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
 

Mishel-Adolf Werbel
(Moshe Avraham)
 

 

W. was born in 1850 in Odessa, Ukraine. His father was the poet Eliahu Mordechai Werbel. His sister, Polia (Paulina), was Avraham Goldfaden's wife.

He finished gymnasium and afterwards went to Minkhen(?), where he studied in the local art academy with Kalbakh and Pilati, and later finished the Politechnium in Vienna, later returning to Odessa.

Over time W. had created "scenes" (especially arousing the attention of the local art world through his image "The Yiddish Wedding"), and was engaged as a cartoonist by a local Russian newspaper.

As the brother-in-law of Goldfaden he came in contact with his troupe, where he became known to the actress Margarita Schwartz, and after his marriage to her (cir 1882), he traveled with the troupe as its manager and scenic designer for the first Goldfaden plays. [A reproduction of W.'s drawings was published in the "Lexicon of the Yiddish Theatre", p. 296].

In 1888, he came with his wife to America, afterwards returning to Odessa where he passed away on 27 August 1902.
 

M. E. from his son Dr. John M. Werbel.


 

 

 

 


 

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Adapted from the original Yiddish text found within the  "Lexicon of the Yiddish Theatre" by Zalmen Zylbercweig, Volume 1, page 731.
 

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