Ada Svetlova –
Latvian singer,
mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...
, and performer of
classical and
ethnic repertoire.
Biography
Born in 1939 in
Kharkiv,
Ukraine (former
USSR). She graduated from the Conservatory of
Chişinău,
Moldova (former
Moldavian SSR, USSR). She served as a
soloist of the
Latvian State Philharmonic in
Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
(former
Latvian SSR, USSR). Svetlova was known as a
chamber singer of classical repertoire. In the 70-80s years of last century she got the fame of a fine interpreter of
Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...
folksongs arranged in a contemporary classical idiom by
Max Goldin. Later on, A.Svetlova was joined by the Riga instrumental ensemble "Via tertia" under the direction of Samuel Heifetz, who created a crossroad mode arrangements for her songs, attainable by a wider audience. She works as a vocal coach residing in
Tel-Aviv,
Israel.
Recordings
*''Jewish Folksongs'', arranged by
Max Goldin, Ada Svetlova (vocals), Natalia Schroeder (piano). LP. Allunion Recording Label
Melodiya, USSR, 1981,C30-13293-4
Sources
*Tobias Shklover. "The chant of her soul" (in Yiddish), ''
Sovetysh Heymland'' magazine, issue 11, 1988, Moscow, USSR
*T.Shklover. "Date with Jewish music" (in Yiddish). ''
Folks-Sztyme'' weekly, No.23 (4885) of 6 March 1988,
Warsaw, Poland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Svetlova, Ada
1939 births
20th-century Latvian women opera singers
Latvian Jews
Yiddish-language folklore
Yiddish-language singers of Ukraine
Yiddish-language singers
Living people