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Alma Gluck (May 11, 1884 – October 27, 1938) was a Romanian-born American soprano, one of the world's most famous female singers at the peak of her career (circa 1910).
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[edit] Life and career
Gluck was born as Reba Feinsohn to a Jewish family in Bucharest, Romania, the daughter of Zara and Leon Feinsohn.[1] Gluck moved to the United States at a young age. Although her initial success came at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, Gluck later concertized widely in America and became an early recording artist. Her recording of "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny" for the Victor Talking Machine Co. was the first celebrity recording by a classical musician to sell one million copies. Gluck was a founder of the American Woman's Association.
Her daughter Marcia Davenport was the child of her first marriage (to Bernard Glick, a dentist - ???). Gluck later married violinist Efrem Zimbalist and had two children, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. and Maria. Gluck evidently adopted her professional surname as a variation of her first husband's surname ("Glick").
Gluck retired to New Hartford, Connecticut to raise her family in 1925. Although by background an assimilated and nonpracticing Jew who continued to consider herself ethnically Jewish, she found herself attracted, along with her husband Efrem, to Anglican Christianity, and they regularly attended the Episcopal Church in New Hartford. Efrem Jr. and Maria were both christened there, and the couple financed Efrem through an Episcopal boarding school in New Hampshire. Efrem Jr. later became active in evangelical circles and was one of the founders of Trinity Broadcasting Network.[2][3][4][5] Gluck recorded several Christian hymns in duet with Louise Homer, among them "Rock of Ages",[6] "Whispering Hope",[7] "One Sweetly Solemn Thought",[8] and "Jesus, Lover of My Soul".[9]
[edit] Death
Alma Gluck died in 1938, aged 54, from liver failure in New York City.
[edit] References
- ^ Marston Records bio of Alma Gluck
- ^ Malan, Roy (2004). Efrem Zimbalist: A Life. Amadeus Press. pp. 139–142. ISBN 978-1-57467-091-2.
- ^ Stanford, Monty (2008). "EZimablist Jr". Christus Rex.
- ^ Silversten, Linda (1998). Lives Charmed: Intimate Conversations with Extraordinary People. HCI. pp. 173–94. ISBN 978-1-55874-593-3.
- ^ Jeannie, Pugh (23 April 1979). "Efrem Zimbalist Jr. Revitalized His Faith Through Christian TV". St. Petersburg Times.
- ^ Gluck's rendition of "Rock of Ages"
- ^ Gluck's rendition of "Whispering Hope."
- ^ Gluck's rendition of "One Sweetly Solemn Thought"; retrieved 2011-04-08
- ^ Gluck's rendition of "Jesus, Lover of My Soul"
[edit] External links
- Alma Gluck recordings at the National Jukebox of the Library of Congress
- Fan site with photos and biographies
- Alma Gluck biography on Marston Records
- Discography of Alma Gluck on Victor Records from the Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings (EDVR)
- 1884 births
- 1938 deaths
- American Episcopalians
- American female singers
- American people of Romanian-Jewish descent
- American opera singers
- American sopranos
- Converts to Protestantism from Judaism
- Deaths from liver disease
- Disease-related deaths in New York
- Jewish American musicians
- Jewish classical musicians
- Naturalized citizens of the United States
- Operatic sopranos
- People from Bucharest
- Romanian Jews
- Romanian emigrants to the United States
