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Lina Abarbanell Collection

An inventory of her collection at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: MRC
Date: 10 Sep 2010

Biographical History

Lina Abarbanell (1879-1963) was a Jewish American opera singer.

She sang in public from the age of seven, performing with opera companies in her native Germany, touring Europe, and giving command recitals before royalty. In 1905 she and her husband and daughter came to the United States, and Abarbanell embarked on a thirty-year career giving concerts and performances around the country. After the death of her husband in 1934 she retired from performing but continued to work in the theatre as a casting director and Broadway producer.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Lina Abarbanell Collection consists of printed material related to theater productions in New York City and London in the late 1800s and early 1900s. While this collection is named for Abarbanell, she does not seem to have compiled this collection. Nor does she seem connected to the other printed material in this collection that don't bear her name.

The main series is Printed material divided into three categories: Lillian Russell, Lina Abarbanell, and miscellaneous. Lillian Russell consists of three clippings and a program. Lina Abarbanell consists of a program of her performance as Madam Sherry in that titular play. There is an inscription to Murray Bennett along with the program and her image. Miscellaneous consists of a vaudeville program from the Imperial Music Hall, a program for "The Romany Rye" performed at Hammerstein's Columbus Theatre staring Frank Losee; Noel Coward's "The Vortex" performed at the Little Theatre staring Molly Kerr; performance of "My Lady's Dress" at the Royal Adelphi Theater staring Lilian Braithwaite, Gladys Cooper, Irene Browne, Molly Kerr, Noel Coward, and more; and an ad promoting Charlotte Cushman and L. R. Shewell in "Guy Mannering, or The Gypsy's Prophecy" performed at the Boston Theater in 1873.

Arrangement of the Collection

The collection is arranged alphabetically.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Subject Headings

Persons

Abarbanell, Lina, 1879-1963.
Braithwaite, Lilian, 1873-1948.
Browne, Irene, 1896-1965.
Cooper, Gladys, 1888-1971.
Coward, Noel, 1899-1973.
Cushman, Charlotte, 1816-1876.
Hammerstein, Oscar, 1846-1919.
Keen, Frances.
Losee, Frank, 1856-1937.
Mayo, Frank, 1839-1896.

Corporate Bodies

Boston Theatre (Washington Street, Boston, Mass.)
Little Theatre (London, England)

Subjects

Actors.
Actresses.
Ensemble theater.
Motion picture actors and actresses.
Opera -- United States.
Singers -- Biography.
Vaudeville.

Places

Broadway (New York, N.Y.)
London (England)

Genres and Forms

Broadsides (notices)
Clippings (information artifacts)
Photographs.
Programs (documents)
Theater programs.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Lina Abarbanell Collection,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Unspecified, circa 1964.

Table of Contents

Printed material

Inventory