Our Reclaimed Voices Series grew out of our research into Viennese operetta of the early 20th Century.

As we learned about the preeminent composers and librettists of the Silver Age of operetta (1900-1936), it was impossible to ignore the fact that the majority of them were Jewish. Indeed, the genre was dominated by the contributions not only of Jewish composers and librettists, but also Jewish singers, actors, designers, musicians, directors, producers, and a devoted public that was also was heavily Jewish. Operetta thrived, shaping the musical landscape in Vienna and Berlin much in the same way that popular music dominates today. But with the ascent of the Nazi party in both Germany and Austria, this vital artistic community came to an abrupt end. Many of these artists faced persecution, exile, and even death.

From the beginning, our company’s focus has been on finding, restoring, and performing forgotten works from this period. As we became aware of the intersection of operetta with the Nazi era, our work took on a new dimension. The dark history behind these shows demanded to be remembered, and the life stories of their authors – stories that are compelling and often tragic – had to be told. In 2013, we wrote our first Reclaimed Voices Series show, Operetta in Exile: The music silenced by the Third Reich. This concert was created with the purpose of educating the public and presenting in-depth looks at the lives of these artists. Other concerts in this series include Moon over Berlin; Forbidden Opera; Operetta and The Great War; Goodbye Berlin, Aloha Hawaii! It’s been a Weill! and Korngold in Song. 

“By no means did we sit weeping on the banks of the waters of Babylon and our endeavor with respect to the arts was commensurate with our will to live.” -Viktor Ullmann

Victor Ullman

To Viktor Ullmann and the other Jewish composers of his generation, music was not only an escape from the horrors they were experiencing; music was life itself. It was their testament. Every melody sung, every chord played, every note written was a statement of their will to live and their insistence that they not be forgotten. Although their humanity and dignity were trampled, their spirits remained intact. Their works need to be heard, their stories told, and their memories restored. For them, music meant life, and life meant music.

Here at Folks Operetta we draw inspiration from their determination to continue their art in the face of monstrous evil. Our Reclaimed Voices Series is designed to recover the forgotten works of Jewish operetta and opera composers from the early 1900s up until the Second World War.  As always, we will introduce works that have not been performed in the U.S. and are dangerously close to being forgotten forever.  This includes the works of Leo Fall, Paul Abraham, Emmerich Kálmán, Mischa Spoliansky, Josef Beer, Leo Ascher, Edmund Eysler, Leon Jessel, and Jean Gilbert as well as the works of Hans Gál, Gideon Klein, Viktor Ullman, Franz Schreker, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Egon Wellesz, Hans Krasa, Alexander Von Zemlinsky, and Kurt Weill.

Reclaimed Voices Series Concerts:

  • Goodbye Berlin, Aloha Hawaii! The Jazz Operettas of Paul Ábrahám.
  • Forbidden Opera: The Lost Music of the Second World War
  • Moon over Berlin: The Music of a Great City
  • Operetta and the Great War: The Forgotten Shows of World War I
  • Operetta in Exile: The Music Silenced by the Third Reich
  • It’s been a Weill! (The music of Kurt Weill)
  • Korngold in Song (An evening of art song)
  • These are the Times! A Tingel – Tangel Kabarett

To find out how you can have Folks Operetta perform these concerts at your venue, contact gerald@folksoperetta.org