In partnership with the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation, the Indianapolis Opera Education & Community Outreach Department presents an engaging early-evening concert of art song and classical music with acclaimed artists: Soprano Anne Fuchs, Mezzo-soprano Lyndsay Moy, Baritone Daniel Narducci, and Pianist Maria Lyapkova. This special event will include the world premiere of "Into Eternity" from prolific Jewish-American female composer Lori Laitman, which features the final written words of Holocaust victim Vilma Grunwald, mother of local survivor Frank Grunwald, who translated the letter and will be in attendance to speak about this incredible work.
Lori Laitman met Frank Grunwald in March of 2022, during the Opera’s double bill of Hans Krasa’s Brundibar and Laitman’s Holocaust-themed oratorio Vedem, where she had a chance to hear his story and learn about his mother’s extraordinary letter. At 11 years old, after being transported to Auschwitz with his family, Frank and his brother John, along hundreds of other children, were selected to be killed in gas chambers, but a German in charge of the Jewish Family Camp saved Frank’s life by moving him into another group. John, however, who suffered with a limp, remained with the children selected for death. Their mother, Vilma, opted to accompany John, so he would not have to face death alone. She penned this beautiful letter of comfort to Frank’s father, Kurt, on July 11, 1944, while waiting for the trucks to take them to the crematorium, and it is Frank’s English translation which Laitman set to music. In her letter, Vilma writes that she is completely calm, asking Kurt not to blame himself for their fate, to press on, and to take care of Frank.
The concert will also include selections from American Art Song repertoire, featuring composers like Indiana-born Ned Rorem, and Jewish-Americans Leonard Bernstein and Kurt Weill.
Performance Details
4 PM on Sunday, June 4, 2023 at Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation, located at
6501 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis, IN 46260
Attendance
The performance is free and open to the public.
