Tourel (real name, Davidovich), Jennie
Tourel (real name, Davidovich), Jennie
Tourel (real name, Davidovich), Jennie, prominent Russian-born American mezzo-soprano; b. Vitebsk, June 22, 1900; d. N.Y., Nov. 23, 1973. She played flute; then studied piano. After the Revolution, her family left Russia and settled temporarily near Danzig; they later moved to Paris, where she continued to study piano and contemplated a concert career; she then began to take voice lessons with Anna El-Tour, and decided to devote herself to professional singing; she changed her last name to Tourel by transposing the syllables of her teacher’s name. She made her operatic debut at the Opéra Russe in Paris in 1931; then her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in N.Y. on May 15, 1937, as Mignon. In 1940, just before the occupation of Paris by Nazi troops, she went to Lisbon, and eventually emigrated to the U.S.; appeared on the Metropolitan Opera roster in 1943-45 and 1946-47. She became a naturalized American citizen in 1946. In 1951 she created the role of Baba the Turk in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress in Venice. In later years, she devoted herself to recitals and orch. engagements, excelling particularly in the French repertoire. She also taught at the Juilliard School of Music in N.Y. and at the Aspen (Colo.) School of Music.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire