Out of Darkness - An Opera of Survival by Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer

Recommendation

Jake Heggie is one of the today's outstanding composers. He has written many fine works and is perhaps this country’s greatest living opera composer. Heggie made a big splash with Moby Dick and was greatly praised for Dead Man Walking. Working again with his long-standing librettist, Gene Scheer, he has produced a stunning work based on the Holocaust. The opera is set in three half-hour sections, each more closely resembling a song cycle than an act from an opera.

The first section entitled, Another Sunrise, closely resembles a horrific song cycle based on the life of Krystyna Zywulska, a Polish Jew who hid her identity and worked in the underground resistance until she was caught by the Gestapo in 1943. She was sent to Auschwitz, not as a Jew but as a political prisoner. Zywulska started writing lyrics for songs of protest and survival. She was given a premium position in the personal effects room because of her poetry. When new inmates arrived, she helped sort their belongings before they were gassed. Zywulska , forced to do the unthinkable, survived by stealing and selling these personal effects. Backed up by a small chamber ensemble, Zywulska is brilliantly portrayed by Caitlin Lynch.

The second section is called Farewell Auschwitz and is based on the lyrics that Zywulska wrote in order to cope with the inhumane conditions in the camp. She wrote lyrics and set them to existing music, from popular sons to classical pieces. The music is a mix of styles of the time, including some paraphrases of Liszt and Chopin. Parts of the work seem almost happy while others tap into the thoughts of those inmates facing intolerable situations. This section is wonderfully sung by the vocal trio of Ms. Lynch, Sarah Larsen and Morgan Smith, again, accompanied by a small chamber ensemble.

For a Look or a Touch is the last section of the work. It is the sensitive and tragic story of two gay lovers (Manfred Lewin and Gad Beck) from Berlin. In Nazi Germany, all that was needed for a gay couple to be held by the authorities was to have a suspicious look or touch. Manfred and his family were killed in Auschwitz. Gad escaped to Switzerland where he helped others escape. Heggie and Scheer have created a brief musical tale in which Manfred returns many years after his death to seek out Gad. They confront each other and in the end, embrace. It is most touching and memorable. The role of Manfred is sung well and warmly by Morgan Smith and Gad is portrayed by a non-singing actor, all accompanied by a fine chamber ensemble.

Out of Darkness was commissioned by Music of Remembrance, a chamber music organization based in Seattle that was founded in 1998 for the remembrance of Holocaust musicians and their art. Recorded in Seattle in 2013, Naxos has produced a recording with full and impressive sound.

Album Overview

In Out of Darkness, Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer accomplish something remarkable. They convey the vastness of the Holocaust’s scope through emotionally rich portraits of those caught in its grasp, without reducing them to caricatures of martyrdom. The three chapters of this work relate stories that offer compelling musical witness to survival in the face of unimaginable adversity. Another Sunrise tells the amazing story of Krystyna Żywulska who, after being captured as a member of the Polish resistance, created poems and songs in Auschwitz that circulated secretly and became anthems of defiance amongst her fellow prisoners. Farewell, Auschwitz adapts Krystyna’s lyrics, with their exhortations to preserve a sense of humanity in a place defined by inhuman behaviour. The deeply moving song cycle For a Look or a Touch illuminates Nazi persecution of homosexuals, informing historical realities through an intensely intimate story of memory and loss.

Source: Naxos of America

Music of Remembrance	Music of Remembrance Led by Artistic Director Mina Miller, Music of Remembrance fills a unique cultural role in Seattle and throughout the United States by remembering Holocaust musicians and their art through musical performances, educational programs, musical recordings, and commissions of new works.   http://www.musicofremembrance.org/~musicofr/about
Mina Miller, conductor	Mina Miller, conductor Mina Miller, Music of Remembrance Artistic Director and concert pianist, was born in New York, NY, and studied at the Manhattan School of Music. She earned her Ph.D. in Music from New York University. In 1998, her career as a recitalist and concerto soloist metamorphosed when she founded Music of Remembrance and began serving as the organization’s president and artistic director.   http://www.musicofremembrance.org/~musicofr/artist/mina-miller
Jake Heggie, composer	Jake Heggie, composer Jake Heggie is the American composer of the operas Moby-Dick, Dead Man Walking, Three Decembers, To Hell and Back, and Out of Darkness: a triptych of Holocaust stories (Another Sunrise – Farewell, Auschwitz – For a Look or a Touch). He has also composed more than 250 songs, as well as chamber, choral and orchestral works.   http://jakeheggie.com/biography/
Gene Scheer, composer	Gene Scheer, composer Mr. Scheer’s work is noted for its scope and versatility. With the composer Jake Heggie he has collaborated on a number of different projects, including the critically acclaimed 2010 Dallas Opera world premiere, Moby-Dick, starring Ben Heppner as Captain Ahab; Three Decembers (Houston Grand Opera), which starred Frederica von Stade; and the lyric drama To Hell and Back (Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra), which featured Patti LuPone.   http://genescheer.com/bio/

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