A moving evening at the Frankfurter Papageno Musiktheater, beginning with a tribute from patron Iris Berben, offering an incredibly touching 90 minutes of theater, and ending with enthusiastic applause from the 200 attendees – among them guests like eyewitness Edith Erbrich, singer Anna Maria Kaufmann, Frankfurt's mayor Uwe Becker, and singer Peter Heppner. "The Children of the Dead City" is a theater project available to all schools nationwide. Through the approach of working with children and young people on a music drama production, entirely new paths in memory education are being explored.
April 5, 2019. A reduced, oppressive stage design. 25 outstanding, mostly young actors, who all act on stage almost continuously. A perfectly coordinated, intensely performing 5-member chamber music ensemble. Hans Dieter and Niklas Maienschein as the directing team have succeeded in making the world premiere of "The Children of the Dead City" a highly emotional, unforgettable theater event in its dramatic intensity, musical brilliance, and narrative clarity.
Last autumn, the Frankfurter PAPAGENO Musiktheater secured the rights for the world premiere of this unique music theater piece, which tells the fate of children in the Theresienstadt concentration camp. It carries the subtitle "Music Drama Against Forgetting".
The piece was written by Thomas Auerswald, the music comes from Paderborn composer and musician Lars Hesse, and the educational concept is by Dr. Sarah Kass, head of the German Institute for Memory Culture (DIFEK). The album production for the "Children of the Dead City," released in 2018, was created with the participation of Iris Berben, Michael Schulte, Peter Heppner, and Willi Hagemeier at the Paderborn LAVA recording studios.
The content is based on true events: In June 1944, a delegation from the International Red Cross visits the Theresienstadt ghetto to ensure that "the residents are doing well." On the orders of the SS, the entire ghetto is "beautified." Suddenly, there are coffee houses with lavishly set tables, a music pavilion, sports events, and many other staged performances. A composer is commissioned to perform a musical children's piece with the imprisoned children in front of the guests. The participants hope that the foreign guests can change their fate for the better. A fatal misconception! A few months after the performance, almost all those who participated in the performance are taken to Auschwitz...
The 90 minutes, played continuously without a break, are carried by a unique ensemble. The youngest, Filip Niewiadomska in the role of "Benjamin," is only 10 years old, while the oldest, chamber singer Hubert Bischof as "the Narrator," is already 80 years old. But it is precisely the children and young people who sing and play their tragic roles with brilliance.
In the lead roles are Carolin Kascha as "Hannah" and Lino Kalich as "Albert." They move the audience from the very first moment, as they portray the fate of their characters with breathtaking depth and sing at an excellent level. The same applies to Julian and Lia Winkelmann as "Michael" and "Lisa." With great enthusiasm, both show a remarkable richness of nuance in every scene. The voice of eleven-year-old Frida Killmer as "Dana" is breathtakingly clear – and even more impressive is her presence in every scene. And then there is the stunning 15-member children's choir, which particularly takes the audience's breath away in the dramatic, moving songs, some of which are written with very demanding harmonies. "The children are wonderful," says Hans Dieter Maienschein, "and it is a great joy to work with them." They are not just part of an ensemble; they have become a huge team.
The vocal coach for the young performers of the often demanding songs is star soprano Anna-Maria Kaufmann, who describes her motivation for supporting them: "Any form of disrespect or abuse is unacceptable, especially when children are involved. There are no words to describe, explain, or excuse what happened during the Holocaust. Unfortunately, many people today are ignorant and do not want to believe that such a thing was possible."
"I am impressed by the idea of bringing the topic of the Holocaust closer to children and young people through theater," admits Frankfurt's mayor Peter Feldmann. And the patron, actress Iris Berben, who has already supported the studio recording, says: "Theater director Hans-Dieter Maienschein deserves great respect for tackling such a demanding and elaborate project at his venue." In her tribute, she reaffirms the importance of the topic and the idea of using modern music theater as a medium.
"The Children of the Dead City" is intended not only for professional stages but especially for school stages. The educational approach aims to provide older children and young people with a more intensive access to the topic of the Holocaust. Teachers can find information on www.DieKinderDerTotenStadt.de.
