Sophie Braslau (August 16, 1892 – December 22, 1935) was a dramatic

contralto A contralto () is a classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range is the lowest of their voice type, voice types. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare, similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to ...

prominent in United States opera, starting with her debut in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

's Metropolitan Opera in 1913 when she was 21.

Biography

Braslau was born on August 16, 1892, in

Manhattan, New York City Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entire ...

, to and Alexandra Goodelman Braslau. As a child, Braslau studied piano. Her vocal talent was discovered by voice teacher Arturo Buzzi-Peccia, a family friend, who heard the little girl humming while she practiced piano. Braslau herself claimed to be inspired to a singing career after hearing Alma Gluck, another student of Buzzi-Peccia. She studied with Buzzi-Peccia for three years and then with a number of other instructors. She auditioned for New York's Metropolitan Opera in April 1913, was promptly signed to a contract, and debuted in November of that year. Her first leading role was in 1918 as Shanewis. Braslau also sang in concert and toured widely and frequently, first in the United States and Canada, then in Europe in the 1920s, using a repertoire which included works in English, French, German, Italian, Russian, and Yiddish. She retired from her full-time opera career in the late 1920s and performed very little as frail health brought her life to an early close. Sophie Braslau died of cancer on December 22, 1935, in Manhattan. At her funeral Sergei Rachmaninoff was an honorary pallbearer; the eulogy was delivered by Olin Downes, music critic for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''.

Recordings

Braslau made a number of recordings for the Victor Talking Machine Company and Columbia Records, often featuring her longtime accompanist Louise Bloch; some of the recordings were reissued on LP and CD. Her friendship with

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...

led her to record " The Man I Love" for Columbia.

Note

References

External links

*, her rendition of " Just Awearyin' for You"
Sophie Braslau
in ''Discography of American Historical Recordings'' at UC Santa Barbara {{DEFAULTSORT:Braslau, Sophie 1892 births 1935 deaths American operatic contraltos American people of Russian-Jewish descent Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Jewish American classical musicians Singers from New York City 20th-century American women opera singers Classical musicians from New York (state) 20th-century American Jews Victor Records artists Columbia Records artists