Verdi’s masterwork was life itself at Terezín. Now the world needs it again.
By Catherine Hinman
First performed in 1874, Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem is today one of the most widely performed choral masterworks anywhere. The very aspect of this Catholic funeral mass that made it controversial among clergy in the latter part of the 19th century—its theatricality—is what most interests modern audiences.
Defiant Requiem will be conducted by the production’s creator, Murry Sidlin, president of The Defiant Requiem Foundation. Proceeds from the concert will benefit the Holocaust Memorial Research and Education Center of Florida.
But in a Jewish concentration camp in 1943 and 1944, Verdi’s magnum opus—once described as “an opera in ecclesiastical robes”—held meaning beyond sacrament or entertainment. Its soaring movements were life itself for a choir of beleaguered prisoners.
On Saturday, September 14, Opera Orlando will present the Florida premiere of Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezín, a multimedia concert-drama that includes the soul-stirring musical work along with the equally remarkable story of its 16 performances at the Theresienstadt (Terezín) concentration camp in Czechoslovakia during World War II.
The two-hour production, presented with an array of partners throughout the arts community, will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Steinmetz Hall at Dr. Phillips Center. Tickets are priced starting at $49 and proceeds will benefit the Holocaust Memorial Research and Education Center of Florida.
Gabriel Preisser, general director of Opera Orlando, saw Defiant Requiem in 2013 and recalled its emotional impact. Several years ago, he mentioned it to Marc McMurrin, president and CEO of the Ginsburg Family Foundation, who became an enthusiastic supporter of staging the production in Central Florida.
And then came the Hamas-Israeli crisis and the war in Gaza. Says Preisser: “This has been on my radar for some time, and it just seemed the right time to do it.”
The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra jumped on board and pledged funds. The 120-voice Opera Orlando chorus will be joined by members of Orlando Sings, a nonprofit symphonic chorus. Dr. Phillips Center is also a sponsor, ensuring along with other donors that all of the ticket proceeds go to the Holocaust Center.
“The whole community is getting behind this,” says Kathy Ramsberger, president and CEO of the arts center. “It’s important.”
Especially in light of current tensions, Suzanne Grimmer, director of museum operations at the Holocaust Center, says that her organization couldn’t be more grateful for this show of solidarity. “It feels good that the community sees us and wants to support us,” she adds.
In conjunction with the production, Opera Orlando will offer a free screening of a feature-length documentary, also called Defiant Requiem, about the Verdi Terezín performances. The 2012 film will be shown on Wednesday, September 11, at 7:30 p.m. in the arts center’s more intimate Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater. Admission is free and seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
Verdi’s Requiem will be performed as intended with four soloists. The Terezín narrative will be told through period film footage and video interviews with survivors of the choir, as well as actors who speak the words of such pivotal figures as Rafael Schächter, the imprisoned conductor who organized and led the performances.
The Opera Orlando performance will be conducted by the production’s creator, Murry Sidlin, president of The Defiant Requiem Foundation. In addition to helming the Saturday performance, Sidlin will conduct a question-and-answer session following the documentary’s screening the previous Wednesday.
The Terezín labor camp was a transit camp for Jews en route to extermination centers. By virtue of its location near Prague, it housed many Jewish artists, musicians and intellectuals.
Schächter, with a single score of Verdi’s Requiem he had brought with him into the camp, courageously assembled a choir of 150 mostly unprofessional singers to perform it. Slowly, but with determination, he taught parts to the members.
Under his baton, the Requiem was performed 16 times, the final time on June 23, 1944, before senior German officers and representatives of the International Red Cross. “We will sing to the Nazis what we cannot say to them,” Schächter told the choir.
Schächter had to reorganize the choir three times as its members were deported to extermination camps and others died as a result of deplorable conditions. And he had to overcome initial objections from Jewish elders who thought it scandalous that the Jews should be singing Christian liturgy.
The words of the Requiem’s prayers for deliverance and justice—sung in Latin and incomprehensible to the Nazis—were nonetheless empowering for the singers.
In the “Dies Irae” (Day of Wrath) movement, they sing “when the judge takes his seat, whatever is hidden will be revealed, nothing shall remain unavenged.” And “when the damned are silenced, call me with the blessed ones.”
“This has the most gravitas of anything we’ve done,” says Preisser. “Anything you can do to highlight these moments of humanity in the midst of brutality, to celebrate the human spirit, that’s what we should do.”
Dr. Phillips Center is located at 445 South Magnolia Avenue, Orlando. To purchase tickets or to reserve a seat for the documentary, visit operaorlando.org. To learn about accompanying educational programs at the Holocaust Center, visit holocaustedu.org.
