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'''Sidor Belarsky''', born '''Isidor Livshitz''' (December 27, 1898{{#tag:ref|Belarsky's Social Security record gives his birth date as December 27, 1898,<ref>"United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JBTM-422 : 7 January 2021), Sidor Belarsky, Jun 1975; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).</ref> which is also the date on his US naturalization record<ref>"New York, Southern District, U.S District Court Naturalization Records, 1824-1946", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:7TRC-R6N2 : 8 March 2021), Sidor or Israel Belarsky or Lifschitz, 1938.</ref> and various Brazilian immigration cards.<ref>"Brasil, Cartões de Imigração, 1900-1965," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VJ15-PKF : 4 March 2021), Sidor Belarsky, Immigration; citing 1945, Arquivo Nacional, Rio de Janeiro (National Archives, Rio de Janeiro).</ref><ref>"Brasil, Cartões de Imigração, 1900-1965," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VRQN-18Z : 4 March 2021), Sidor Belarsky, Immigration; citing 1954, Arquivo Nacional, Rio de Janeiro (National Archives, Rio de Janeiro).</ref> His age cited in his obituary, 76,<ref name="Obit"/> also corresponds to this birthdate. His gravestone has the birthdate February 23, 1900.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sidor Belarsky |url=https://images.findagrave.com/photos/2020/62/UNCEM_99920_fba18cf2-f15b-4e8b-aa52-1affa3010e76.jpeg |website=Find a Grave |access-date=March 6, 2022 |quote=Sidor Belarsky beloved husband and father Feb. 23, 1900 – June 7, 1975}}</ref>|group=Note}} – June 7, 1975), was an internationally recognized Ukrainian-American opera singer, educator and interpreter of Judaic folk songs, Chassidic Nigunim and Judaic cantorial music <ref name="Obit">{{cite news |title=Sidor Belarsky |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97019530/sidor-belarsky-1898-1975/ |work=Daily News |date=June 9, 1975 |location=New York, NY |page=71 |accessdate=March 6, 2022 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref>
==Biography==
{{ external media|width=280px|audio1=You may hear Sidor Belarsky performing Judaic songs [https://rsa.fau.edu/sidor-belarsky '''Here on fau.edu'''] |audio2= You may hear Sidor Belarsky performing in [https://soundcloud.com/nationallibrary-of-israel/sets/seder-nights-with-sidor "Seder Nights with Sidor Belarsky" '''Here on soundcloud.com''']}}
Sidor Belarsky was Bornborn to a [[Jewish]] family in [[Kryzhopil]], Ukraine.<ref>[http://www.sidorbelarsky.com/history.html Belarsky History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110529043551/http://www.sidorbelarsky.com/history.html |date=2011-05-29 }}</ref> He emigrated with his wife Clarunia and daughter Isabel to the United States in February 1930<ref>[https://www.nps.gov/elis/learn/historyculture/this-month-in-history-february.htm National Park Service - Ellis island - This Month In History February 8-14 Sidor Belarsky enters Ellis Island in 1930 on nps.gov]</ref><ref name="google.com">[https://wwwbooks.google.com/books/edition/Children_of_Ellis_Island/a5QPa2k2ko8C?hlid=en&gbpv=1a5QPa2k2ko8C&dq=Sidor+belarsky&pg=PA121&printsec=frontcover Children of Ellis Island. Moreno, Barry. Arcadia, 2005 p. 121 Sdior Belarsky on Google Books]</ref> or 1931.<ref name="JTA">{{cite news |title=Sidor Belarsky Dead at 76 |date=June 9, 1975 |publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |url=http://www.jta.org/1975/06/09/archive/sidor-belarsky-dead-at-76}}</ref> Initially, his family was automatically detained at Ellis Island since the United States did not maintain diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union at that time.<ref name="RSA">{{cite web |title=Sidor Belarsky |publisher=Recorded Sound Archives |url=https://rsa.fau.edu/sidor-belarsky}}</ref><ref name="JTA"/><ref name="google.com"/>
