The Yiddish Book Center's

Wexler Oral History Project

A growing collection of in-depth interviews with people of all ages and backgrounds, whose stories about the legacy and changing nature of Yiddish language and culture offer a rich and complex chronicle of Jewish identity.

Yiddish Audiences Want to Interact with You: Anthony Russell on Performing in Yiddish

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Anthony Russell, an operatically trained singer, compares the experience of singing for classical music audiences to singing for Yiddish audiences, who enjoy interacting with performers.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Anthony Russell.

This excerpt is in English.

Anthony Russell was born in Texas in 1979.

This interview is part of the Yiddish and the Arts: musicians, actors, and artists series.

Other video highlights from this oral history

"I Need To Become a Jew": Deciding to Convert

5 min 28 sec

Anthony Russell On The Importance of Text In His Life

1 min 30 sec

Discovering the Music of Sidor Belarsky

3 min 1 sec

It's Like Performing for Your Family: Performing for Jewish Audiences

3 min 39 sec

Anthony Russell on Learning Sidor Belarsky's Repertoire

2 min 58 sec

Anthony Russell On Meeting Isabel Belarsky, Daughter of Singer Sidor Belarsky

2 min 47 sec

Oral history excerpt

It's Strange to Everyone Else, It's Not Strange to Me: Reflections on Being a Black Jew

Anthony Russell, singer, describes his experience as an African American Jew, which is sometimes surprising to others but feels natural to him.

English

A Project to Combine Yiddish Songs and African American Spirituals

2 min 31 sec

Who is the Audience for Yiddish Music?: Anthony Russell Responds

1 min 49 sec

Anthony Russell, Yiddish Opera Singer

10 min 28 sec

More information about this oral history excerpt

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