Jennie Tourel

Jennie Tourel (June 22 [O.S. June 9] 1900 – November 23, 1973) was a Jewish-American operatic mezzo-soprano, known for her work in both opera and recital performances.

Born in Vitebsk, Russian Empire (now Belarus), with the surname Davidovich, as a young girl she played the flute, then studied piano. After the Russian Revolution, her Jewish family left Russia and settled temporarily near Danzig. They later moved to Paris, where she continued to study piano and contemplated a concert career. She then began to take voice lessons with Reynaldo Hahn and , and decided to devote herself to professional singing. She was said to have changed her last name to Tourel by transposing the syllables of El-Tour's name, but she denied this.

Jennie Tourel made her European operatic debut at the Opéra Russe in Paris in 1931, and subsequently sang at the Opéra-Comique in Paris as Carmen (April 9, 1933) also singing Mignon, Jacqueline (Le médecin malgré lui), Djamileh in 1938, Charlotte (Werther) and Marcellina (The Marriage of Figaro) in 1940. She created three roles at the Salle Favart: Labryssa in Tout Ank Amon (May 5, 1934), Missouf in Zadig (June 24, 1938) and Zouz in La nuit embaumée (March 25, 1939).

She made her American début at the Chicago Civic Opera in Ernest Moret's Lorenzaccio in 1930. Her career at the Metropolitan Opera was brief: she made her début in May 1937, as Mignon, and appeared for a few seasons in the 1940s as Rosina, Adalgisa and Carmen.

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