Sophie Braslau

This recording is by world famous opera singer Sophie Braslau with piano in 1928. She was born in Manhattan in 1892, studied under the acclaimed teachers of her day, and made her debut at the Metropolitan in 1913 at the age of 21.

Sophie toured the United States and Europe with a repertoire of music in English, French, German, Italian, Russian, and Yiddish sung in contralto voice, one of the rarest of voices.

http://youtu.be/MJTp77BMk8A    Tap here to hear this rare recording of Sophie’s voice in a Columbia recording in 1928.

Sophie died of cancer at the age of 43 following a long illness.  Sergei Rachmaninoff was an honorary pallbearer. The music critic of The New York Times delivered the eulogy.