitar.

In Vynnychenko's work, Yakiv Mykhailiuk describes his wife as follows: "When I leave her late at night, I am full of a little sentimental emotion and pity for this wonderful lonely woman. At the same time, I remember with a smile how she begins to faint and gasp for breath when I take her hand and shake it for a long time. How she looks up fearfully and then moves her eyes around, seeing nothing and waiting for something with her whole weakened being. And how, as if waking up, when I let go of her hand, she immediately gets excited, moves a lot, laughs for no reason, and every minute picks up the guitar, which she immediately puts aside. And her movements become so flexible, light, rhythmic as if she sings with her whole body, dressed in black, but thin and young, like a girl's."

Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!