GRAND SCENE RAPHAEL

Rare vocal, fantastic energy of creativity and the magnificent choreography of Raphael can not be compared with any known world performer. The idol of millions, the god of musical Olympus, the singer, actor, dancer, the owner of the “uranium” disc and hundreds of other awards and awards each time at their concerts collects notices.

The boy from the church choir
For more than half a century, Rafael gives his work to all fans of real music. Concerts, tours, recording of records and CDs, TV shows, filming in films and music programs – this is an endless series of performances that the artist is not going to stop. He says that he does not accept the word “pension” and does not plan to leave the scene.

Raphael was born in the south of sunny Spain on May 5, 1943 in the town of Linares. There were five children in the family, the father worked as a builder, so there was not a lot of income and it was not possible to give expensive education to his offspring Raphael. Miguel Rafael Martos Sanchez (and this is the full name of the future singer) lived in his hometown for only three years, after which the parents moved to Madrid with relatives.

There Rafael was attached to the parish school, where he demonstrated his vocal abilities in the church choir. Thanks to his early talent and abilities, the boy attended school for free. And the church also received a good income from the parishioners, who went to the temple not only to pray, but also to listen to the wondrous little boy.

By the way, he did not differ in particular diligence, so several times he was expelled from school, but after a while they even asked to return. Yet the desire to have in their ranks a talented chorister prevailed.

Best children’s voice
At the age of 9, the gifted boy dared to try his hand at the international vocal competition in Salzburg, the birthplace of genius Mozart. There Rafael won the prize and was recognized as the winner of the best children’s voice. A few years later, his desire to become a true artist, singer Raphaelstal was so serious that even the persuasion, arguments and arguments of his parents could not convince him.

Moreover, over time, his father instilled in Rafael a love of dance and taught him to accompany his performances with plastic movements, considering that dance on the stage is not inferior to vocal.

The young man began to earn his living by playing musical compositions in night cabarets, then he made his way into small concert halls and so began his professional career more than 50 years ago.

Film producers did not disregard his work and invited him to play a cameo role in the film “Twins”. Before Rafael opened another side of multi-faceted art.

Rafael – solo pioneer
Ahead of him was a real success. In 1962, he participated in the competition of his native Spanish song in the city of Benidorm. Among several songs performed by him was Llevan, which earned him the title of “Best Performer”. The second, third, fifth, eighth and ninth places also took his compositions. Six songs in the top ten of the then popular competition – it was more than a victory. Singer Raphael

Rafael became a real revolutionary in the music field of his homeland. And the thing is that in 1965 he invested all his savings in organizing a large solo concert in one of the best theaters in Madrid – Zarzuela. Prior to this, in Spain, no one practiced solo concerts, because Raphael became a pioneer.

There were many skeptics who believed that he would burn, having invested such money in such a dubious event, even called him a madman. However, the grand success of the concert quickly cooled the ardor of ill-wishers – there was a full house, after each song the audience stood shouting “bravo” standing. And this significant fact of his biography was even used in the film “When you are not”, in which Raphael played the main role.

Spanish nightingale
Rafael climbed one more step up the stairs to Olympus after participating in the famous Eurovision Song Contest. True, he won no prizes either in 1966 or in 1967, because then the Hispanic performers were not held in high esteem by record companies, but for Spain itself the singer became a national hero, the whole Madrid Shelphevets Raphael met him at the airport after contests. Since then, in his homeland, he has been called nothing less than “Divo Linares” or “Nightingale”.

However, participation in Eurovision helped him to conclude promising contracts and start participating in interesting international projects.

Then the best concert halls of the world — the famous New York Paramount, Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden and Radio City, the Olympia in Paris, the Palladium of London and the Sydney Opera House — already conquered him. More actively, he began to act in musical cinema, and the film “Let Them Talk” made him a favorite of the public in the USSR.

He was simply adored in the Union, he made a serious competition to Soviet performers and even became the singer Raphaelih overshadowed, that the relevant authorities in the Ministry of Culture could not help noticing.