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.
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