Mascha Benya

Masha Benya, Yiddish-language soprano, c.1950

Mascha Benya (Yiddish: מאַשאַ בעניאַ, October 15, 1908 – November 4, 2007), born Masha Benyakonsky, was a Russian-born soprano known especially for her promotion and performance of Yiddish and Hebrew folk and art music in the United States after World War II. After a short career as an opera singer in the Jüdischer Kulturbund in 1930s Berlin, she emigrated to New York after Kristallnacht and became an important figure in the teaching of Yiddish and Hebrew song through the Workman's Circle, Kaufman Music Center, and other organizations, as well as a touring singer, radio performer, and recording artist.