{"id":814,"date":"2016-09-16T15:21:00","date_gmt":"2016-09-16T20:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/?p=814"},"modified":"2023-04-25T15:39:09","modified_gmt":"2023-04-25T20:39:09","slug":"when-history-belonged-to-the-opera-writers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/when-history-belonged-to-the-opera-writers\/","title":{"rendered":"When History Belonged to the Opera Writers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>History belonged to\u00a0the opera writers. First Goldfaden, and later Hurwitz and Lateiner and their followers, owned the franchise on Jewish history.<\/em><\/p>\n<cite>Zalmen Zylbercweig<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>When Avrom Goldfaden dubbed himself the \u201cFather of the Yiddish Stage,\u201d the epithet was in many ways well-earned, if not exactly modest. His accomplishments as a manager, playwright, composer, and director are legion. But he was standing on the shoulders of others when he wrote some of his early hits, like the enormously popular but controversial farces&nbsp;<em>Shmendrik<\/em>&nbsp;(1877) and&nbsp;<em>Der fanatik, oder di tsvey Kuni-Leml<\/em>&nbsp;(The Fanatic, or the Two Kuni-Lemls, 1880), both of which sharply critiqued Hasidic beliefs and practices. So had a number of the first modern Yiddish plays, often written by&nbsp;<em>maskilim<\/em>&nbsp;(proponents of the Jewish Enlightenment, or Haskalah) as vehicles for an agenda that sought to balance traditional Jewish practice with modern learning and greater participation in secular society. While Goldfaden put his own unique stamp on this tradition, he was indeed working within it, rather than inventing something entirely new.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That tradition included no shortage of characters and scenarios whose crudeness opened the door for Goldfaden\u2019s contemporary Yoysef Yude Lerner to take, in his view, a loftier path. This is how Lerner described the result, in his foreword to the 1903 edition of his brilliant, and highly influential, Yiddish translation of&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/articles\/744-acosta-uriel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Karl Gutzkow\u2019s classic German drama&nbsp;<em>Karl Gutzkow\u2019s classic German drama Uriel Acosta<\/em><\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Smack in the middle of all the fuss that various \u201cShmendriks\u201d and \u201cKuni-Lemls\u201d were making several years ago in the little world of the Yiddish theatre \u2026 I decided to give it a try and wrote several historical plays. In those plays, noble heroes took the place of lunatics and cripples, and instead of dark, ugly scenes, one could see brilliant and ennobling images of the holy past. My hope that the simple people would find its way again did not deceive me, and with great joy I saw how warmly serious dramas were received \u2026 The Jewish stomach can also digest fresh dishes, as long as they\u2019re prepared properly.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However self-serving this description was, Lerner was surely right that Yiddish audiences could handle both the high and the low; the fact that\u00a0<em>Uriel Acosta<\/em>\u00a0became a staple of the Yiddish repertoire was a case in point. Serious-minded dramas would co-exist on Yiddish stages with frivolous farces, highly sentimental melodramas, and musical confections. As for historical operas, a glimpse at productions on New York\u2019s Yiddish stages from the 1880s to around World War I gives us a sense of trends in their texts, production, and reception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/04\/Sharkansky-Unesane-Toykef.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" data-id=\"818\" src=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/04\/Sharkansky-Unesane-Toykef.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-818\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/04\/Sharkansky-Unesane-Toykef.webp 600w, https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/04\/Sharkansky-Unesane-Toykef-200x300.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sheet music to Avrom Mikhl Sharkansky\u2019s <i>U\u2019nesane toykef<\/i> (Let Us Ascribe Power), New York, 1907. Library of Congress Music Division, Heskes Collection, Box 3 &#8211; 224.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/04\/Shulamis.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" data-id=\"816\" src=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/04\/Shulamis.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-816\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/04\/Shulamis.webp 600w, https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/04\/Shulamis-200x300.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sheet music to Goldfaden\u2019s <em>Shulamis<\/em>, London, 1904. Library of Congress Hebraic Section, Yiddish Sheet Music, Box 1 &#8211; 25.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/04\/Hurwitz-King-Solomon.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" data-id=\"820\" src=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/04\/Hurwitz-King-Solomon.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-820\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/04\/Hurwitz-King-Solomon.webp 600w, https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/04\/Hurwitz-King-Solomon-200x300.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sheet music to Hurwitz\u2019s <em>Shloyme hameylekh<\/em>, one of his many operas on biblical themes, New York, 1903. Library of Congress Music Division, Heskes Collection, Box 2 &#8211; 101.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/04\/Lateiner-Yoysef.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" data-id=\"817\" src=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/04\/Lateiner-Yoysef.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-817\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/04\/Lateiner-Yoysef.webp 600w, https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/04\/Lateiner-Yoysef-200x300.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sheet music to Hurwitz\u2019s <i>Yetsies mitsrayim<\/i> (The Exodus from Egypt), New York, 1903. Library of Congress Music Division, Heskes Collection, Box 2 &#8211; 103.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/04\/Hurwitz-Yetsies-mitsrayim.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" data-id=\"819\" src=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/04\/Hurwitz-Yetsies-mitsrayim.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-819\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/04\/Hurwitz-Yetsies-mitsrayim.webp 600w, https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/04\/Hurwitz-Yetsies-mitsrayim-200x300.