Zabetta Brenska
Zabetta Brenska | |
|---|---|
 A portrait of Zabetta Brenska by Lillian Fisk (1884-1970), from a 1917 publication. | |
| Born | Elizabeth Breen March 1, 1896 St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | December 26, 1966 (aged 70) New York City, U.S. |
| Other names | Elizabeth Breen Althouse, Elizabeth Breen Timm (after marriage) |
| Occupation | Singer |
Zabetta Brenska (March 1, 1896 – December 26, 1966), born Elizabeth Breen, was an American singer.
Early life[edit]
Elizabeth Breen was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the daughter of Thomas M. Breen and Rachel Ann Eastwood Breen.[1] Her paternal grandparents Matthias and Elizabeth Breen were born in Ireland.[2] She received musical training in Florence.[3]
Career[edit]
Brenska, who sang as a mezzo-soprano[4] or contralto,[5] gave recitals and concerts,[6] sometimes sharing the stage with her first husband, Paul Althouse.[7][8] She also assisted Althouse with his operatic career, organizing and hand-copying his music and translations. "It was one of our little 'pacts' that after our wedding I should be allowed to work at my music," she explained to an interviewer in 1917.[9] She expressed admiration for the songs of Black composer Harry T. Burleigh.[10]
After her second marriage, she lived in the Ringoes section of East Amwell Township, New Jersey and directed community theatre productions and wartime benefit shows there.[11][12] She also taught Red Cross first aid classes.[13]
Personal life[edit]
Elizabeth Breen married opera singer Paul Shearer Althouse in 1914;[14] they had daughters Rita Mary (born 1917) and Pauline (born 1919),[15][16] before they separated in the 1920s[17] and divorced in 1930.[18] She married again in 1932, to physician Alexander Berthold Timm,[19] a widower with two children, Alexander (born 1913) and Renee.[20] She died in 1966, aged 70 years, in New York City.
References[edit]
- ^ "Mrs. Thomas Breen". The Minneapolis Star. 1931-06-08. p. 13. Retrieved 2020-09-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Death of a Prominent Citizen". Star Tribune. 1890-01-16. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-09-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Zabetta Brenska". The Daily Telegram. 1916-10-31. p. 21. Retrieved 2020-09-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "A Brilliant Music Season is Promised. New York City Should Establish a 'Board of Music'". The World Court. 2: 115. September 1916.
- ^ César Saerchinger, ed. (1918). International who's who in music and musical gazetteer. New York: Current Literature Pub. Co. p. 79.
- ^ "Zabetta Brenska and her Ermine Coat". Musical Courier. 74: 53. March 8, 1917.
- ^ "Brenska-Althouse in Holyoke". Musical Courier. 74: 45. May 10, 1917.
- ^ H. W. J. (November 18, 1916). "Mme. Brenska and Paul Althouse Sing in Zanesville, Ohio". Musical America. 25: 21.
- ^ W. P. M. (January 27, 1917). "When a Singer's Wife is his Co-Artist". Musical America. 25: 17.
- ^ "Music and Art". The Crisis: 88. December 1916.
- ^ "Flemington Club to Present Play 'Family Album'". The Courier-News. 1939-11-08. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-09-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Benefit Show at Jutland Sunday". The Courier-News. 1941-08-23. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-09-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Flemington". The Courier-News. 1942-07-31. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-09-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "'Co-operative Couple' to Loaf at Lake Winnepesaukee". Musical Courier. 74: 37. June 14, 1917.
- ^ "Tenor Who Became Famous Overnight Enjoys Brief Hours With his Family". Ada Evening News. February 25, 1920. p. 6. Retrieved September 10, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "News Briefs". The Courier-News. 1938-06-20. p. 12. Retrieved 2020-09-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Paul Althouse, Tenor, Asks Divorce". Lancaster New Era. 1930-05-07. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-09-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Paul Althouse Granted Divorce". Harrisburg Telegraph. 1930-06-03. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-09-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "A Doctor-Actor". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1928-06-28. p. 40. Retrieved 2020-09-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Downs, Winfield Scott (1934). Encyclopedia of American Biography: New Series. American Historical Society. p. 122.
