Description
Book SynopsisAlyssa Quint explores the early years of the modern Yiddish theater, from roughly 1876 to 1883, through the works of one of its best-known and most colorful figures, Avrom Goldfaden.
Trade ReviewThis is the final word on the subject; the sources are in Yiddish, Russian, Hebrew, French, and German. If the adjective definitive holds any meaning in literary history, it can be applied to this volume, yet the prose is transparent and comfortable for any reader.
* Choice *
Finalist, 2019 Jewish Book Awards, Scholarship
This is a major contribution that fills longstanding scholarly gaps, both in our understanding of Goldfaden as a historical figure and in our understanding of how modern Yiddish theater first developed.
-- Debra Caplan * In Geveb A Journal of Yiddish Studies *
Quint sucessfully outlines the interconnections between theatre producers, audience, actors, and theatre critics as well as Yiddish critics.
* The Year's Work in Modern Language Studies *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Note on Transliteration
The Social Life of Jewish Theater in the Russian Empire: An Introduction
1. Goldfaden, Elite (1876–1883)
2. The Rise of the Yiddish Actor
3. The Rise of the Jewish Audience
4. The Rise of the Jewish Playwright
5. The Rise of the Female Yiddish Actor
6. The Ban, Cultural Momentum, and the Modern Yiddish Theater
Afterword: The Fall and Rise of Avrom Goldfaden
Appendix I: Synopses of Goldfaden's Operettas
Appendix II: The Sorceress
Appendix III: Excerpt from the memoirs of Avrom Fishzon
Bibliography
Index