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sheet music to Hurwitz\u2019s <i>Yetsies mitsrayim<\/i> (The Exodus from Egypt), New York, 1903. Library of Congress Music Division, Heskes Collection, Box 2 &#8211; 103.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/04\/Lateiner-Shlof-lid.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" data-id=\"821\" src=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/04\/Lateiner-Shlof-lid.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-821\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/04\/Lateiner-Shlof-lid.webp 600w, https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/04\/Lateiner-Shlof-lid-200x300.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Actor\/manager David Kessler featured on the cover of the sheet music to a song from Lateiner\u2019s Ir gloybns-bakenung, New York, 1912. Library of Congress Music Division, Heskes Collection, Box 6 &#8211; 471.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>It is important to note, though, that some of these plays and performances met with high praise. A critic watching\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/David_Kessler_(actor)\" target=\"_blank\">David Kessler<\/a>\u00a0play Judah Maccabee in that same year\u2014possibly in the Lateiner version mentioned above, or possibly in a version of the story by a rival playwright\u2014felt that the actor \u201cdoes not act this role, but rather feels it with all his soul. He is the true Judah on the stage; his cries of anguish are so realistic that the spectator forgets the name Kessler; he cries real tears.\u201d Similarly, one of Kessler\u2019s most talented colleagues was praised for her portrayal of Deborah in 1890: \u201cFrom the beginning to the end, Madame [Keni] Liptzin outdid herself. Every look, every gesture, and every cry were understood by the capacity audience. She created sympathy, horror, and pity with her acting. The whole time that Madame Liptzin was on stage, everyone in the audience sat as if smitten.\u201d And music often enhanced the dramatic performances, as in an 1887 production of Moyshe Hurwitz\u2019s\u00a0<em>Don Joseph Abravanel<\/em>, a quasi-historical treatment of events relating to the Spanish Inquisition: \u201cThe Turkish-Arabic melodies that adorn this enjoyable production,\u201d wrote a reviewer, \u201care sung by Madame Finkel with a tasteful timbre and with a moving, artistic softness that washes in metallic chords over the beautifully decorated stage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"751\" src=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/04\/Madame_Kenny_Lipzin.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-822\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/04\/Madame_Kenny_Lipzin.webp 600w, https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/04\/Madame_Kenny_Lipzin-240x300.webp 240w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Yiddish actor Keni Liptzin, undated photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Historical operas, then, were capable of giving Yiddish audiences great pleasure. After all, if they hadn\u2019t, the form would have fizzled out quickly. And sometimes they were considered\u00a0<em>too\u00a0<\/em>realistic. An anonymous letter to a New York Yiddish newspaper in 1885 found the closing scene of Goldfaden\u2019s\u00a0<em>Bar Kokhba<\/em>\u00a0to be \u201ctoo natural. The supernumeraries have poured their hearts and souls into the scene with such force that they beat each other as in a real war\u2026. They should remember that their enemies on the stage are not real Romans, and there is no need for vengeance.\u201d Could the writer have been in the theatre\u2019s employ, and come up with a clever way to get some free, titillating advertising? Perhaps. Just as possible, though, this was a genuine response, a backhanded appreciation of the energy with which the performers threw themselves into their historical subject in these raw, early days of the American Yiddish stage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>History belonged to\u00a0the opera writers. First Goldfaden, and later Hurwitz and Lateiner and their followers, owned the franchise on Jewish history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":815,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[12,46,33,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-directors","category-early-20th-century","category-musical-theatre","category-north-america"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>When History Belonged to the Opera Writers - Digital Yiddish Theatre Project<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/when-history-belonged-to-the-opera-writers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"When History Belonged to the Opera Writers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"History belonged to\u00a0the opera writers. First Goldfaden, and later Hurwitz and Lateiner and their followers, owned the franchise on Jewish history.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/when-history-belonged-to-the-opera-writers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Digital Yiddish Theatre Project\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-09-16T20:21:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-04-25T20:39:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/04\/Goldfaden-Kuni-Leml.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"streich@uwm.edu\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"streich@uwm.edu\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/when-history-belonged-to-the-opera-writers\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/when-history-belonged-to-the-opera-writers\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"streich@uwm.edu\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/#\/schema\/person\/acb308ee9146d2d003cc0dfb2a5f08f9\"},\"headline\":\"When History Belonged to the Opera Writers\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-09-16T20:21:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-25T20:39:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/when-history-belonged-to-the-opera-writers\/\"},\"wordCount\":971,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/when-history-belonged-to-the-opera-writers\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/562\/2023\/04\/Goldfaden-Kuni-Leml.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Directors\",\"Early 20th Century\",\"Musical Theatre\",\"North America\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/when-history-belonged-to-the-opera-writers\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/when-history-belonged-to-the-opera-writers\/\",\"name\":\"When History Belonged to the Opera Writers - 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