Lives in the Yiddish Theatre
SHORT BIOGRAPHIES OF THOSE INVOLVED IN THE Yiddish THEATRE
aS DESCRIBED IN zALMEN zYLBERCWEIG'S "lEKSIKON FUN YIDISHN TEATER"

1931-1969
 

Khristesko Profira Konstantinova
(Kristerman)

 

K. was born in 1880 in Bucharest, Rumania, into a Christian family. Her father was a railroad worker. Until age fifteen she learned in school. Then due to her beautiful voice, she entered into the chorus of the Rumanian operetta troupe of Nikolescu, three years later going over to soubrette and prima donna roles and toured with the troupe across the province, where she married Rumanian actor Alexander Bidesco, with whom she acted together on the Rumanian stage until 1905, where they went to Russia with the Rumanian troupe under the direction of Babescu. Here they acted as the administrators of Kagan-Shatz, a Yiddish troupe and he used with them (who knew German well), that they may go over the Russian province and she guest-starred in various Yiddish troupes as a prima donna, excelling especially in Goldfaden's operettas.

IN 1913 K. went with her husband, who had [mgyr] was under the name Vandergold, and they went around by themselves with various Yiddish itinerant collectives across Russia, Ukraine, Poland, acting in the troupes of Julius Adler, Esther Rukhl Kaminska, Rappel, Fishzon, Sam Adler, et al.

After the October Revolution she remained in the Soviet Union, and K. acted in various other troupes. From 1924-1927 she acted under the direction of Albert Segalesco in the same rejected places of the Ukraine and later, until 1931, in an itinerant collective under the direction of Federesco.

 

After a short illness K., on 5 April 1931, passed away in terrible hardship and lonely in Chmelnik, Vinitsia region. In her request to actor Federesco, she was brought to her grave in the Jewish cemetery, in order that -- according to her words -- Yiddish wandering actors may sometimes visit her grave.


M. E. from Federesco and Sh. E. from Mark Leiptziger.


 

 

 

 


 

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Adapted from the original Yiddish text found within the  "Lexicon of the Yiddish Theatre" by Zalmen Zylbercweig, Volume 2, page 956.
 

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