50th Anniversary Showcase of "David's Violin"

About this event

The Music Department presents a 50th anniversary showcase of the Wesleyan production of "David's Violin," a four-act Yiddish melodramatic opera with text by Joseph Lateiner and music by Sigmund Mogulesco that premiered in New York in 1897. In 1976, Winslow-Kaplan Professor of Music Emeritus Mark Slobin was researching the music of the vibrant and influential theater scene of immigrant New York Jews, and realized that to understand popular theater, he should stage a play in his community. The project called for an English-language script and a cast of crowd-friendly Wesleyan faculty and students, offering the combination of drama, comedy, and music that typifies the world's many popular theater traditions. Slobin translated "David's Violin," creating a libretto with the help of Professor of English Emeritus Tony Connor. Slobin produced a joint production between the Music and Theater Departments, with music direction by John Spencer Camp Professor of Music Neely Bruce. The show was a success, and anchored Slobin's award-winning writings, including "Tenement Songs: Popular Music of the Jewish Immigrants" (1982), and "Yiddish Theater in America" (1995), which he produced as part of the Garland Publishing series "Nineteenth-Century American Musical Theater."Admission is free, and everyone is welcome.We encourage you to RSVP to help us with our planning and to get a reminder the day before this event. While RSVPs are not required for entry, they are a big help!While you're on campus, we encourage you to visit the Center for the Arts (https://www.wesleyan.edu/cfa/) to explore current art exhibitions and other programming.winning writings, including "Tenement Songs: Popular Music of the Jewish Immigrants" (1982), and "Yiddish Theater in America" (1995), which he produced as part of the Garland Publishing series "Nineteenth-Century American Musical Theater."

Admission is free, and everyone is welcome.

We encourage you to RSVP to help us with our planning and to get a reminder the day before this event. While RSVPs are not required for entry, they are a big help!

While you're on campus, we encourage you to visit the

Center for the Arts

to explore current art exhibitions and other programming.