Zinaida Alvers
Russian singer
Zinaida Alvers
Gisela Adlersberg, from a 1936 immigration form
Born
Gitel Rakhel Magasanik

(1904-10-09)October 9, 1904
Berditchev, Russian Empire (now Berdychiv, Ukraine)
DiedOctober 21, 1997(1997-10-21) (aged 93)
Other namesZina Alvers, Zinaida Adlersberg, Gisela Magasanik, Gisela Adlersberg
OccupationSinger
RelativesBoris Magasanik (brother)

Zinaida Alvers (October 9, 1904[1] – October 21, 1997), also known as Zina Alvers, Gisela Magasanik, Gisela Adlersberg, and Zinaida Adlersberg, was a Russian-American contralto[2] and mezzo-soprano[3] singer and voice teacher.

Early life and education

Alvers was born in Berditchev, Russia (now in Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine),[4] the daughter of Naum Magasanik and Charlotte Schreiber Magasanik.[5] Her younger brother Boris Magasanik was a biology professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[6] She studied voice with Walter Bricht.[7]

Career

Alvers sang at the Vienna Volksoper before she moved to New York City in the 1930s.[8][9] Her voice was variously described as contralto or mezzo-soprano in its range.[10] She was in the cast of Strauss's Salome at Lewisohn Stadium in 1937.[11][12] In 1938 and 1939, she sang at benefit concerts by and for Jewish refugees at Mecca Temple, sharing the stage with singers Walter Bricht, Sidor Belarsky, Masha Benya and Sarah Gorby, violinists Arnold Eidus and Felix Galimir, writer George Backer, and others.[13][14] In 1943, she appeared on Broadway in the musical revue Chauve-Souris,[15] and in the casts the Russian operas Prince Igor, Rusalka, Eugene Onegin at Carnegie Hall.[16][17][18]

Alvers gave concerts at New York's Town Hall venue in 1941,[19] 1943,[20] 1947[21] and 1948.[22] In 1945, she was a soloist in a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at a music festival in South Carolina.[23] In 1946, she was a soloist with the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall,[24] and at concerts of Russian music in Michigan and Indiana, sponsored by the American Russian Fraternal Society.[25][26] She gave a concert for the Bronxville Women's Club in 1952,[27] and an afternoon concert at Carnegie Recital Hall in 1958.[28][29] "Her singing at its best has a communicative power that carries over the footlights," noted a reviewer in The New York Times.[28]

Personal life

In 1929, Alvers married physician and medical researcher David Adlersberg in Vienna; they had a daughter, Margaret.[30] The Adlersbergs were naturalized as United States citizens in 1943. Her husband died in 1960,[31] and she died in 1997.[32]

References

  1. ^ Some sources give September 26, 1904 as her birthdate under the Julian calendar.
  2. ^ "Music Festival Opens at Auditorium Tonight". The Columbia Record. 1945-05-03. p. 1. Retrieved 2025-12-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Zina Alvers Makes New York Debut at Town Hall Tonight". The Daily Worker. 1941-02-03. p. 7. Retrieved 2025-12-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Gisela Adlersberg's Declaration of Intention and Petition for Naturalization forms, both dated September 30, 1936; via Ancestry.
  5. ^ Lawrence, J. M. (2014-02-02). "Boris Magasanik, pioneer in molecular biology at MIT". The Boston Globe. pp. B10. Retrieved 2025-12-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ McElheny, Victor K. (1967-05-28). "Russian-Born Magasanik Studies Cell Controls; M.I.T's New Biology Head". The Boston Globe. p. 88. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  7. ^ "Walter Bricht the Teacher". Walter Bricht. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  8. ^ "Concert to Aid Refugees; Program Will Be Given Feb. 19 by European Artists". The New York Times. February 5, 1939. p. 29. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  9. ^ "Concert Listed on Wednesday at Toms River". Asbury Park Press. 1950-10-08. p. 4. Retrieved 2025-12-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Contralto Will Sing at the Tuesday Musicale Program". Grand Haven Tribune. 1948-10-16. p. 5. Retrieved 2025-12-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ New York Philharmonic. Stadium-NY Philharmonic Printed Program (Stadium Concert Stadium Concert), Jul 01, 1937; Jul 02, 1937 at Lewisohn Stadium Lewisohn Stadium in Manhattan, NY Manhattan, NY; Vladimir Golschmann and Martin Pistreich, conductors. Manhattan, NY Manhattan, NY.
  12. ^ "5,500 Hear 'Salome'; Second Performance of Opera Is Staged at Lewisohn Stadium". The New York Times. July 3, 1937. p. 18. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  13. ^ "Concert and Ball of the Intercollegiate Russian Students of America (advertisement)". The Daily Worker. 1938-12-24. p. 4. Retrieved 2025-12-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Refugee Artists Give Concert". The New York Times. February 20, 1939. p. 17. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  15. ^ Nathan, George Jean (1972). The theatre book of the year, 1943-1944 : a record and an interpretation. Internet Archive. Rutherford [N.J.] : Fairleigh Dickinson University Press; Cranbury, N.J. : Associated University Presses. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-8386-7962-3.
  16. ^ "RUSSIAN OPERA CO. GIVES 'PRINCE IGOR'; Kachouk Offers Borodin Work, Presented in Costume Instead of Usual Concert Form". The New York Times. December 30, 1943. p. 11. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  17. ^ "'Russalka' to be Presented". Musical America. 63 (2): 11. January 25, 1943 – via Internet Archive.
  18. ^ "Russians Give 'Eugene Onegin'". Musical America. 63 (14): 24. November 10, 1943 – via Internet Archive.
  19. ^ "Zina Alvers in Debut". The New York Times. February 4, 1941. p. 19. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  20. ^ "Concerts". Musical America. 63 (9): 14. June 1943 – via Internet Archive.
  21. ^ "Zinaida Alvers Gives a Program of Songs". The New York Times. January 22, 1947. p. 30. Archived from the original on 2018-03-12. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  22. ^ "Zinaida Alvers Returns Russian Contralto Gives Fourth Recital at Town Hall". The New York Times. December 6, 1948. p. 29. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  23. ^ "Events in the World of Music; Jazz Maestro Prepares for Concert Debut--Pianist and Violinist Study Mozart". The New York Times. February 11, 1945. p. 121. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  24. ^ Carnegie Pop Concert program (June 14, 1946), at NYPhil Digital Archives.
  25. ^ "Concert Offers Music of Russia". The Grand Rapids Press. 1946-02-18. p. 15. Retrieved 2025-12-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Russian Group to Sing Here". The South Bend Tribune. 1946-02-24. p. 19. Retrieved 2025-12-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "Play, Concert Scheduled at Women's Club". Bronxville Reporter. November 20, 1952. p. 9 – via Hudson River Valley Heritage Historical Newspapers.
  28. ^ a b "Song Recital Given by Zinaida Alvers". The New York Times. February 2, 1958. p. 79. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  29. ^ "Twilight Concert". Musical America. 78 (14): 26. December 1, 1958 – via Internet Archive.
  30. ^ "Adlersberg, David". Gedenken und Erinnern, DGIM. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  31. ^ "Dr. David Adlersberg". The New York Times. January 11, 1960. p. 45. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  32. ^ "Deaths; Zina Adlersberg". The New York Times. October 23, 1997. pp. D27. Archived from the original on 2017-12-28. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
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