Belarsky first pursued musical studies at the [[Odessa Conservatory]] and in Berlin.<ref>[http://archives.lib.byu.edu/agents/people/2213 Bringham Young University Special Collections - Biography of Sidor Belarsky on lib.byu]</ref> He later graduated from the [[St. Petersburg Conservatory|State Conservatory at Leningrad]] in 1929 and soon emerged as a soloist with the [[Kirov Opera]] company as well as a leading basso with the Leningrad State Opera Company.<ref>[https://rsa.fau.edu/sidor-belarsky Biography of Sidor Belarsky at Florida Atlantic University]</ref><ref name="archives.lib.byu.edu">[http://archives.lib.byu.edu/agents/people/2213 Brigham Young University Special Collections - Biography of Sidor Belarsky on lib.byu]</ref><ref name="PA268 p. 268">[https://wwwbooks.google.com/books/edition/Ellis_Island_Interviews/O6MPfrG61SEC?hlid=en&gbpv=1O6MPfrG61SEC&dq=Sidor+belarsky&pg=PA268&printsec=frontcover Ellis Island Interviews: Immigrants Tell Their Stories In their Own Words. Coan, Peter M. Fall River Press, 1997 p. 268 Interview & biography of Isabel Belarsky - daughter of Sidor Belarsky on Google Books]</ref><ref>[https://wwwbooks.google.com/books/edition/Jewish_Frontier/?id=x-ZtAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsqq=Sidor+belarsky&dq=Sidor+belarsky&printsec=frontcover "Jewish Frontier" Labor Zionist Letters Inc. 1995 p. 22 Sidor Belarsky On Google Books]</ref>
After arriving in the United States in 1930 while on a concert tour, he was invited by [[Franklin S. Harris]] to join the faculty at [[Brigham Young University]], where taught vocal music from 1930-1933.<ref name="archives.lib.byu.edu"/> He was also on the faculty at the [[University of Utah]].<ref name="yivoarchives.org">[http://www.yivoarchives.org/index.php?p=collections/controlcard&id=33069 YIVO Institute for Jewish Music - Biography of Sidor Belarsky on yivoarchives]</ref><ref name="archives.lib.byu.edu"/> He soon established residency in Los Angeles from 1932-1936 where he concertized with the Los Angeles Symphony at the [[Hollywood Bowl]] in productions of ''[[Boris Godunov (opera)|Boris Godunov]]'' and ''[[Eugene Onegin (opera)|Eugene Onegin]]''.<ref name="savethemusic.com">[https://savethemusic.com/artist/sidor-belarsky/ Savethemusic.com Biography of Sidor Belarsky]</ref><ref name="rsa.fau.edu">[https://rsa.fau.edu/sidor-belarsky Biography of Sidor Belarsky - Florida Atlantic University]</ref> While in Los Angeles he also founded the American Opera Company.<ref name="savethemusic.com"/><ref name="rsa.fau.edu"/> He later acquired a faculty position as Professor of Music at the Jewish Teachers Seminary - Herzliah Institute in New York City while continuing to concertize in Europe, the Middle East, Canada and South America.<ref name="rsa.fau.edu"/><ref name="yivoarchives.org"/>
Throughout his career, Belarsky concertized extensively in the United States as a leading basso with several operatic companies including: [[Chicago Civic Opera]], [[San Francisco Opera]], the American Opera Company of Los Angeles and the [[New York City Center]] Opera iinin a production of ''[[Tosca]]'' in 1944.<ref name="archives.lib.byu.edu"/><ref name="PA268 p. 268"/> In South America, he also appeared at Teatro Municipal in Rio De Janeiro and Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires.<ref name="archives.lib.byu.edu"/> During the 1949-1950 concert season, Belarsky also toured extensively in South Africa and Israel performing a repertoire of Jewish folk music.<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/23604623 Edelman, Marsha Bryan. "Exploring the Rich Tradition of Jewish Music", ''Music Educators Journal,'' Vol 77, No. 1, (Sept. 1990) p.185 JSTOR https://www.jstor.org/stable/23604623 Sidor Belarsky on JSTOR]</ref>[[File:Carnegie-hall-isaac-stern.jpg|thumb|upright=.70|left|[[Carnegie Hall]]]]He appeared as a concert soloist at New York City's [[Carnegie Hall]]<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1941/12/28/archives/jewish-songs-sung-by-sidor-belarsky-basso-cantantes-carnegie-hall.html The New York Times, December 28, 1941 p. 31 "Jewish Songs Sung by Sidor Belarsky; Basso Cantante's Carnegie Hall Program Composed Entirely of Hebrew Selections" on Google Books]</ref> in over 22 solo performances between 1931 and 1961 and also appeared with the [[NBC Symphony Orchestra]] under the direction of [[Arturo Toscannini]] in a performance of Beethoven's opera ''[[Fidelio]].'' <ref name="archives.lib.byu.edu"/><ref name="PA268 p. 268"/><ref>[https://wwwbooks.google.com/books/edition/Jewish_Frontier/?id=x-ZtAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsqq=Sidor+belarsky&dq=Sidor+belarsky&printsec=frontcover "Jewish Frontier" Labor Zionist Letters Inc. 1995 p. 22 Sidor Bealrsky On Google Books]</ref><ref>[https://wwwbooks.google.com/books/edition/The_Metropolitan_Opera_Guide_to_Recorded/CsGj12DnHLYC?hlid=en&gbpv=1CsGj12DnHLYC&dq=Sidor+Belarsky&pg=PA9&printsec=frontcover The Metropolitan Opera Guide To Recorded Opera. Gruber, Paul. 1993 p. 9. 