"Our mission at Music of Remembrance [MOR] is broad," said MOR director Minna Miller, "and we've always tried to address the impact of the Holocaust on different populations. The challenge to me was to find a composer who could handle this topic in a sensitive way."
For the upcoming March 15 concert, MOR brings back "For a Look or a Touch" about two gay lovers separated by the Holocaust. According to MOR's director Minna Miller, this is the first musical work to specifically address this theme.
In MOR's many concerts and recordings, the organization has resurrected pieces composed during Holocaust as well as commissioning new works to commemorate those who died.
After hearing the music of American opera composer Jake Heggie ("Dead Man Walking"), Williams approached him about creating a new work. MOR premiered his "For a Look or a Touch" last year.
"Jake's music deals with complicated human situations so sensitively and with such emotional complexity," said Miller. "This work reflects his heart as well as his genius. Jake was wonderful to work with and we're very proud that 'For a Look or a Touch' has been nominated for the Pulitzer."
Another MOR-commissioned piece, "Camp Songs" by Paul Schoenfield, was a Pulitzer finalist in 2003.
Heggie deliberately invoked the popular music of pre-war Berlin in "For a Look or a Touch." Prior to the rise of the Nazi party, Berlin was famous for its nightclub culture and tolerance of gay artists in that scene. In an interview posted on the MOR website last spring, Heggie said that the title was inspired by the Nazi rule that a man could be convicted for "a look or a touch."
"This project had deep resonance for me as a gay man, somebody who grew up in fear of being mocked, ridiculed and physically harmed because of my sexual orientation," Heggie explained. "Under the Nazis, innuendo was enough to convict a person."
Local baritone Morgan Smith reunites with actor Julian Patrick for this free encore performance of "For a Look or a Touch." MOR also has recorded Heggie's composition and it will be released on the NAXOS label in April.
Manfred Lewin's journal on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Web site formed the basis of Gene Scheer's libretto. In his diary, Berlin resident Lewin details his life with his lover Gad Beck in the 1940s. Following their arrest by the Nazis, the 19-year-old Lewin was killed. Beck survived the Holocaust.
Smith sings the role of Lewin's ghost. He previously worked with MOR on a concert presentation of the children's opera "Brundibár." A frequent performer at Seattle Opera, Smith is currently singing the role of Figaro in Tacoma Opera's production of "The Barber of Seville."
The 80-year-old Patrick acts the non-singing role of Gad Beck. An accomplished baritone himself, Patrick created the role of George in Carlisle Floyd's opera "Of Mice and Men" and was in the original casts of such Broadway musicals as "Once Upon A Mattress," "Bells Are Ringing" and "Fiorello."
In April, MOR presents works composed by musicians imprisoned in Terezín, Hitler's "city for the Jews" near Prague where many artists were sent for "safe keeping" during the war. Of the 15,000 children sent to Terezin, less than 200 are known to have survived.
Among the pieces in the April 12 program will be scenes from Hans Krása's children's opera "Brundibár."
Originally cast with children inmates, "Brundibár" was performed 55 times in Terezín. These excerpts, directed by Erich Parce, use the new English adaptation by American playwright Tony Kushner. A full version of "Brundibár" was recorded earlier by MOR for the NAXOS label.
"These excerpts are very effective. It's a very intimate and powerful show, and we have done this version to great success in local schools," Williams said.
A young cellist named Robert Dauber (1922-1945) played in Brundibár's orchestra, and his composition will be heard on April 12, as well as a duo for violin and cello by Czech composer Gideon Klein, who was sent to Terezin at the age of 23.
"Dauber's is the only piece he composed and the only record that we have of his life. Klein's piece was left incomplete. He was taken to the camp before he could finish it and the second movement breaks off in mid-phrase," Williams explained.
The March 15 concert of "For a Look or a Touch" will be held at the Seattle Asian Art Museum, 1400 E. Prospect St. Concerts begin at 2:30 p.m. on March 15 and April 12.
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