She was born on March 24 (March 11, Old Style), 1906, in Kharkov, in the family of Ivan Ivanovich Shulzhenko, an accountant of the Main Directorate of the Railway.
Klavdiya began performing folk songs in the late 1920s. In 1923, she became an actress at the Kharkov Drama Theatre under the direction of N. N. Sinelnikov. That same year, she made her debut as a singer, performing the romance “Stars in the Sky” in the play “The Execution.”
In the summer of 1925, she began working at the Krasnozavodsky Drama Theatre in Kharkov. In 1928, Klavdiya Shulzhenko made her singing debut on the stage of the Mariinsky Theatre in Leningrad during a concert dedicated to Press Day. In January 1929, she debuted at the Moscow Music Hall.
In 1930, she married Vladimir Koralli, and in May 1932 they welcomed their son, Igor.
In October 1931, the Leningrad Music Hall premiered the production “The Conditionally Killed,” in which Klavdiya Shulzhenko played Masha Funtikova. The music for the production was written by Dmitri Shostakovich, and conducted by Isaak Dunayevsky.
In 1934, Shulzhenko appeared in M. Averbakh’s film “Who Is Your Friend?” as Vera. In 1936, her first gramophone recordings were made.
In January 1940, a jazz orchestra was formed in Leningrad under the direction of Klavdiya Shulzhenko and Vladimir Koralli; it became very popular and existed until the summer of 1945.
From the first day of the Great Patriotic War, the jazz orchestra became a Frontline Jazz Ensemble, with which Shulzhenko performed for soldiers of the Leningrad Front right at the front lines. During the Siege of Leningrad, she gave more than 500 concerts for the troops.
Thanks to her performances of wartime songs such as “The Blue Kerchief,” “Let’s Have a Smoke,” “Comrades-in-Arms,” and others, Klavdiya Shulzhenko gained nationwide recognition. On July 12, 1942, her 500th concert with the Frontline Jazz Ensemble took place at the Leningrad House of the Red Army, where she was awarded the medal “For the Defense of Leningrad.”
Shulzhenko toured active military units with the jazz ensemble throughout the war. On May 9, 1945, she was awarded the Soviet Union’s highest military decoration — the Order of the Red Star.
On September 29, 1945, “for outstanding achievements in vocal art,” Klavdiya Shulzhenko, soloist of the All-Russian Touring and Concert Association, was granted the honorary title of Merited Artist of the RSFSR.
After the war, she continued her concert career. In 1954, her first LP record was released. In March 1954, she appeared in V. Stroyeva’s film “Merry Stars.”
That same year, Klavdiya divorced Koralli and two years later married cinematographer Georgy Epifanov.
In November 1962, “for great achievements in Soviet popular music,” Klavdiya Shulzhenko was awarded the honorary title of People’s Artist of the RSFSR.
In October 1965, she took part in the First Festival of Soviet Popular Song, held at the Moscow State Variety Theatre. Two years later, in 1967, she served as a jury member for the same festival.
In May 1971, “for great achievements in Soviet popular music,” she was awarded the title of People’s Artist of the USSR by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. In June 1976, she received the Order of Lenin.
In 1980, Shulzhenko recorded her last LP, “Portrait.”
In 1981, her memoirs, “When You Ask Me…” (written down by Gleb Skorokhodov), were published by Molodaya Gvardiya.
In December 1983, she took part in the filming of the television movie “You Are Invited by Klavdiya Shulzhenko,” directed by S. Zhuravlyov, which premiered on December 18 on the First Channel of Central Television.
Merited Artist of the RSFSR (1945).
People’s Artist of the RSFSR (1962).
People’s Artist of the USSR (1971).
She died on June 17, 1984, in Moscow.
She is buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery.
