Berthe Erza

Berthe Erza was a French-Algerian dramatic soprano singer.

Berthe Erza, from a 1922 publication.
Berthe Erza
Berthe Erza in 1922
Born
Algiers, Algeria
NationalityFrench-Algerian
OccupationSinger
Years active1920s-death

Early life

Erza was born to French parents in Algiers.[1] She studied voice in Italy and France.[2] In 1920, she moved to the United States with her vocal coach, Isidore Braggiotti (father of dancer Francesca Braggiotti).[3]

Career

Erza was a featured singer with the Pasdeloup Orchestra in Paris under Rhené-Baton, and spent three seasons with the Concerts Classiques of Monte Carlo. In 1921 she sang at a concert to benefit a French village, Misery-sur-Somme, after World War I.[4] She made an "American debut" in July 1921,[5] then her "formal debut" in America, at the Aeolian Hall in New York City in 1922,[6] and had another New York concert billed as a "debut" in 1930, at the Biltmore Theatre.[2] The New York Times called her "a well-schooled musician with a flair for the exotic" in 1931.[7] She sang at Carnegie Hall later that year, sharing the stage with Hugh Ross and the chorus of the Schola Cantorum, Nelson Eddy, and others, for the American premiere of Karol Szymanowski's Stabat Mater.[8]

She made at least two recordings for Victor in 1920.[9] She taught vocal music in Brooklyn in the 1930s, at the Chase School, on the same music faculty as composer Harrison Kerr.[10]

References
  1. "Bertha Erza, Dramatic Soprano" Musical Monitor (February 1922): 157.
  2. "Berthe Erza Makes Debut" New York Times (March 17, 1930): 19.
  3. "Berthe Erza Arrives to Coach with Braggiotti" Musical Courier (March 18, 1920): 40.
  4. "Representative Audience at Benefit Concert" Brooklyn Life (August 6, 1921): 8. via Newspapers.com
  5. "Prize Singer Makes Debut". New York Herald. 1921-07-23. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-02-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Here and There" Musical Leader (January 12, 1922): 37.
  7. "Recital by Berthe Erza" New York Times (February 18, 1931): 14.
  8. Untitled music news item, Brooklyn Daily Eagle (January 4, 1931): 31. via Newspapers.com
  9. UC Santa Barbara Library, Discography of American Historical Recordings "Berthe Erza (vocalist: soprano vocal)" (accessed November 1, 2017).
  10. Randy B. Kohlenberg, Harrison Kerr: Portrait of a Twentieth-Century American Composer (Scarecrow Press 1997): 26. ISBN 9780810832589

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