Sonia Essin (born September 24, 1901, in Chernihiv;[1] died August 7, 1981, in Los Angeles)[2] was a Jewish-American contralto and educator who had an international career in operatic and classical music. She began her career in Europe before beginning a career in the United States on radio in the 1930s. Later in life, she focused on vocal teaching.
Essin was a member of the choir at both B'nai Jeshurun and the Free Synagogue in Manhattan.[3] She graduated from both the Mannes School of Music and Juilliard where she studied with Anna Eugénie Schoen-René.[5] She went to Europe, and gave her debut as a soloist in the Netherlands.[6] She spent some years there and in Germany performing in opera productions at Deutsche Oper am Rhein and Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden and in solo concerts, but was back in the United States by 1932.[5][7][8] Essin was a soloist in the early 1930s with "The Walter Damrosch Symphony Hour" program on NBC Radio.[8] Her solo performance debut in New York took place November 8, 1933, at the Town Hall.[9] She was on the staff at NBC as a soloist and had her own weekly radio series that ended in 1936.[5][10] She subsequently continued her broadcasting career on other stations such as WQXR[11]
Essin was declared by the Hartford Courant to have a "true" contralto voice, with a "rich and warm texture".[7] In a similar vein, Arthur Darak of the Cincinnati Enquirer called her a "bona-fide" contralto, espousing her the expression, intelligence, and warmth of her voice which he stated overcame the limited variety in her repertoire.[14]
^ abc"New York, U.S., State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1794–1943: Naturalization Petition: Sonia Helen Essin" (Document). Washington, DC: The National Archives. 1928-03-02.
^California Death Index, 1940–1997. Sacramento, CA, USA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics.
^ abcFrank, M. Z. (April 9, 1948). "New York". The Jewish Post. Indianapolis, Indiana. p. 11 – via Hossier State Chronicles.
^ abcThe Art of Sonia Essen (LP record liner notes). Malibu, California: Orion Master Recordings. 1977. ORS 77271.