Following the premiere, further performances will take place initially on April 12 and 19, as well as on May 3, 2019. The performances will be held at the Papageno Musiktheater am Palmengarten, Palmengartenstraße 11a, 60325 Frankfurt/M. Tickets are already available through advance sales. Ticket hotline: 069 13 40 400 or www.frankfurt-ticket.de
April 5, 2019. A reduced, oppressive stage design. 25 outstanding, mostly young actors, who all act on stage almost continuously. A perfectly coordinated, intensely performing 5-member chamber music ensemble. Hans Dieter and Niklas Maienschein as the directing team have succeeded in making the world premiere of "The Children of the Dead City" a highly emotional, unforgettable theater event in its dramatic intensity, musical brilliance, and narrative clarity.
Last autumn, the Frankfurter PAPAGENO Musiktheater secured the rights for the world premiere of this unique music theater piece, which tells the fate of children in the Theresienstadt concentration camp. It carries the subtitle "Music Drama Against Forgetting".
The piece was written by Thomas Auerswald, the music comes from Paderborn composer and musician Lars Hesse, and the educational concept is by Dr. Sarah Kass, head of the German Institute for Memory Culture (DIFEK). The album production for the "Children of the Dead City," released in 2018, was created with the participation of Iris Berben, Michael Schulte, Peter Heppner, and Willi Hagemeier at the Paderborn LAVA recording studios.
The content is based on true events: In June 1944, a delegation from the International Red Cross visits the Theresienstadt ghetto to ensure that "the residents are doing well." On the orders of the SS, the entire ghetto is "beautified." Suddenly, there are coffee houses with lavishly set tables, a music pavilion, sports events, and many other staged performances. A composer is commissioned to perform a musical children's piece with the imprisoned children in front of the guests. The participants hope that the foreign guests can change their fate for the better. A fatal misconception! A few months after the performance, almost all those who participated in the performance are taken to Auschwitz...
The 90 minutes, played continuously without a break, are carried by a unique ensemble. The youngest, Filip Niewiadomska in the role of "Benjamin," is only 10 years old, while the oldest, chamber singer Hubert Bischof as "the Narrator," is already 80 years old. But it is precisely the children and young people who sing and play their tragic roles with brilliance.
In the lead roles are Carolin Kascha as "Hannah" and Lino Kalich as "Albert." They move the audience from the very first moment, as they portray the fate of their characters with breathtaking depth and sing at an excellent level. The same applies to Julian and Lia Winkelmann as "Michael" and "Lisa." With great enthusiasm, both show a remarkable richness of nuance in every scene. The voice of eleven-year-old Frida Killmer as "Dana" is breathtakingly clear – and even more impressive is her presence in every scene. And then there is the stunning 15-member children's choir, which particularly takes the audience's breath away in the dramatic, moving songs, some of which are written with very demanding harmonies. "The children are wonderful," says Hans Dieter Maienschein, "and it is a great joy to work with them." They are not just part of an ensemble; they have become a huge team.
The vocal coach for the young performers of the often demanding songs is star soprano Anna-Maria Kaufmann, who describes her motivation for supporting them: "Any form of disrespect or abuse is unacceptable, especially when children are involved. There are no words to describe, explain, or excuse what happened during the Holocaust. Unfortunately, many people today are ignorant and do not want to believe that such a thing was possible."
"I am impressed by the idea of bringing the topic of the Holocaust closer to children and young people through theater," admits Frankfurt's mayor Peter Feldmann. And the patron, actress Iris Berben, who has already supported the studio recording, says: "Theater director Hans-Dieter Maienschein deserves great respect for tackling such a demanding and elaborate project at his venue." In her tribute, she reaffirms the importance of the topic and the idea of using modern music theater as a medium.
"The Children of the Dead City" is intended not only for professional stages but especially for school stages. The educational approach aims to provide older children and young people with a more intensive access to the topic of the Holocaust. Teachers can find information on www.DieKinderDerTotenStadt.de.
Following the premiere, further performances will take place initially on April 12 and 19, as well as on May 3, 2019. The performances will be held at the Papageno Musiktheater am Palmengarten, Palmengartenstraße 11a, 60325 Frankfurt/M. Tickets are already available through advance sales. Ticket hotline: 069 13 40 400 or www.frankfurt-ticket.de
