Person Open DS/UK/393 Braslau; Sophie (1892-1935); American contralto Braslau Sophie 1892-1935 American contralto Female

Sophie Braslau was a contralto prominent in United States opera, starting with her debut in New York City's Metropolitan Opera in 1913 when she was just 21 years of age. Braslau was born and died in New York. When she was still a child, her talent was discovered by Signor A. Buzzi-Pecci, a voice teacher who visited her Russian-born Jewish parents and heard the little girl humming. Further influenced by the style of Alma Gluck, Braslau was soon touring widely and frequently in the United States and Canada and, in the 1920s, Europe, using a repertoire which included works in English, French, German, Italian, Russian, and Yiddish. She retired from her full-time opera career in the late 1920s and performed very little as frail health brought her life to an early close. At her funeral Sergei Rachmaninoff was an honorary pallbearer; the eulogy was delivered by Olin Downes, music critic for The New York Times. International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) 2nd edition - ICA 2004 ISBN 2-9521932-2-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 Yes RAHSkeyte 7/24/2012 Rachael.Fragola 3/1/2022 ebd81e15-094b-46fb-9741-064ea4638df7