On Sunday, March 30, the National Opera of Bucharest hosted the world premiere of The Eichmann Trial, an opera by Gil Shohat with a libretto by Motti Lerner. The performance played to a sold-out audience, who gave the artists a long standing ovation.
The production is directed by Erwin Șimșensohn, with set design by Dragoș Buhagiar and musical direction by Daniel Jinga, featuring the Orchestra and Choir of the National Opera of Bucharest. The initiator and supporter of bringing The Eichmann Trial opera to Romania is Mrs. Tova Ben-Nun Cherbis, president and founder of the Magna Cum Laude-Reut Foundation and the Laude-Reut Educational Complex.
“It is our duty to ensure that the story of the Holocaust is not lost in time but passed on with all its power. The Holocaust does not belong solely to the Jewish community; it is a fundamental part of human history, a global tragedy that reminds us of the atrocities hatred and intolerance can lead to. At a time when the parents of today’s generation have neither lived through nor directly experienced these events, and when historical education was neglected during the communist era, the responsibility to keep this memory alive falls on us.” – Tova Ben-Nun Cherbis, President and Founder of the Magna Cum Laude-Reut Foundation and the Laude-Reut Educational Complex.
“The beginning of this work was extremely difficult for me. I am the grandson of Holocaust survivors; my grandparents were born in Warsaw and were the only ones who managed to flee to Russia when the war broke out, while all their family members—siblings, parents, grandparents, children, and grandchildren—were brutally murdered by the Nazis. I grew up in this atmosphere. My grandmother’s tears, until the day she died, could have filled the entire Danube River.” – Gil Shohat, Composer.
“The Eichmann Trial was a historical, political, and legal event that took place in Jerusalem in 1961. It lasted about seven months, included hundreds of hearings, featured testimonies from 110 witnesses, and presented thousands of documents. At first glance, it might not seem like a suitable subject for an opera. However, by looking beyond the traditional conventions of opera, one can recognize several central characters in the narrative who go through deeply dramatic and emotional moments. The testimonies themselves are, without a doubt, heartbreaking monologues that could serve as the basis for arias, while the reenactments of these testimonies as flashbacks create powerful and moving scenes.” – Motti Lerner, Playwright and Librettist.