Louis Danto - Biography

Biography

Hersh Leib Marczuk (later Louis Danto) was born in Suwałki, a town in eastern Poland. As a child, he sang at his synagogue and performed as an alto soloist in the choirs of Jacob Berman and David Moshe Steinberg. During the 1939 partition of Poland by Nazi Germany and the USSR, his family moved eastward into Belarus in the Soviet zone. Soon afterwards, he won first prize with a Hebrew song in a children's singing competition in Baranovich, Belarus. During the competition, the Nazis invaded his city and murdered his entire family. Louis was fortunate enough to escape to Minsk. There he studied voice and cello at the local conservatory from 1939-1941. When Germany invaded Russia, Danto was moved once more this time with a group of other talented children deep into Russia where he continued his musical studies.

After the war, Danto moved to Rome to study voice with L. Samoshi. He caught the attention of world renowned singers Beniamino Gigli and Tito Schipa, who heralded him as a major discovery in the tradition of the great bel canto tenors. Danto went on to New York to study with Dr. Puegell. Before his arrival in the United States in 1950 he performed in Russia and Italy. In the following years his repertoire expanded to include Italian, French and Russian Opera, and Yiddish songs.

In 1954, Danto married Ada, with whom he had two daughters, Annette and Denise. After Ada's death, he married Rouhama, a native of Jerusalem, in 1969. They had a son, David.