Lida Goulesco

Lida Goulecso, born in Petrograd (St. Petersburg) in 1917, was a Romanian Tzigani vocalist and performer. Her father, Ivan Timofeevich Goulesco, was a equilibristic fiddler, a favourite musician of the last Russian Emperor, Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov. After the revolution the family fled to Constantinople and later they re-settled in Paris. At 17, Lida Goulecso made her debut as a Café-singer/dancer and became popular for her dramatic interpretations of various gypsy songs. After WWII she toured parts of southern Europe and the USA. In 1969 she performed and recorded with the recognized Franz Schnuckenack-Reinhardt-Quintett. Later in the 1970s Lida Goulesco joined the Guyla Kokas & Son Ensemble for concerts and albums. Parts of her recordings and some film episodes are preserved. Lida Goulesco died in the summer of 1977 in Paris.