Sidor Belarsky, born Isidor Livshitz (December 27, 1898 – June 7, 1975), was an internationally recognized American opera singer, educator and interpreter of Judaic folk songs, Chassidic Nigunim and Judaic cantorial music
Biography
Sidor Belarsky was born to a Jewish family in Kryzhopil, Ukraine.Belarsky History He emigrated with his wife Clarunia and daughter Isabel to the United States in February 1930National Park Service - Ellis island - This Month In History February 8-14 Sidor Belarsky enters Ellis Island in 1930 on nps.govChildren of Ellis Island. Moreno, Barry. Arcadia, 2005 p. 121 Sdior Belarsky on Google Books or 1931. Initially, his family was automatically detained at Ellis Island since the United States did not maintain diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union at that time.
Belarsky first pursued musical studies at the Odessa Conservatory and in Berlin.Brigham Young University Special Collections - Biography of Sidor Belarsky on lib.byu He later graduated from the State Conservatory at Leningrad in 1929 and soon emerged as a soloist with the Kirov Opera company as well as a leading basso with the Leningrad State Opera Company.Biography of Sidor Belarsky at Florida Atlantic UniversityBrigham Young University Special Collections - Biography of Sidor Belarsky on lib.byuEllis Island Interviews: Immigrants Tell Their Stories In their Own Words. Coan, Peter M. Fall River Press, 1997 p. 268 Interview & biography of Isabel Belarsky - daughter of Sidor Belarsky on Google Books"Jewish Frontier" Labor Zionist Letters Inc. 1995 p. 22 Sidor Belarsky On Google Books
After arriving in the United States in 1930 while on a concert tour, he was invited by Franklin S. Harris to join the faculty at Brigham Young University, where taught vocal music from 1930-1933. He was also on the faculty at the University of Utah.YIVO Institute for Jewish Music - Biography of Sidor Belarsky on yivoarchives He soon established residency in Los Angeles from 1932-1936 where he concertized with the Los Angeles Symphony at the Hollywood Bowl in productions of Boris Godunov and Eugene Onegin.Savethemusic.com Biography of Sidor BelarskyBiography of Sidor Belarsky - Florida Atlantic University While in Los Angeles he also founded the American Opera Company. He later acquired a faculty position as Professor of Music at the Jewish Teachers Seminary - Herzliah Institute in New York City while continuing to concertize in Europe, the Middle East, Canada and South America.
Throughout his career, Belarsky concertized extensively in the United States as a leading basso with several operatic companies including: Chicago Civic Opera, San Francisco Opera, the American Opera Company of Los Angeles and the New York City Center Opera in a production of Tosca in 1944. In South America, he also appeared at Teatro Municipal in Rio De Janeiro and Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires. During the 1949-1950 concert season, Belarsky also toured extensively in South Africa and Israel performing a repertoire of Jewish folk music.Edelman, Marsha Bryan. "Exploring the Rich Tradition of Jewish Music", Music Educators Journal, Vol 77, No. 1, (Sept. 1990) p.185 JSTOR https://www.jstor.org/stable/23604623 Sidor Belarsky on JSTORHe appeared as a concert soloist at New York City's Carnegie HallThe New York Times, December 28, 1941 p. 31 "Jewish Songs Sung by Sidor Belarsky; Basso Cantante's Carnegie Hall Program Composed Entirely of Hebrew Selections" on Google Books in over 22 solo performances between 1931 and 1961 and also appeared with the NBC Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Arturo Toscannini in a performance of Beethoven's opera Fidelio. "Jewish Frontier" Labor Zionist Letters Inc. 1995 p. 22 Sidor Bealrsky On Google BooksThe Metropolitan Opera Guide To Recorded Opera. Gruber, Paul. 1993 p. 9. 1944 RCA Beethoven's opera Fidelio conducted by Arturo Toscaninni with Sidor Blearski on Google Books By 1944 Belarsky also emerged in the Broadway Theatre as a member of the cast in the revival of several operas by Giacomo Puccini at the Center Theatre including: La Tosca and La Boheme.Playbill - Sidor Belarsky Performer in La Tosca and La Boheme on Playbill.com As part of his encore presentations in the concert hall, Belarsky often included the work "Mayn rueh plats" ("My quiet place") by the poet Morris Rosenfeld.Passport to Jewish Music: Its History, Traditions and Culture. Heskes, Irene. ABc-CLIO, June 1994 p. 208 Sidor Belarsky on Google Books
Along with many leading cantors of his time, Belarsky concertized in an effort to raise funds for the Zionist cause as the oppression of the Nazi regime in Germany accelerated in the 1930s.Zion In The Valley: The Jewish Community In St. Louis. Erlich, Walter. University of Missouri Press, 1997 p. 268 Sidor Belarsky on google.com In 1948 Belarsky performed in Israel while celebrating its founding and contributed to the documentary film Shalom Israel in 1951. His recording of "Dem Milners Trern" ("The Miller's Tears"), a Yiddish folk song composed by M. M. Warshavsky, was featured in the Coen brothers's film, A Serious Man.Sidor Belarsky on allmovie.com The song's subject is the expulsion of Jews from hundreds of villages in Czarist Russia.Anthology of Yiddish Songs, ed. Vinkovetszky, et al, Mount Scopus Publications, Magnes Press, vol two, 1984, p. 123 In 1954 he performed in a concert sponsored by the Association to Perpetuate the Memory of Ukrainian Jews before a packed house at New York City's Town Hall."Congress Bi-weekly" American Jewish Congress, Vol. 21. p. 22 Sidor Belarsky critical reviews on Google Books During the 1957-1958 concert season he emerged once again in South Africa in recitals of Yiddish and Hebrew songs.Leacock, Stephen. "The Union of South Africa". The American Political Science Review, Vol. 4, No. 4, (Nov. 1910), p. 291 https://www.jstor.org/stable/23602949 Sidor Belarsky on JSTOR
