Irene Pavloska
Born
Irene Levi

(1889-02-17)February 17, 1889
Saint-Jean, Quebec, Canada
DiedFebruary 12, 1962(1962-02-12) (aged 72)
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Burial placeSpanish and Portuguese Congregation Cemetery, Montreal[1]
OrganizationsChicago Civic Opera Company
Sherwood School of Music
Spouse
Abraham Sherwin
​
​
(m. 1909; div. 1911)​
​
​
(m. 1915; div. 1921)​
Dr. Maurice Mesirow
​
​
(m. 1928; died 1960)​
Musical career
OriginMontreal, Quebec
Occupation(s)Operatic mezzo-soprano
LabelsBrunswick Records[2]

Irene Levi Mesirow (February 17, 1889 – February 12, 1962), known professionally as Irene Pavloska, was a Canadian mezzo-soprano and composer.

Biography

Irene Pavloska was born to affluent Jewish parents Pauline (née Saxe) and David Levi in Saint-Jean, Quebec, and raised in Montreal.[1][3] She was educated at Dunham Ladies' College in nearby Dunham, the High School of Montreal, and at a boarding school in Frankfurt.[4][5] She later studied under Edmond Duvernoy at the Conservatoire de Paris.[3]

She first performed with the Montreal Opera Company under the stage name Olga Pawloska in the 1911–12 season, and took on the name Irene Pavloska before touring as Juliska in Sári in the 1914–15 season in New York.[3]

Intermittently between 1915 and 1934 she was associated with the Chicago Civic Opera Company, beginning with her debut as Musetta in La bohème, alongside Nellie Melba as Mimì.[3][6] Her other notable roles with the Company include Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, Olga Sukarev in Fedora, Stephano in Roméo et Juliette, Meg Page in Falstaff, and Princess Clarice in the premiere of The Love of Three Oranges.[3] Outside of Chicago, she notably played in The Firefly in Los Angeles (1921),[7] and sang the title role in the Canadian debut of Rose-Marie at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto (1925).[8]

She died while waiting for a train at Chicago Union Station on February 12, 1962, at the age of 72.[9]

Personal life

Pavloska married New York furrier Abraham Sherwin (né Sheverenski) in March 1909; the two divorced in January 1911.[10][11] Her second marriage was to Armenian-American silent film actor Arthur Edmund Carewe, whom she married in February 1915. Plans for her and Carewe to co-star in a series of films were apparently cut short by their divorce in 1921.[12]

Pavloska's romantic affair with her personal physician, Dr. Maurice Elias Mesirow, was the subject of significant media attention.[13] They married on December 29, 1928, within a day of his divorce from his previous wife.[9]

Honours

Pavloska was an honorary member of the Chicago chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota.[14] She was inducted into the Canadian Opera Hall of Fame in 1991.[15]

References

  1. 1 2 "Social Notes—Montreal". Canadian Jewish Review. February 23, 1962. p. 3.
  2. ↑ Brunswick Record Catalog. Chicago: Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co. 1920. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-387-10933-3.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Potvin, Gilles; McPherson, James B. (2007). "Irene Pavloska". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada.
  4. ↑ Marcus, Jacob Rader; Daniels, Judith M., eds. (1994). Concise Dictionary of American Jewish Biography (PDF). Brooklyn: Carlson Publishing. p. 481.
  5. ↑ "City Native, Opera Singer, Dies at 72". The Gazette. Montreal. February 13, 1962. p. 47.
  6. ↑ Moore, Edward Colman (1930). Forty years of opera in Chicago. New York: Horace Livewright. hdl:2027/umn.31951p010406338.
  7. ↑ Dictionnaire biographique des musiciens canadiens (in French). Lachine: Soeurs de Sainte-Anne. 1935. p. 227.
  8. ↑ Cooper, Dorith (2006). "Rose Marie". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada.
  9. 1 2 "Plan Funeral of Opera Star Irene Mesirow; Singer of '20s Dies in Union Station". Chicago Daily Tribune. Vol. 121, no. 39. Chicago. February 14, 1962. p. C2.
  10. ↑ "Mrs. Sherwin Asks Divorce; Files Suit in Reno Against Abe Sherwin of This City". The New York Times. December 29, 1910. p. 5.
  11. ↑ "Quarrel Over 25 Cents; Mrs. Sherwin Wins Divorce from New Yorker—Made Trouble Because Baby Was Girl". Santa Cruz Evening News. Vol. 7, no. 73. Santa Cruz. January 26, 1911. p. 3.
  12. ↑ "Arthur Carew and Wife, Film Stars". Los Angeles Times. Vol. 15. Los Angeles. March 10, 1921. p. C4.
  13. ↑ Edwards, J. (2019). Chicago's Lollapalooza Days: 1893–1934. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4396-6771-2.
  14. ↑ "Chapter Honorary Members". Pan Pipes. Sigma Alpha Iota National Musical Sorority. XV (2): 6. February 1924.
  15. ↑ "The Canadian Opera Hall of Fame". Opéra de Montréal. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
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