Anthony Russell, Yiddish Opera Singer

A short film from the Yiddish Book Center's Wexler Oral History Project

As a young child, Anthony (Mordechai Tzvi) Russell sang along to opera records—the beginning of an artistic journey that eventually led him to Yiddish folk songs and the repertoire of the legendary Sidor Belarsky.

This short film draws from a longer oral history interview.

The Yiddish Book Center's Wexler Oral History Project is a growing collection of in-depth interviews with people of all ages and backgrounds, whose stories provide a deeper understanding of the Jewish experience. Since 2010, the Project has recorded more than 1,000 video oral history interviews about the legacy and changing nature of Yiddish language and culture.