Clementina (Keila)
Shermel
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Born in 1925 in Simferopol,
Crimea. Her father was a Red Guard and partisan. In his
time he took a strong part in the underground
revolutionary movement. In 1929 she settled with her
family in Moscow, where Sh. in the eve of the Second
World War, completed a Russian ten-year school. During
the Second World War her family evacuated to
Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, where Sh. studied singing with a
Professor Sidarov-Mikhailov, from the Kharkov
Conservatory, and after one year she studied and
even performed as a soloist in the local symphonic
orchestra. When the war ended, Sh. joined the vocal
section of the Moscow (now Tchaikovsky) Conservatory,
and still studying, practicing in the Moscow Opera
Studio, where she played significant roles in the
well-known operas.
After completing the
conservatory in 1950, she performed as a soloist in
several Moscow universities. In the span of 1956 until
1958, Sh. joined as a soloist in the Frunzer (Kyrgizye)
State Academic Opera Theatre as "Amneris" in Verdi's
"Aida," Mussogorsky's "Boris Gudonov" ("Marina Tnishek")
in "Rigoletto" ("Madelena"). Tchaikovsky's "Opritshnik"
("Di adelike morozova"), and in "Yevgeni Onyegin"
("Olga'), together twenty-eight opera parties. She
returned, due to family issues, to Moscow. she turned to
concert activities and enriched Yiddish estrade [?]
music with European classical music, early on in Moscow,
then across many cities of Soviet Russia. In her program
Rachel's aria in Halevy's operat, "The Cardinal's
Daughter," Ravel, Schuman, Shostakovich, Shaferin, Mura
Deli, Yiddish folk songs and compositions from the
Soviet-Jewish composers L. Pulver, L. Yampolsky, Rivka
Boyarska, L. Kahan, Nisenevich, Shoynsky, |
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Birnov, Z. Kompaneyets, to
the songs of the poets: Sh. Driz, A. Vergelis, Sh.
Halkin, M. Teyf, L. Kvitko and Y. Keler.
About her concert the
composer Motl Poliansky writes:
"Everywhere she shows deep
understanding of the music, both for the literary texts.
Theatrical exterior effects, overly polished--this is
not in Clementina Shermel's manner. The 'playing' is not
Yiddish songs, she sings, ...Hence the independence and
limitation of its inhabitants is of course independent,
her harsh, unmentioned and good-natured jest. Clementina
Shermel's voice is impressive in all registers.
Especially warm is the type of tenor of her breast
registers. Her voice is bursting with such tempo that it
is the custom of the people to mark with the epithet 'Zayd
(Silk?),' 'Samet (Velvet),' and there are minutes when
there seems to be a gentle violin, a magical violet
chant."
The theatre critic I.U.
Larin writes:
"The artist Sh. possesses a
remarkable sense of the spectator. Sh. really has a
significant vocal culture, a kind of breathing mastery.
No noticeable efforts while singing. Consequently, this
is why ease is felt, not entirely the range of its voice
resources [?]. The old man testifies about an excellent
vocal school. In every meticulous musical work, let
there be an operatic aria; if a folk song, at least one
of its styles are noticeable, dramatic
angezetiktkeyt
and a significant expression. The listener met at such a
concert not only with a high-cultural singer, but also
with a experienced actress. It has to be noted that
before Sh. is actually a sense of measure when
expressing strong emotions. It is remarkable that in
such a highly tragic request as Rebecca Boyarski's
compositions to Sh. DRIZT 'Babi Yar', Sh. is very
TSURIKGEHALTN and doe not withhold and provide its vocal
resources."
Sh.E. from Yeshue
Lyubomirski.
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S. Rabinovitsh --
A naye yidishe zingerin, "Morgn frayhayt," N.Y.,
18 April 1962.
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A teatral -- K.
shermel -- a naye yidishe zingerin, "Naye prese,"
Paris, 27 April 1964.
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B. Rabinskov --
(Russian) "Birobizhanskaya zvyezda," 12 October
1964.
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Motl Palianski in
"Naye pres," Paris, 15 March 1967.
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I.U. Larin
(Russian) -- "Zabakalsk robotgik," 2 October
1969.
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G. Lyuris
(Russian) -- "Vostotshnaya sibirskaya pravda,"
12 October 1969.
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B. Miller -- "Kontsertn
fun yidisher lid," "Birobidzhaner shtern," 21
October 1969.
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Natala
boloksheyeva (Russian) agenter fun "Novosti."
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