Rothschilds Geige/Die Entscheidung/Herzland

Three stories that are all marked by a vacillation between faith and doubt, between determination and resignation, between the experience of mortality and the lust for life. On February 4, in a co-production with the Jakobsplatz Orchestra, two short operas will be premièred, both connected by the scenic realization of the short story “Die Entscheidung” by Hanna Krall.

Daniel Grossmann will be on the podium of the Jakobsplatz Orchestra, and principal roles will be sung by such eminent vocal artists as Russian heroic  baritone Sergei Leiferkus. The performance will be staged by Miron Hakenbeck, who will also be presenting himself to Munich audiences for the first time.

The evening will begin with Rothschilds Geige (Rothschild’s Violin), one of the few works preserved by composer Benjamin Fleischmann, who was killed in battle at the age of only 27. The work about coffin maker “Bronze” wasn´t premiered until 1960, almost 20 years after Fleischmann´s death. It was later finished and orchestrated by Fleischmann´s teacher, Dmitry Shostakovich.

The second work presented is Herzland (Heartland), by young composer Sarah Nemtsov. The work is based on the correspondence between poet Paul Celan and his wife Gisela Celan Lestrange. It reveals various stages of this relationship, which, despite their deep love, ultimately cracks under the pressure caused by the writer's intrapersonal conflicts.

These two operas will be combined with the scenic realization of Hanna Krall’s short story, Die Entscheidung (The Decision), which tells of AIDS victim Peter Schok. As his incurable illness progresses, he chooses on the path of euthanasia and plans his immediate departure in minute detail. On this tacky but human journey, somewhere between Bette Midler and his identification with European Judaism, he discovers his equivalent of faith on earth.