ti

;-)

inclusion on the disk makes available
some of the rarest music the set has to
offer.
Where there are surprises, there are
inevitably going to be disappoint-
ments, and Byrnes readily admits that
there are favorite performers he omit-
ted because it proved impossible for
him to document their ostensible
Jewish roots.
"Someone told me that Claudia
Muzio's tombstone has a Star of
David next to her birth date and a
cross after her date of death," he
said. But that was the only informa-
tion we had on her regarding a
Jewish connection, so we didn't
include her on the disk."
Someone else told me that Tito
Gobbi's mother was Jewish, but we
couldn't document that either."
Where the Jewish roots are
strongest, the result is one of the disk's
most charming features, a wealth of
multigenerational connections.
Among others, Stars of David includes
the legendary Yossele Rosenblatt and
his son, Henry; operatic tenor Neil
Shicoff and his cantor father, Sidney;
and my favorite pairing, soprano
Evelyn Lear and her grandfather,
Cantor Sawel Kwartin.
The sound quality on the CD-
ROM is startlingly good. It probably
helped that Mike Richter, Byrnes'
partner, is a former aerospace engineer.
Based in Los Angeles, Richter worked
from tapes provided by Byrnes, who
did a lot of preliminary work with the
original materials.
"I have special equipment to play
them on," Byrnes explained. "Many
of those early recordings weren't even
recorded at the right speed. Every one
of the records has been carefully
pitched to make sure that the voice
sounds proper, with equalization to
eliminate surface noise. They're
cleaned up before they're put on tape.
Mike can clean them up further,
being very careful not to do too
much to the actual content."
The result is as close to a mini-
encyclopedia of great Jewish voices as
you are likely to get any time soon.
Photographs of many of the artists
also are included on the disk.

— Reviewed by George Robinson

Stars of David sells for $25. Send
your order to Harold Byrnes, 64
Red Fox Drive, Albany, NY
12205-3932; or to Mike Richter
at mrichter@mindspring.com

Roseanne Update

The good news is that Roseanne may
have finally found three nice Jewish
boys as suitors for her three daughters.
As good as his word — and as
reported in "Mixed Media" in the
May 7 issue of the Jewish News —
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach (Kosher Sex)
furnished three lads as possible
matches for Rosanne's daughters.
They weren't all British, or all
Oxford students, but indeed highly
presentable, obviously intelligent and
well mannered enough to treat the
lark as a serious foray into Jewish
matchmaking.
At the first day's taping, the three
lads introduced themselves to Roseanne
and 2 million potential television view-
ers. They were Dorian Barag, 27, of
Los Angeles and Scott Silverman, 24,
of Chicago, both attending Oxford on
scholarships, and Jay Sinclair, 24, a
London kosher caterer.
Their predetermined dates were
Brandi, 27; Jennifer, 22; and Jessica, 23.
That evening, the three couples,
with TV crew in tow, were chauffeured
to the trendy Tokyo Delve's Sushi Bar,
and then danced the night away at the
Redrock Bar on the Sunset Strip.
A day later, the couples returned to
the studio to tape a second segment
— scheduled to air May 25 — and to
brief Roseanne and Boteach on the
results of their matchmaking efforts.
Here are some excerpts from the
ensuing dialogue:
Jessica: "Jay is very sincere and down
to earth. He's not a liar or a freak."
Roseanne: "Is there romance in the
air?"
Jessica: "I like him."
Roseanne: "Wow, fantastic."
(Enthusiastic audience applause)
Boteach: "I am a super match-
maker. I dare not fail and I'll follow
them all year. If you guys dare go
out with other women, you'll have
to deal with me. This is a kosher
relationship. The boys put the girls
first; they are not ashamed to show
their affection. (To Roseanne) All
you have to do now is bring the
glass and the chuppah."
On this promising note, hosts and
visitors parted with the promise to
meet in London for a follow-up show.

— Torn Tiigend
Jewish Telegraphic Agency

The Roseanne Show airs at 11 a.m.
weekdays on WXYZ-Channel 7.
Check your local listings.

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5/21
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Detroit Jewish News

93