From Tatarstan to Bavaria: An aria at the Eibsee was to blame
Created: 06/19/2022, 12:08 p.m
By: Doris Schmid
Greetings from the Volga: Elsa Kodeda is holding a picture of her hometown of Kazan.
She is wearing a kalfak, the traditional head covering of Tatar women.
© Sabine Hermsdorf-Hiss
People from 106 nations live together in the city of Geretsried.
In a series we give them a face.
Today: Elsa Kodeda from Russia.
Geretsried – The UN counts 195 countries in the world.
106 nationalities are registered in the town of Geretsried (as of June 8th).
Our newspaper wants to put a face to this number and introduces people from all parts of the world in no particular order who have found a new home in Geretsried.
Today: Elsa Kodeda (39) from the Republic of Tatarstan, which is part of the Russian Federation.
One city, 106 nations: Elsa Kodeda from Russia lives in Geretsried
How did the trained opera singer end up in Geretsried of all places?
"I vacationed in Bavaria in 2006," says the dark-haired woman with the almond-shaped eyes.
"It was a rainy day and I was at the Eibsee." Kodeda loves the mountains.
In the middle of the forest below the Zugspitze, she intoned an aria from Verdi's opera "The Power of Destiny".
"I thought I was alone," the soprano remembers.
But it was not like that.
A man heard her and spoke to her.
"And it sparked," she says with a smile.
After a year of long-distance relationship - Kodeda was living in the metropolis of Kazan at the time - she moved to Bavaria and married her sweetheart.
After stations in Munich, Starnberg and Wolfratshausen, the family came to Geretsried.
The Kodedas live on Johannisplatz together with their 14-year-old daughter and their five-year-old son.
The UN counts 195 countries in the world.
106 nationalities are registered in the town of Geretsried (as of June 8th).
Our newspaper wants to put a face to this number and introduces people from all parts of the world in no particular order who have found a new home in Geretsried.
© PMS graphic
(Read the latest news from Geretsried here)
"I really wanted to sing"
The mother of two speaks German very well.
This is due to the fact that before she started singing she had completed a German degree and lived in Stuttgart as an au pair for a year – for the sake of her parents.
"They said 'art has no future,'" says the Tatar.
"But I really wanted to sing." The petite woman prevailed and made her dream come true.
Before moving to Germany, she worked as a singer in the opera houses of the Republic of Mari El and Perm in Russia.
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Kodeda now benefits from both training courses.
She is engaged as a soloist at the opera festival in Isny im Allgäu and sings at church events such as weddings and baptisms.
"In these moments, people need music for their souls," she says of her performances.
"I sing where I am invited, with God's help."
Elsa Kodeda would like to show her son home at some point
During the corona pandemic, the Geretsriederin came to the association for youth and social work and did further training in the field of education.
She works at the open all-day school in the midday care and gives singing lessons to children.
She oversees music projects and workshops in the two youth centers.
The children sing, dance, play instruments and rehearse for performances such as the recent Children and Youth Day.
Maybe singing will soon take up more space in Kodeda's life.
In cooperation with the music school, all first graders are to receive a singing lesson from the next school year.
She enjoys her work, says Kodeda.
"I'm happy the way it is." The family likes to live on Johannisplatz.
"We're staying here," she says with certainty.
"There is a very strong social commitment in Geretsried." She appreciates the closeness to nature, the Isar meadows and the mountains.
There she can recharge her battery.
The opera singer has not been in her old home for a long time.
But at some point she also wants to show her little son the land of her ancestors.
Doris Schmid
The best from both worlds
I was born in Russia.
Russia has 144.5 million inhabitants in an area of 17 million square kilometers.
It is the largest country in the world by area.
The capital is Moscow.
The funniest misunderstanding between us and the Germans:
That they often confuse Tatarstan with Kazakhstan.
The biggest difference:
The Germans are very globalized and open, we are more related to ourselves and our family.
What I will never understand about the Germans:
Your perfectionism, which is a good quality.
In Bavaria they say "Grüß Gott", in my mother tongue
"Isenmesez".
My favorite dish is the dessert Tschak Tschak.
What I appreciate about my country of origin and about Geretsried:
I really like the happy culture, the festivals and dances here too.
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