Zabetta Brenska (March 1, 1896 – December 26, 1966), born Elizabeth Breen, was an American singer.

Early life

Elizabeth Breen was born in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...

, the daughter of Thomas M. Breen and Rachel Ann Eastwood Breen. Her paternal grandparents Matthias and Elizabeth Breen were born in Ireland. She received musical training in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

Career

Brenska, who sang as a

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 ...

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typically b ...

, gave recitals and concerts, sometimes sharing the stage with her first husband,

Paul Althouse Paul Shearer Althouse (December 2, 1889 – February 6, 1954) was an American opera singer. He began his career as a lyric tenor with a robust Italianate sound, in roles including Cavaradossi in ''Tosca'', Pinkerton in ''Madama Butterfly'', and T ...

. She also assisted Althouse with his operatic career, organizing and hand-copying his music and translations. "It was one of our little 'pacts' that after our wedding I should be allowed to work at my music," she explained to an interviewer in 1917. She expressed admiration for the songs of Black composer

Harry T. Burleigh Henry Thacker ("Harry") Burleigh (December 2, 1866 – September 12, 1949) was an American Classical music, classical composer, arranger, and professional singer known for his baritone voice. The first black composer who was instrumental i ...

. After her second marriage, she lived in the Ringoes section of

East Amwell Township, New Jersey East Amwell Township is a township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 4,013, reflecting a decline of 442 (−9.9%) from the 4,455 counted in the 2000 Census, which ...

and directed community theatre productions and wartime benefit shows there. She also taught

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

first aid classes.

Personal life

Elizabeth Breen married opera singer Paul Shearer Althouse in 1914; they had daughters Rita Mary (born 1917) and Pauline (born 1919), before they separated in the 1920s and divorced in 1930. She married again in 1932, to physician Alexander Berthold Timm, a widower with two children, Alexander (born 1913) and Renee. She died in 1966, aged 70 years, in New York City.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brenska, Zabetta 1896 births 1966 deaths People from East Amwell Township, New Jersey People from Saint Paul, Minnesota American mezzo-sopranos American contraltos 20th-century American women