- Berl Broder
Berl Broder (1815–1868), born Berl Margulis was a Ukrainian
Jew , the most famous of theBroder singer s, 19th century Jewish singers comparable to thetroubadour s or Minnesänger, and reputed the first to be both a singer and an actor.Bercovici 1998.] His nickname is the origin of the term "Broder singer". [Roskies 1999, p. 94.] Thirty of his songs survive; of these, 24 are in the form of dialogues, usually between craftsmen such as tailors or shoemakers; his songs are seen as a precursor toYiddish theater .He childhood was taken up with religious studies at home, until his father's death when he was 16. A handsome, bright young man with a good voice, he taught himself the violin. He worked briefly as a brushmaker; his co-workers became his first audience, and he developed a reputation for always having a rhyme or a proverb.
From some time in his late teens or early twenties, he headed on the road as an itinerant performer, along with two other singers, one of whom was also a tailor who made costumes for the troupe. It is believed that many of his songs were improvised on the spot; only thirty survive in written form.
After leaving Brody, he never settled in any one place; he was also known as a heavy drinker. He died in
Ploieşti ,Romania .Notes
References
* Bercovici, Israil, "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), pages 31-36. ISBN 973-98272-2-5. "See the article on the author for further publication information."
* Roskies, David G., "The Jewish Search for a Usable Past", Indiana University Press (1999), ISBN 0253335051. p. 94–95.
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