Opera & Democracy: Listening to Exile
For the Thomas Mann House Blog, 2023 Fellow Kai Hinrich Müller wrote a recap of the four-day festival that took place in New York in April 2024 as part of the transatlantic concert and conversation series “Opera & Democracy.”
It was “this very speech in 1933,” Thomas Mann reflected on the pivotal moment that drove him into exile, in a letter to the editor of Common Sense (1940), “which determined my emigration, or, more correctly, my failure to return to Germany. Its enthusiasm [for Richard Wagner] was so faint that it put the Nazis into a transport of rage. This vermin is affected by shades of difference as is a bull by a red rag. Yet it is these very nuances of difference that are the most indispensable part in any discussion of Wagner.” And indeed, it was Thomas Mann’s monumental essay on Richard Wagner, Leiden und Größe Richard Wagners, that laid the groundwork for his emigration, a text on his operatic hero written in 1933 on the 50th anniversary of Wagner’s death. Mann was accused of denigrating Wagner, which was utter nonsense, especially since some critics hadn’t even read the book. It provoked public protests joined by composers such as Richard Strauss and Hans Pfitzner. The Manns read the signs and decided to go into exile. Some 80 years later, this brief episode opened the Opera & Democracy: Listening to Exile festival, held April 16–20 in New York City, a week of talks and concerts dedicated to the operatic world of exile and its enduring relevance. Beginning with the music of nazi-persecuted artists, the events sought to connect the past to the present, with a special focus on today’s challenges and how we can support them — a central aspect of the overarching Opera & Democracy series at the Thomas Mann House, Los Angeles. “Opera has historically always been the most political of art forms. In these times, we must actively use the power of music and opera to contribute to a democratic world. Nothing can spread the message across borders and languages more passionately than the language of music”, says Markus Klimmer, Chairman of the Board of Villa Aurora & Thomas Mann House, who gave introductory remarks at the concert in the Austrian Cultural Forum on April 18th.
Kicking off the week at the Goethe-Institut New York on April 16th, a panel discussion featuring Brigid Cohen, Michael Steinberg, and Gracie Golden of the Artistic Freedom Initiative, moderated by Olivia Al-Slaiman, delved into the intersection of opera, community, and forced displacement. It sets the tone for subsequent events, exploring the challenges faced by artists in exile and the role of art in fostering democracy. “When displacement disrupts lives and scatters dreams, art remains a powerful, resilient force. The skillfully curated series brought together wonderful partners and showed how opera can become a beacon of hope, weaving communities together and championing the essence of democracy in the past and in our present day”, underlines Joerg Schumacher, Director of the Goethe-Institut New York. The festival continued with concerts at the Leo Baeck Institute / Center for Jewish History on April 17th and the Austrian Cultural Forum, showcasing the music of composers persecuted by the Nazis: Erich Zeisl, Ruth Schonthal, Paul Aron, Ernst Toch, and Rosy Geiger-Kullmann. Accompanied by musicians from the Manhattan School of Music and facilitated by Jeruscha Strelow and myself, these performances unearthed rarely heard repertoire and — in the case of Rosy Geiger-Kullmann — even premiered works.
Geiger-Kullmann was a prolific composer of the Weimar Republic, born in Frankfurt, who found refuge in New York and Monterey. Her works include cantatas, chamber music, a symphony, and operas. A highlight of the festival was the rediscovery of three of her stage works, excerpts from her operas Columbus, Emanuela and Sir Lancelot, also a testament to her creative spirit in the face of prejudice as a female composer. According to her memoirs (in the LBI archives), the first premieres were rejected because those in charge thought a woman’s opera was too demanding. She also tried to get her operas on the big stages in Berlin. Here, too, she hit a wall, as the register of operas recommended to the Berlin theaters between 1919 and 1943 (Landesarchiv Berlin) shows, a largely unknown source that still needs to be explored. “I was thrilled that my great aunt’s musical compositions were revived and heard by the audience. It was a very special and memorable evening and an honor to listen to the music”, Jennifer Kopatz, Geiger-Kullmann’s great-niece who came from San Francisco to attend the concert, shared her hope for a revival of her ancestor’s work. The festival concluded with a dance performance and panel discussion at 1014, a transatlantic program space in the former Goethe-Institut. Miro Magloire and Carl Bettendorf joined young composer Alyssa Regent to discuss home, belonging, and composing today. The New Chamber Ballet presented choreographies based on works by Alyssa Regent, Tania León and Ursula Mamlok, bringing the program back to the present. “We wanted to take listeners on a journey from today’s challenges to refugee artists, on to historic biographies and composition and end the program in the present featuring contemporary composers,” summarizes Benjamin Bergner, Program Director at 1014.
The success of the Listening to Exile festival hinted at a possible sequel, fueled by the enthusiasm of both performers and audiences alike. In a world grappling with new challenges to artistic freedom, the festival served as a reminder of the enduring power of music to transcend borders and inspire change. Looking back on the rich program that unfolded over the course of the week, it becomes evident that the festival not only celebrated the resilience of artists in the face of oppression but also underscored the urgent need to preserve their legacies for future generations. By shining a spotlight on the works of composers who were once silenced by dictatorship, the week offered a way to reclaim their voices and honor their contributions to the cultural tapestry of humanity.
The next events in the Opera & Democracy series take place in Dresden, Berlin, Brown University, and Hamburg. Find more information here.
Kai Hinrich Müller works at the intersection of scholarship and practice, fostering cultural dialogues across continents. He is currently the director of the BAUHAUS MUSIC FESTIVAL in Berlin and the TEREZÍN MUSIC ACADEMY in the former ghetto of Theresienstadt, an initiative of MUSICA NON GRATA, for which he has developed numerous programs on artists persecuted by the Nazis. He also serves as the academic lead for a number of projects related to the historically informed performance of Richard Wagner’s “Ring”. Kai has held several international fellowships and lectures at the Cologne University of Music and Dance. His current research interests include Wagner and the Bayreuth Circle, interwar and Nazi musical life, musical migration, and transatlantic opera traditions.