1944 RCA Beethoven's opera Fidelio conducted by Arturo Toscaninni with Sidor Blearski on Google Books]</ref> By 1944 Belarsky also emerged in the Broadway Theatre as a member of the cast in the revival of several operas by [[Giacomo Puccini]] at the [[Center Theatre (New York City)|Center Theatre]] including: ''La Tosca'' and ''La Boheme''.<ref>[https://www.playbill.com/person/sidor-belarsky-vault-0000097734 Playbill - Sidor Belarsky Performer in La Tosca and La Boheme on Playbill.com]</ref> As part of his encore presentations in the concert hall, Belarsky often included the work "Mayn rueh plats" ("My quiet place") by the poet [[Morris Rosenfeld]].<ref>[https://wwwbooks.google.com/books/edition/Passport_to_Jewish_Music/3k_EEAAAQBAJ?hlid=en&gbpv=13k_EEAAAQBAJ&dq=Sidor+Belarsky+Jewish+Music&pg=PA208&printsec=frontcover Passport to Jewish Music: Its History, Traditions and Culture. Heskes, Irene. ABc-CLIO, June 1994 p. 208 Sidor Belarsky on Google Books]</ref>
Along with many leading cantors of his time, Belarsky concertized in an effort to raise funds for the Zionist cause as the oppression of the Nazi regime in Germany accelerated in the 1930s.<ref>[https://wwwbooks.google.com/books/edition/Zion_in_the_Valley/LkA3uZy8x3QC?hlid=en&gbpv=1LkA3uZy8x3QC&dq=Sidor+belarsky&pg=PA268&printsec=frontcover Zion In The Valley: The Jewish Community In St. Louis. Erlich, Walter. University of Missouri Press, 1997 p. 268 Sidor Belarsky on google.com]</ref> In 1948 Belarsky performed in Israel while celebrating its founding and contributed to the documentary film ''Shalom Israel'' in 1951.<ref name="savethemusic.com"/> His recording of "Dem Milners Trern" ("The Miller's Tears"), a [[Yiddish]] folk song composed by [[Mark Warshawsky|M. M. Warshavsky]], was featured in the [[Coen brothers]]'s film, ''[[A Serious Man]]''.<ref name="Sidor Belarsky on allmovie.com">[https://www.allmovie.com/artist/sidor-belarsky-vn15809990 Sidor Belarsky on allmovie.com]</ref> The song's subject is the expulsion of Jews from hundreds of villages in [[Russian Empire|Czarist Russia]].<ref>''Anthology of Yiddish Songs'', ed. Vinkovetszky, et al, Mount Scopus Publications, Magnes Press, vol two, 1984, p. 123</ref> In 1954 he performed in a concert sponsored by the Association to Perpetuate the Memory of Ukrainian Jews before a packed house at New York City's [[The Town Hall (New York City)|Town Hall]].<ref>[https://wwwbooks.google.com/books/edition/Congress_Bi_weekly/?id=CONP-JqfyZQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsqq=Sidor+Belarsky+critical+reviews&dq=Sidor+Belarsky+critical+reviews&printsec=frontcover "Congress Bi-weekly"] [[American Jewish Congress]], Vol. 21. p. 22 Sidor Belarsky critical reviews on Google Books</ref> During the 1957-1958 concert season he emerged once again in South Africa in recitals of Yiddish and Hebrew songs.<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/23602949 Leacock, Stephen. "The Union of South Africa". ''The American Political Science Review,'' Vol. 4, No. 4, (Nov. 1910), p. 291 https://www.jstor.org/stable/23602949 Sidor Belarsky on JSTOR]</ref>
{{ external media|width=200px|audio1= Your may hear Sidor Belarsky with the Mischa Borr Orchestra and John Serry on the album "Songs of the Steppes" in 1947 [https://archive.org/details/78_songs-of-the-steppes_sidor-belarsky-mischa-borr-and-his-orchestra-hy-zaret_gbia8005669/06+-+DARK+NIGHT+-+Sidor+Belarsky+-+Mischa+Borr+and+his+Orchestra.flac <br/>'''Here on archive.org'''] }}
During the 1940's1940s Belarsky also recorded several popular Ukrainian/Russian folk songs in collaboration with the accordionist [[John Serry Sr.|John Serry]] and the Mischa Borr Orchestra for the RCA Victor label which included: "[[Dark Is the Night (Soviet song)|Dark Night]] (# 26-5037, 1946) by [[Nikita Bogoslovsky]], "By the Cradle" (# 26-5035, 1946) by Aleksandre Alekseevich Olenin, "Katusha" (# 26-5035, 1946) by [[Hy Zaret]] and "Hobo Song" (aka "Mother") (# 26-5037, 1946) by [[Valery Zhelobinsky|Valerii Viktorovich Zhelobinsky]].<ref name="adp.library.ucsb.edu">[https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/mastertalent/detail/106460/Belarsky_Sidor Discography of American Historical Recordings: Sidor Belarsky on uscb.edu]</ref>