During the 1940s Belarsky also recorded several popular Ukrainian/Russian folk songs in collaboration with the accordionist John Serry and the Mischa Borr Orchestra for the RCA Victor label which included: "Dark Night (# 26-5037, 1946) by Nikita Bogoslovsky, "By the Cradle" (# 26-5035, 1946) by Aleksandre Alekseevich Olenin, "Katusha" (# 26-5035, 1946) by Hy Zaret and "Hobo Song" (aka "Mother") (# 26-5037, 1946) by Valerii Viktorovich Zhelobinsky.Discography of American Historical Recordings: Sidor Belarsky on uscb.edu
Belarsky's recordings of Judaic folk songs were made on several labels including RCA Victor, Artistic Enterprises and Besa Records."Seder Nights with Sidor Belarsky" National Library of Israel: "Seder Nights With Sidor Belarsky" - Record album by Sidor Belarsky on soundcloud.com
Along with Jan Peerce and Richard Tucker, Sidor Belodsky has been credited with helping to keep Yiddish folk songs alive both onstage and in recordings during the 20th century.The Jewish Music Companion: Historical Overview, Personalities, Annotated Folksongs. Pasternack, Velvel, Tara Publications 2002 p 139 ISBN 1-928918-24-7 Sidor belarsky on Google Books His admirers included several leading Jewish intellectuals including: Albert Einstein, President Zalman Shazar of Israel and Eli Wiesel.Ellis Islands Famous Immigrants. Moreno, Barry. Arcadia Publications, 2008 p. 68 Sidor Belarsky, Albert Einstein, Eli Wiesel & Zalman Shazar on Googk Books
Death
Sidor Belarsky died at the age of 77 in 1975 at North Shore Hospital in Manhasset, Long Island in New York.The New York Times Obituary Sidor Belarsky
Performance style Sidor Belarsky received critical acclaim for his performances as an operatic basso baritone. The Billboard magazine noted that his performance with the Mischa Borr Orchestra exemplified a resonant, exhilarating voice within a wide tonal range which reflected a true expression of Russian folk music."The Billboard" June 7, 1947 p. 133 Review of the album "Song of the Steppes" with Sidor Belarsky on Google Books
It has also been observed that Belarsky utilized his classical training as an operatic basso to interpret Yiddhish folk songs and Jewish art music with a finely controlled approach.UCLA Herb Albert School of Music Anthony Russell: Echos of Sidor Belarsky. April 20,2022 Interview by Jeremiah Lockwood with the operatic vocalist Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell at the UCLA Herb Albert School of Music on scholofmusic.ucla.edu This seriousness of tone and classical formality differentiates his work from performances typically found in the traditional Yiddhish musical theater and the synagogue. His vocal warmth and musicality is said to have struck a chord with American Jews of multiple generations.
Discography Sidor Belarsky's extensive discography includes over 75 recordings of Judaic folk songs including:Recordings by Sidor Belarsky at Florida Atlantic University
Forward 70th Anniversary: Sidor Belarsky Sings of the Hopes and Dreams of the East Side, Lazar Weiner, piano. Artistic Enterprises, Inc. (c. 1967) (presented by the Forward Association and The Workmen's Circle) Seder Nights With Sidor Belarsky - Artistic Enterprises Inc (# B-112) Sidor Belarsky performing songs for the Seder. Songs of the Steppes - RCA Victor (S-49, 1947) - Sidor Belarsky performs Russian folk music with the Miscah Borr Orcheatra. Dem Milner's Trern - Victor (9043, 1938) & RCA Victor (25-5010, 1947) - Sidor Belarsky performs this Judaic folk song.Sidor Belarsky on discogs.com
Archived works
The National Library of Israel has archived Belarsky's album Seder Nights With Sidor Belarsky which is available via online streaming. The Dartmouth Jewish Sound Archive at Dartmouth College has archived several of Belarsky's performances of music for Chanuka.Sidor Belarsky at the Dartmouth Jewish Sound Archive The Special Collections Department of the Florida Atlantic University Library has archived Belarsky's performances of Judaic songs which are accessible through online streaming in the university's Recorded Sound Archives The Discography of American Historical Recordings at the University of California, Santa Barbara has archived master recordings of performances by Sidor Belarsky collaborating with the accordionist John Serry and the Mischa Borr Orchestra . The Brigham Young University Library has archived papers, photographs and recordings by Sidor Belarsky from the years 1900-1986 within the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Brigham Young University Library Special Collections; Sidor Belarsky on archives.lib.byu.edu
Filmography A Serious Man (2009) - As a performer singing the Yiddish song "Dem Milners Trern" ("The Millers Tears") by M. M. Warshavsky.
Notes
See also Secular Jewish music Jewish music Jewish art music
References
External links Sidor Belarsky on Worldcat Sidor Belarsky on JSTOR The National Library of Israel Archive - Record album "Seder Nights with Sidor Belarsky"