Main points
- Kvitka Cisyk was a famous Ukrainian-American singer with a coloratura soprano, whose voice was featured in advertising campaigns and films.
- She released two Grammy-nominated Ukrainian-language albums, but died of breast cancer 5 days before her 45th birthday.
Kvitka Tsisyk / Collage of Channel 24
Kvitka Tsisyk is a Ukrainian with Galician roots who was born and lived her entire life in the U.S. Her voice was admired by the entire American showbiz, and world-class stars wanted to work with her.
- 1 How did Kvitka Cisyk become popular?
- 2 Kvitka Cisyk and Ukraine
- 3 Why did Kvitka Cisyk die?
However, in Ukraine, Kvitka became famous after her death. Unfortunately, it often happens that true talent is appreciated only after a person is no longer in the world. The singer's parents, Volodymyr and Ivanna Tsisyk, emigrated to the United States after World War II. The legendary singer, known to us under the name Kvitka, is an abbreviated form of the name Kvitoslav. However, at birth, Tsisyk received a double name – Kvitoslava Orysia. However, in the United States, she was known under the pseudonym Kasey. As a child, the artist was a scout – she went to camps in the mountains, where she studied Ukrainian songs, customs and rituals. 24 Channel will tell all the details of her life so that the memory of the outstanding singer will live on for many more years.
How did Kvitka Cisyk become popular?
She and her sister Maria were involved in music since childhood. Interestingly, the latter became an outstanding pianist and was the director of the San Francisco Conservatory.
Kvitoslava first played the violin, mastered the performing arts at a ballet school, and sang in a choir. Later, she studied at Binghamton University, then studied at the New York Conservatory, and even later received a scholarship to study in Ghent, Belgium.
Kvitka Cisyk in her youth / Photo KMCrecords, Cisykfamilyarchive
Cisyk had a coloratura soprano . Fans sometimes guessed the sound of a violin in her voice. She easily experimented with styles – from jazz to classical. And had considerable success both in performing “pop” songs and in opera singing. In addition, Kvitka Cisyk possessed a technique common in Carpathian villages – “white voice”.
At first, the singer sought her style in clubs, and her experiments led her to performing on the same stage with Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson.
When her father died, the singer was looking for a job. One day, producers noticed her and Kvitka became one of the most famous and expensive performers of jingles for commercials.
Kvitka Cisyk / Photo from the Internet
Her voice was heard in advertising campaigns for Coca-Cola, American Airlines, McDonald's. For 16 years she was the official voice of Ford Motors. The jingle “Have you driven a Ford lately”, which the singer recorded for Ford Motor Company, was listened to more than 22 billion times. Some Americans still remember this viral track.
Ford Song – Have Your Driven A Ford Lately: watch the video online
Did you know that in 1978, the song “You Shine My Life”, which the artist performed for the film of the same name, won an Oscar and a Golden Globe. At the same time, Cisyk tried herself as an actress. In the film, she played the role of the main character's friend. However, due to a conflict with the film's director, her name was cut from the credits.
Kvitka Cisyk and Ukraine
Abroad, she released two Ukrainian-language albums with her own funds, which contained songs by Volodymyr Ivasyuk and other composers – “Kvitka” (1980) and “Dva kolori” (1989). She spent about 200 thousand dollars on this. In 1990, both albums were nominated for a Grammy in the “Contemporary Folk” category.
Kvitka Tsisyk – “Two Colors”: listen to the song online
For their recording, she hired the best musicians in New York, Kvitka was accompanied by her own sister Maria, and her mother provided the correct Ukrainian pronunciation. They mostly came to Ukraine through smuggling, people re-recorded the songs and passed them on to each other. After all, during the Soviet era, Tsisyk's works were banned.
No one, anywhere, has ever sung the songs of my friend Volodymyr Ivasyuk as well as Kvitka did,
– this is what Nazariy Yaremchuk said about Kvitka.
We have only received one interview with Kvitka. It was given to Oleksandr Gornostay, the leader of the Chervona Ruta musical ensemble, in 1992 during a visit to the United States.
Interview with Kvitka Cisyk: watch the video online
Interview with Kvitka Cisyk: watch the video online
Why did Kvitka Cisyk die?
In 1992, doctors gave Kvitka a terrible diagnosis – breast cancer. According to their predictions, she was supposed to live for a few more months, but the singer fought for another 7 years and did not live to see her 45th birthday, just five days before her mother and sister died from the same disease.