Devora Nadworney
A young woman with olive skin and short dark hair cut into a bob with bangs
Devora Nadworney, from a 1921 publication
Born1895
New York City
DiedJanuary 7, 1948 (age 52)
New York
OccupationContralto opera singer

Devora Nadworney (1895 – January 7, 1948) was an American operatic contralto singer.

Early life

Nadworney was born in New York City,[1] the daughter of Russian immigrants. She lived in Bayonne, New Jersey, and attended the Bayonne High School.[1] She went on to attend Hunter College,[1] where she received her B.A.[1] She later taught elementary school[2] while studying music in New York at the Aborn School of Opera.[3] She also studied with Johanna Bayerlee and Estelle Liebling.[4][5] She sang on benefit programs with opera stars during World War I.[1]

In 1921, she won a prize from the Tri-City Convention of the National Federation of Music Clubs.[6][7] A year later, in 1922, she was given the National Prize for Voice.[1]

Career

Johanna Bayerlee and Devora Nadworney, from a 1921 publication.

Nadworney was a contralto singer.[1][8] "Few young contraltos at present before the public can rival the equipment of Devora Nadworney", commented one publication in 1918.[3] She was under the management of Annie Friedberg in 1918,[9] and sang at Liberty Loan fundraisers[10] and gave concerts for the troops stationed near New York City during World War I.[11] She sometimes gave concerts of Russian folk songs while dressed in traditional embroidered costume.[12] She was also popular as a church soloist, in oratorios.[13] In 1921 she made a recording for the Victor Talking Machine Company.[14]

Nadworney had the distinction of being the first singer heard over a radio network in the United States, in 1928.[1] Through the 1920s and into the 1930s she was especially active in radio.[15] She sang the lead in Carmen on air in 1925, and Aida in 1926, both with the WEAF Grand Opera Company, under conductor Cesare Sodero.[16][8] She was associated with the Chicago Civic Opera from 1925 until at least 1934.[17]

In 1945 she sang at a noon concert at New York City's Town Hall.[18]

Personal life and legacy

Devora Nadworney married lawyer Herman Spingarn in 1935; and they divorced in 1941. She died in 1948, aged 52 years, in New York. Her obituary listing in Billboard Magazine described her as a "pioneer radio contralto... one of the first singers to perform over radio."[19][20]

The National Federation of Music Clubs offers the Devora Nadworney Award for young composers.[21]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Devora Nadworney Has Distinct Honor" Morning Call (December 29, 1928): 20. via Newspapers.com. Accessed 25 March 2020. Open access icon
  2. "Appointments – Elementary Schools" School (January 29, 1914): 217.
  3. 1 2 "Long List of Promising Singers in Personnel of Aborn Opera Classes" Musical America (August 31, 1918): 32.
  4. "Artist from the Bayerlee Studio Wins Great Success" Music News (April 28, 1922): 16.
  5. Dean Fowler, Alandra (1994). Estelle Liebling: An exploration of her pedagogical principles as an extension and elaboration of the Marchesi method, including a survey of her music and editing for coloratura soprano and other voices (PhD). University of Arizona.
  6. "Mme. Bayerlee's Pupil is Prize Winner in Federation Contest" Musical America (June 25, 1921): 32.
  7. "Winners of Contests Sponsored by Music Clubs Show Real Talent" Musical America (June 25, 1921): 2.
  8. 1 2 "Cast for Grand Opera 'Aida' From KSD Tomorrow Night" St. Louis Post-Dispatch (October 31, 1926): 61. via Newspapers.com. Accessed 25 March 2020. Open access icon
  9. "Devora Nadworny Under Management of Annie Friedberg" Musical America (July 13, 1918): 29.
  10. "Give War Service" Musical Leader (October 24, 1918): 392.
  11. "Devora Nadworney Sings at Camp Concerts" Musical America (August 10, 1918): 25.
  12. "Devora Nadworney's Fine Notices" Musical Courier (December 21, 1922): 52.
  13. "Devora Nadworney: National Prize Winner in N. F. M. C. Contest" Musical Monitor (November 1921): 63.
  14. Discography of American Historical Recordings, "Devora Nadworney (vocalist : soprano vocal)".
  15. Victoria Etnier Villamil, From Johnson's Kids to Lemonade Opera: The American Classical Singer Comes of Age (UPNE 2004): 16. ISBN 9781555536350
  16. "World's Series and Great Array of Super-Concerts on WCAE Radio Schedule" Pittsburgh Press (October 24, 1925): 84. via Newspapers.com Open access icon
  17. "Local Jewry Hails Tribute to Ussishkin" Jewish Telegraphic Agency (May 2, 1934).
  18. "Devora Nadworney Sings at Town Hall" New York Times (October 15, 1945): 24. via ProQuest
  19. "The Final Curtain" Billboard Magazine (January 17, 1948): 46.
  20. "Devora Nadworney" New York Times (January 8, 1948): 25. via ProQuest
  21. NFMC Devora Nadworney Award, Scholarship Library.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.