True to His Voice: Volume 6, Issue 31, Chukas-Balak
- Jun 25
- 1 min read
June 27, 2026; 12 Tammuz, 5786 Sponsored anonymously L’Ilui Nishmas Golda Shprintzah Bas Pinchas
It was the winter of 1918. In Chicago, a crowd had packed the auditorium to hear Yossele Rosenblatt — the most celebrated Chazzan (cantor) of his generation, and perhaps of all time. He had come to raise money for Jewish victims of World War I in Europe, but the hall had become more than full; hundreds were left outside, unable to get in. And seated in a box that night was a man who knew greatness when he heard it: Cleofonte Campanini, General Director of the Chicago Opera Association, the impresario who had discovered many opera stars.
When the concert ended, Campanini did not wait. He asked to be introduced to Yossele and came straight to the point. He had heard a voice that belonged on the grandest stage, and he offered Yossele the role of Eleazar in Halévy’s "La Juive" — for $1,000 a performance. In today’s money, that is roughly $23,600 for a single night...