On the initiative of members of the Glasbena matica Music Society Cleveland, on the first anniversary of the death of Anton Šubelj, in 1966, a commemorative plaque was attached to his birthplace. Bearing a relief portrait of the musician, the memorial was made by sculptor Boris Bužan. Its inscription reads: “Anton Šubelj, singer and choirmaster, was born in this house.”
In 1966, the Slovenian National Home in Cleveland unveiled a portrait of Šubelj by Florence Neeley.
Anton Šubelj
Anton Šubelj (1899–1965) was a sought-after baritone who was instrumental in popularising Slovenian folk song and preserving the musical culture of Slovenian Americans.
Born in Rodica near Domžale, Šubelj worked in the Domžale straw-hat factory after completing his primary education, and soon enjoyed his public debut as a singer and actor. He attained further education in the performing arts in Ljubljana, where he studied solo singing with Matej Hubad at the Conservatory of Music and performed at the Drama National Theatre. He later pursued further studies in Berlin. Between 1923 and 1927, Šubelj was a soloist at the Ljubljana Opera and tried his hand as an operatic director. He sang supporting roles in comic operas, including Le donne curiose (The Inquisitive Women) by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari and Manon Lescaut by Daniel François Esprit Auber.
Visiting the USA in 1928, Šubelj sang at the protestant cathedral in New York City’s borough of Brooklyn. At the urging of enthralled Slovenian immigrants, he went on a concert tour and appeared in New York, Cleveland, Chicago and San Francisco. The concert programme, recorded and released on the Columbia label, included Slovenian folk songs, most notably Zagorski zvonovi, Pojmo na Štajersko and Je pa davi slanca pala (Zagorje Bells, Let’s Visit Styria, Frost Fell This Morning). Appearing in a radio show, he fascinated the American audiences with Slovenian songs.
In 1929, Šubelj resumed his vocal studies in Milan and did a short concert tour of Germany. He then moved permanently to the USA, where he continued to perform, and sang in the chorus of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. In Cleveland, Šubelj organised a youth choir, and in 1940 he co-founded the Glasbena matica Music Society, subsequently serving as its director. He occasionally led Matica’s choir, and conducted vocal-instrumental works as well as operetta in opera productions. He worked for the Associated Concert Bureau, a concert agency promoting young performing musicians.
He also devoted himself to music education. In 1949 in Washington, Šubelj established the Opera Workshop, a school for solo singing and operatic acting, and taught at the Washington Institute of Music.
After 1951, he primarily dedicated himself to enriching the musical life of Slovenians in Cleveland, staging opera productions performed by Matica’s ensembles.
Maia Juvanc
