Weekly Reader: Avrom Goldfadn, the “Father of Yiddish Theater”
Published on July 21, 2024.
Modern Yiddish theater is unique in that we know exactly when, where, and by whom it was started. As the story goes, it was in 1876, in Shimen Mark’s wine garden in Iași, Romania, and the performance was produced by Avrom Goldfadn, who became known as the “Father of Yiddish Theater.” Whether this was, in fact, the first modern Yiddish theater performance is debatable, but Goldfadn’s foundational role is not. Born on July 24, 1840, Goldfadn was the first to organize a professional Yiddish theater troupe and, as its resident dramatist, director, composer, scenic designer, acting instructor, and impresario, contributed much of its repertoire himself. Goldfadn’s plays are still performed to this day, and the songs he wrote or co-wrote have achieved such ubiquity that they are often mistaken for folk songs. While the Yiddish theater would eventually grow beyond Goldfadn and his work, it never completely lost his imprint.
Founding Father
In the decades following Goldfadn’s debut, the Yiddish theater developed in many directions at once and saw contributions from renowned literary and artistic figures. But if Yiddish theater historian Joel Berkowitz could go back in time to see just one production, it would be one by Goldfadn. As he told the Yiddish Book Center’s David Mazower in 2014, Goldfadn “set himself the task of building a theatrical culture in a society that had never really had such a thing . . . Within just a few years, his work was being performed in Jewish communities throughout eastern Europe, western Europe, the Americas, Palestine, South Africa, and Australia.”
Man of the People
Many of Goldfadn’s successors were either popular or respected, but not often both at once. Goldfadn was one of the few figures who managed to be widely popular while contributing works to the dramatic repertoire that stood the test of time. But that’s not to say he didn’t have his detractors. In her book The Rise of the Modern Yiddish Theater, scholar Alyssa Quint discusses how Goldfaden came from humble beginnings to become an immensely popular playwright and producer, drawing both the respect and ire of fellow Yiddish intellectuals like Sholem Aleichem.
Raisins and Almonds
Goldfadn’s most famous work, undoubtedly, is the song “Rozhinkes mit mandlen” or “Raisins and Almonds,” from his operetta Shulamis. It’s fair to say that the song has taken on a life of its own quite apart from its original setting and is so well known that it is often taken for a folk song. In this excerpt from our Wexler Oral History Project, musician Daniel Weltlinger offers a rendition of the song on the violin.
Stage Directions
As staples of the Yiddish theater, Goldfadn’s plays have been published and republished many times. So if you’re looking to mount a performance of a Goldfadn play, or if you just want to read one on your own, they are readily available in our Steven Spielberg Digital Yiddish Library, where you can find a wide assortment of Goldfadn’s works to peruse at your leisure.
Golden Sound
Reading Goldfadn is one thing, but his plays (and just as frequently operettas) were popular in large part because of their music. So what does Goldfadn’s work sound like? This recording, from the Jewish Public Library in Montreal and digitized as part of our Frances Brandt Online Yiddish Audio Library, contains a selection from Goldfadn’s operettas.