Zabetta Brenska

Zabetta Brenska (March 1, 1896 – December 26, 1966), born Elizabeth Breen, was an American singer.

Zabetta Brenska
A portrait of Zabetta Brenska by Lillian Fisk (1884-1970), from a 1917 publication.
Born
Elizabeth Breen

March 1, 1896
St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
DiedDecember 26, 1966 (1966-12-27) (aged 70)
New York City, U.S.
Other namesElizabeth Breen Althouse, Elizabeth Breen Timm (after marriage)
OccupationSinger

Early life

Elizabeth Breen was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the daughter of Thomas M. Breen and Rachel Ann Eastwood Breen.[1] Her paternal grandparents Matthias and Elizabeth Breen were born in Ireland.[2] She received musical training in Florence.[3]

Career
Paul Althouse and Zabetta Brenska with one of their daughters, from a news service photograph in the collection of the Library of Congress.

Brenska, who sang as a mezzo-soprano[4] or contralto,[5] gave recitals and concerts,[6] sometimes sharing the stage with her first husband, Paul Althouse.[7][8] She also assisted Althouse with his operatic career, organizing and hand-copying his music and translations. "It was one of our little 'pacts' that after our wedding I should be allowed to work at my music," she explained to an interviewer in 1917.[9] She expressed admiration for the songs of Black composer Harry T. Burleigh.[10]

After her second marriage, she lived in the Ringoes section of East Amwell Township, New Jersey and directed community theatre productions and wartime benefit shows there.[11][12] She also taught Red Cross first aid classes.[13]

Personal life

Elizabeth Breen married opera singer Paul Shearer Althouse in 1914;[14] they had daughters Rita Mary (born 1917) and Pauline (born 1919),[15][16] before they separated in the 1920s[17] and divorced in 1930.[18] She married again in 1932, to physician Alexander Berthold Timm,[19] a widower with two children, Alexander (born 1913) and Renee.[20] She died in 1966, aged 70 years, in New York City.

References
  1. "Mrs. Thomas Breen". The Minneapolis Star. 1931-06-08. p. 13. Retrieved 2020-09-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Death of a Prominent Citizen". Star Tribune. 1890-01-16. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-09-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Zabetta Brenska". The Daily Telegram. 1916-10-31. p. 21. Retrieved 2020-09-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "A Brilliant Music Season is Promised. New York City Should Establish a 'Board of Music'". The World Court. 2: 115. September 1916.
  5. International who's who in music and musical gazetteer. Music - University of Toronto. New York, Current Literature Pub. Co. p. 79.CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. "Zabetta Brenska and her Ermine Coat". Musical Courier. 74: 53. March 8, 1917.
  7. "Brenska-Althouse in Holyoke". Musial Courier. 74: 45. May 10, 1917.
  8. H. W. J. (November 18, 1916). "Mme. Brenska and Paul Althouse Sing in Zanesville, Ohio". Musical America. 25: 21.
  9. W. P. M. (January 27, 1917). "When a Singer's Wife is his Co-Artist". Musical America. 25: 17.
  10. "Music and Art". The Crisis: 88. December 1916.
  11. "Flemington Club to Present Play 'Family Album'". The Courier-News. 1939-11-08. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-09-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Benefit Show at Jutland Sunday". The Courier-News. 1941-08-23. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-09-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Flemington". The Courier-News. 1942-07-31. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-09-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "'Co-operative Couple' to Loaf at Lake Winnepesaukee". Musical Courier. 74: 37. June 14, 1917.
  15. "Tenor Who Became Famous Overnight Enjoys Brief Hours With his Family". Ada Evening News. February 25, 1920. p. 6. Retrieved September 10, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "News Briefs". The Courier-News. 1938-06-20. p. 12. Retrieved 2020-09-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. "Paul Althouse, Tenor, Asks Divorce". Lancaster New Era. 1930-05-07. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-09-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. "Paul Althouse Granted Divorce". Harrisburg Telegraph. 1930-06-03. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-09-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. "A Doctor-Actor". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1928-06-28. p. 40. Retrieved 2020-09-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. Downs, Winfield Scott (1934). Encyclopedia of American Biography: New Series. American Historical Society. p. 122.
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