Belarsky's recordings of Judaic folk songs were made on several labels including RCA Victor, Artistic Enterprises and Besa Records.<ref>[https://rsa.fau.edu/sidor-belarsky Recordings by Sidor Belarsky at Florida Atlantic University]</ref><ref name="soundcloud.com">[https://soundcloud.com/nationallibrary-of-israel/sets/seder-nights-with-sidor "Seder Nights with Sidor Belarsky" National Library of Israel: "Seder Nights With Sidor Belarsky" - Record album by Sidor Belarsky on soundcloud.com]</ref>
Along with [[Jan Peerce]] and [[Richard Tucker]], Sidor Belodsky has been credited with helping to keep Yiddish folk songs alive both onstage and in recordings during the 20th century.<ref>[https://wwwbooks.google.com/books/edition/Jewish_Companion_Bk_Cd/?id=ByQLmhAe-FUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Sidor+Belarsky+Jewish+Music&pg=PA139&printsec=frontcover The Jewish Music Companion: Historical Overview, Personalities, Annotated Folksongs. Pasternack, Velvel, Tara Publications 2002 p 139 ISBN 1-928918-24-7 Sidor belarsky on Google Books]</ref> His admirers included several leading Jewish intellectuals including: [[Albert Einstein]], President [[Zalman Shazar]] of Israel and [[Eli Wiesel]].<ref>[https://wwwbooks.google.com/books/edition/Ellis_Island_s_Famous_Immigrants/qIFMxmnWqBkC?hlid=en&gbpv=1qIFMxmnWqBkC&dq=Sidor+Belarsky+Jewish+Music&pg=PA68&printsec=frontcover Ellis Islands Famous Immigrants. Moreno, Barry. Arcadia Publications, 2008 p. 68 Sidor Belarsky, Albert Einstein, Eli Wiesel & Zalman Shazar on Googk Books]</ref>
==Death==
==Performance style==
Sidor Belarsky received critical acclaim for his performances as an operatic basso baritone. The [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] magazine noted that his performance with the Mischa Borr Orchestra exemplified a resonant, exhilarating voice within a wide tonal range which reflected a true expression of Russian folk music.<ref name="books.google.com">[https://books.google.com/books?id=WkUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA133&dq=Sidor+Belarsky&hlpg=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwis847tz56CAxWCElkFHajNDY84MhDoAXoECAQQAg#v=onepage&q=Sidor%20Belarsky&f=falsePA133 "The Billboard" June 7, 1947 p. 133 Review of the album "Song of the Steppes" with Sidor Belarsky on Google Books]</ref>
It has also been observed that Belarsky utilized his classical training as an operatic basso to interpret Yiddhish folk songs and Jewish art music with a finely controlled approach.<ref name="schoolofmusic.ucla.edu">[https://schoolofmusic.ucla.edu/anthony-russell-echoes-of-sidor-belarsky/ UCLA Herb Albert School of Music Anthony Russell: Echos of Sidor Belarsky. April 20,2022 Interview by Jeremiah Lockwood with the operatic vocalist Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell at the UCLA Herb Albert School of Music on scholofmusic.ucla.edu]</ref> This seriousness of tone and classical formality differentiates his work from performances typically found in the traditional Yiddhish musical theater and the synagogue.<ref name="schoolofmusic.ucla.edu"/> His vocal warmth and musicality is said to have struck a chord with American Jews of multiple generations.<ref name="schoolofmusic.ucla.edu"/>
==Discography==
Sidor Belarsky's extensive discography includes over 75 recordings of Judaic folk songs including:<ref name="ReferenceA">[https://rsa.fau.edu/sidor-belarsky RecodingsRecordings by Sidor Belarsky at Florida Atlantic University]</ref>
*''[[The Forward|Forward]] 70th Anniversary: Sidor Belarsky Sings of the Hopes and Dreams of the [[Lower East Side|East Side]]'', [[Lazar Weiner]], piano. Artistic Enterprises, Inc. (c. 1967) (presented by the Forward Association and [[The Workmen's Circle]])
[[Category:Jewish opera singers]]
[[Category:20th-century Ukrainian male singers]]
[[Category:Yiddish-language singers of Ukraine]]
[[Category:Soviet emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Yiddish-language singers of the United States]]
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