Giorgi Kalatozishvili Tbilisi. Especially for Vestnik Kavkaza
A few days ago Tbilisi hosted an anniversary concert of the world famous opera singer Paata Burchuladze, who turned 60 years old. Georgian opera singers from many cities around the world came to participate in the concert.
After the collapse of the USSR the Georgian school of opera was able to bring world-class stars to the leading opera stages, but to conduct the anniversary evening the French movie star Alain Delon was invited, who came to Georgia specially for the first time in his life.
The arrival of the famous French actor aroused in the country no less interest than the anniversary of Paata Burchuladze. The French celebrity received such a reception that he half-jokingly chided his hosts at a press conference: "Why have Georgians still not told me that they are so fond of me? If I had known about it, I probably would have come earlier."
This phrase of Alain Delon sounded like a subtle acknowledgment that he only first learned of the existence of Georgia when he was invited to the anniversary of the Georgian opera singer.
Delon in Tbilisi was welcomed at the highest level. It is sufficient to say that he was met by the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II. Delon knelt before him and kissed his hand.
During rehearsals, Alain Delon expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that fragments of old films with his participation were shown on the big screen: "Stop it, now I look much worse!" the actor exclaimed. However, it was generally recognized that during the preparation and during the concert itself Alain Delon was on the form and coped brilliantly with his role.
Nevertheless, the concert still resulted in controversy: Alain Delon had to go on stage and start hosting the evening at 19:00. But the Sports Palace, where the anniversary evening was being held, was flooded by tens of thousands of people, many of whom had paid around 60 dollars. for the concert. However, the organizers opened only one door, as they were able to deliver only two detectors to the place. A stampede started, which almost turned into a tragedy. Thousands of people started shouting, demanding that the other doors be opened immediately, but the guards strictly followed their instructions. As a result, when Alain Delon came on stage at around 20:00, he was stopped by one of the organizers of the concert. He decided to apologize to the public, but made it a little awkward, so thousands of people in the audience began to whistle.
Only after that did Alain Delon nevertheless start the concert. However, due to his persistence and professionalism, Delon was able to control the situation, find a "thread" to the attention of the "red-hot" audience, and only then did the beautiful voice of Paata Burchuladze and other opera singers, as well as many delightful images of the beloved French actor, help to quell the resentment of the poor organization of the event, although traces remained.
