It is rare for a theatre critic to say they were privileged to see a show, but it was, indeed, a true privilege to see the performance this week of the Lost Music of Auschwitz at Bloomsbury Theatre.
For the first time ever, the wonderful, emotive strains of the music composed in the Auschwitz concentration camp were brought to life in London.
Never before has this work been publicly staged and the performance – it does not fall into any single category, being a mix of ballet, opera and theatre – is a remarkable production paying tribute to the musicians who were imprisoned in Auschwitz, yet still continued to create new music.
And none of it would have been possible were it not for Dr Leo Geyer, who extensively researched musical fragments found in the archives of the Auschwitz-Birkenhau state museum.
It is well documented that musicians at the camp had to play rousing marches whenever visitors attended, but it was not known that the musicians, despite the horrors they were facing, continued to compose new work.
For Constella Music, the company who created the programme, The Lost Music of Auschwitz is very much a labour of love. Choreographer Claudia Schreier relocated her family from the USA to London, spending the past 12 months working with the dancers. Managing Director of Constella Music Nathalie De Potter says: ‘We hope this production helps illuminate a lesser-known aspect of history. It is a living memorial, a tribute to resilience, and a powerful reminder that art can never truly be erased, even in the darkest time.”
For Dr Leo Geyer, who founded Constella Music, the work has been part of an incredible journey. In 2015 he was commissioned to compose a work in memory of the historian Sir Martin Gilbert. It was while researching in the Auschwitz State Museum that he discovered 210 music manuscripts, incomplete, fire-damaged and written in faded pencil.
The manuscripts were in such poor condition that no one had paid any attention to them. But composer and librettist Dr Geyer realised they were from the prisoner orchestras, whose musicians were forced by the Nazis to form makeshift ensembles to entertain visitors to the camp. Because the musicians lacked many instruments, and because of the personnel changes due to to the loss of life, the scores had to be adapted for ever-changing groups.
Much of this music has never before been heard live. Drawing from the musical manuscripts and survivor testimonies the play brings history to life through sound – unfiltered, unembellished and profoundly moving.
“My aspiration for many years has been stage an opera-ballet to present the stories of this music in a dramatic and impactful way to engage the public in commemoration,” said Dr Geyer. “Eighty years since the liberation of Auschwitz, I am deeply thankful to partner with Claudia Schrier to realise this vision and for the collaboration with an incredible group of artists to make this production a reality.”
The performance starts with an iteration of Hava Nagila interrupted by the crashing discordant music that heralds the horrors of Kristallnacht and the fate of the Jewish inhabitants sent to their death. The juxtaposition of the vigorous marching tunes contrasting to the haunting music composed in the camps creates a compelling performance.
When designing the set Finlay Jenner uses nine columns to represent the birch forest of Birkenau. The columns shift between symbols of regeneration and trauma, trees and smoke plumes, growth and destruction and act as sculptors moving with the tone of the music and the narrative to shape the space.
Claudia Schrier created a wonderfully balletic performance. The sound and movement come together in a powerful and emotive production. The tragic scene depicting the people crammed into train carriages as they travel to the camp is powerfully portrayed on a silent stage.
And the performance ends with three powerful words: “Auschwitz. Never Again”
