- The Witch of Botoşani
"The Witch of Botoşani" or simply "The Witch" or "The Sorceress" (original
Yiddish title "Di Kishefmakhern") was an 1878, or possibly 1877, play byAbraham Goldfaden . Like most of Goldfaden's major works, it was anoperetta .The play was based on popular superstition; Goldfaden would later remark, "I wrote "Di kishefmakhern" ("The Witch") in
Romania , where the populace –Jew s as much as Romanians – believe strongly inwitch es." [Bercovici, 1998] The title role, a female character, was written to be played by a man; it was first played byIsrael Grodner . The play survived into a far different era ofYiddish theater :Maurice Schwartz played it atNew York City 'sYiddish Art Theater in 1925. [Adler, 1999, 107 (commentary)]Jacob Adler made his 1878 stage debut in the role of the lover Marcus, in a production inKherson ,Ukraine , in whichIsrael Rosenberg played the title role. [Adler, 1999, 107]References
* Adler, Jacob, "A Life on the Stage: A Memoir", translated and with commentary by Lulla Rosenfeld, Knopf, New York, 1999, ISBN 0679413510.
*Bercovici, Israil, in "O sută de ani de teatru evreiesc în România" ("One hundred years of Yiddish/Jewish theater in Romania"), 2nd Romanian-language edition, revised and augmented by Constantin Măciucă. Editura Integral (an imprint of Editurile Universala), Bucharest (1998). ISBN 9739827225.
* [http://www.4-wall.com/authors/authors_g/goldfaden_abraham.htm Partial list of plays by Goldfaden] dates the play from 1887, but gives no citation. Bercovici cites a particular performance from 1878 in his comprehensive list of major Yiddish theater premieres in Romania.
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