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Menashe Oppenheim, who has gained a
reputation among the American Jews with his records and his
personal performances at concerts, last Saturday returned
from his tour in Argentina. According to the local Yiddish
newspapers, which arrived before him, one could see that his
appearances in Buenos Aires and in the Argentinean province
were a success.
Oppenheim was known in Argentina long
before his arrival due to the large sales of his records
there. And he personally did not disappoint the Jews.
Moreover, he was not disappointed in them either. He speaks
with the utmost warmth of their relation to Yiddish theatre.
Mainly he is excited about the Jewish
youth who attend the Yiddish theatre and treats the Yiddish
artist with great respect. Argentina -- Oppenheim tells it
-- that is the Jewish Argentina -- has built a network of
Yiddish schools that will attract a generation of
intelligent, Jewish children.
In this large Teatro Soleil in Buenos
Aires, Menashe Oppenheim has appeared in two productions:
"Hi -- Gelebt!," and "Tsu a nayem idishn lebn! (To a New
Jewish Life!)." The productions were given when the heat had
begun in Argentina, and nevertheless Oppenheim, with the
troupe of the theatre, played night-in, night-out to packed
houses.
He also gave concerts, sang on the
radio and made new records there. Incidentally, they
permitted him to say several words on the radio in Yiddish
-- a true event in a country where you can sing in foreign
languages, but do not talk in them -- on the radio airwaves
... It's right there -- not over Menashe Oppenheim -- an
overwhelming interest in the Land of Israel, mainly among
the Jewish youth. At present they are in training, where
they are preparing and learning trades and crafts for when
they settle in Israel. And precisely the young boys and
girls from affluent Jewish homes plan to settle in Israel
and become land workers there. It's just amazing --
according to Oppenheim -- what an interest and a vibrant
activity the good folks in Israel have raised in the ranks
of the Jewish youths in Argentina.
Menashe Oppenheim plans to visit Europe
and Israel -- he has been invited to come there -- and there
he will give concerts. Incidentally, he must still return to
South America, because a series of concerts is there waiting
for him , indeed in Argentina and Uruguay, Chile, Brazil,
and in a number of other countries, which he was unable to
visit on his recent trip due to a lack of time.
It is to be hoped that New York and our
own province will not neglect Oppenheim either. He is a fine
artist -- one of our finest -- and we want to enjoy again
his charm, his playfulness and his stage talent. We dare not
allow our artists to be far from us for too long ... |
