What happened to the homeless immigrants from Russia, who performed operas on the Los Angeles subway

On September 27, the Los Angeles Police Department posted on Twitter and Instagram a video of an unknown woman speaking on an empty subway platform. Writes about this Nashi USA.

Screenshot: Instagram / lapdhq

The video commentary says: “4 million people call Los Angeles their home. 4 million stories. 4 million votes ... sometimes you just need to stop and listen to one of them to hear something beautiful. "

The woman in the video performs the aria “O mio babbino caro” from the opera “Gianni Schicchi” by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini. After publication, the record quickly gained tens of thousands of views and gained viral popularity. Dedicated to her plots Almost all the largest American TV channels and publications.

Journalists began to figure out who the singing woman was. Representatives of the local Armenian community toldthat she has no home. A woman is regularly seen on the streets with a supermarket trolley in which her belongings are folded. They told reporters that the performer of opera arias is also a good violinist.

“I saw her playing the violin near the Amerikana shopping center, and it was wonderful,” said local resident Suzanne Ohanyan.

The owner of the Armenian market, Sarkis Chakhoyan, added that the woman spoke in Russian with him, telling him that she had been living in the United States for 30 years. She regularly collects stale bread to feed the birds, he noted.

A few days later, reporters found performer arias and have talked with her. The woman said that her name is Emily Zamurka, she is 52 years old, and she really came to the United States from Russia at the age of 24. Zamurka is a professional violinist and pianist.

She did not professionally engage in singing. The woman said that she learned to sing as a child, imitating opera singers in television broadcasts. She sings in the subway because it has good acoustics, Zamurka added.

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In the US, she gave music lessons, but in 2005 she began to have health problems and, as a result, financial difficulties. Friends from Russia helped her get treatment at a Los Angeles hospital, but then support stopped. To make ends meet, she worked in cafes and restaurants and even played the violin in the streets - until one day a passerby pounced on her and stole an instrument.

As a result, Zamurka lost her home and now lives on the street with a $ 400 state allowance. In 2008, she received political asylum in the United States. The woman did not name the reason for moving from Russia.

When the police officer, touched by the beauty of her singing at the Wilshire-Normandie subway station, came up and asked for permission to record, Zamurka got scared. "Please, do not do that. I'm scared, ”she said. “What can I expect from the policeman who is filming you?” However, the policeman continued to insist, and in the end she agreed - on the condition that the video was not posted on the Internet.

MP spokesman Branimir Kvartyuch contacted her to offer a job. She sang at the opening of Little Italy, the Italian Heritage Festival in Los Angeles.

“She was very excited, but we were even more excited,” said Kvartyuch. “After all, we will have to treat her like a star.”

Zamurka is grateful to the police officer for breaking the promise and still posting the video.

She also received an offer from music producer Joel Diamond, which could again change her life.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• A Los Angeles policeman captured a homeless woman at a subway station. She performed the aria “O mio babbino caro” from the opera “Gianni Schicchi” by Giacomo Puccini. The woman turned out to be a Russian woman.
• Los Angeles police are working to ensure that Zamurka gets a permanent job and housing. Charity fund GoFundMe already collected more than $ 46 thousand to help a woman.

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