James
Conlon Conducts Inaugural Concert
of LA Opera's RECOVERED VOICES March
7 & 10, 2007
A new series of productions uncovering classical music
suppressed by the Holocaust
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Music Suppressed by the 3rd Reich
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LA Opera Music Director James Conlon conducts the inaugural concert of the newly initiated Recovered Voices series, which focuses on the works by composers affected by the Holocaust.
In
an essay entitled "Recovering a Musical Heritage: The
Music Suppressed by the Third Reich," Maestro Conlon eloquently
explains his boundless zeal for this worthy project:
We must now mitigate a great injustice by working to revive the music of those
whose only “fault” was that they were Jewish, or that they were
opposed to or deemed offensive by an authoritarian regime.
But that is not the only reason to restore these works. I believe that the
spirit of this 'lost generation' now needs to be heard. The creativity of
the first half of the 20th century is far richer than we think. Alongside
Stravinsky, Strauss and other major and more fortunate figures, the varied
voices of composers from Berlin, Vienna, Prague and Budapest, whether Jewish,
dissident or immigrant, reveal much about the musical ferment of their time.
Their music, I believe, is accessible and relevant. Further, our own American
heritage owes an enormous debt to those who emigrated to Hollywood and Broadway,
bringing their distinctive personalities with them, and creating a style that
has since become distinctly American.
The suppression of these composers and musicians caused the greatest single
rupture in what had been a continuous seamless transmittal of German classical
music...
There are three aspects to be taken into consideration: moral, historical
and artistic. Undoing injustice, when one can, is a moral mandate for all
citizens of a civilized world. We cannot restore to these composers their
lost lives. We can, however, return the gift which would mean more to them
than others: to play their music. Our perspectives on the history of 20th-century
classical music are incomplete because an enormous quantity of works has remained
unplayed, and the lives of its composers largely ignored.
Neither moral nor historical considerations would be reason enough for revival
were it not for the artistic quality of what was lost. This cannot be judged
by a single hearing of tokenistic or uncommitted performances. Judgments,
if indeed they must be made, can only be made after those performing and listening
over the course of years have given the spirit of that era sufficient time
to be fully digested. I now perform this music regularly, in the hope that
it will find its place in the standard repertoire. I devote myself to programming
works by this group of composers wherever possible.
In
a unique presentation, the Recovered Voices stage design
will feature visual arts that were created during the same era as the music
was composed. The repertory includes selections from Franz Schreker's Die
Gezeichneten (The Stigmatized), Walter Braunfels' Die Vogel
(The Birds), Ernst Krenek's Jonny spielt auf (Johnny Tunes Up), Viktor
Ullmann's Der Kaiser von Atlantis (The Emperor of Atlantis), Erwin
Schulhoff's Flammen (Flames) and Erich Korngold's Die tote Stadt
(The Dead City).
The concerts will also feature a complete performance of Alexander Zemlinsky's
Eine florentinische Tragödie (A Florentine Tragedy), a one-act
opera based on Oscar Wilde's play of the same name.
Soloists are sopranos Tatiana Pavlovskaya and Stacey Tappan, tenors Anthony
Dean Griffey and Rodrick Dixon, and baritones Donnie Ray Albert and Martin
Gantner. James Conlon conducts the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra.
The concerts will be held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Wednesday, March
7 at 7:30pm and Saturday, March 10, at 7:30pm.
Tickets to Recovered Voices range from $15 to $125, and are on sale at the
Los Angeles Opera Box Office, by phone at (213) 972-8001 or online at www.laopera.com.
Source: LA Opera
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