Yiddish Operetta

Barrie Kosky is one of the most sought-after opera directors in the world and his productions have been hailed as both visionary and controversial. In this three-part series, Barrie Kosky and explores three areas of music for the stage which have a resonance for him and shares some of his own personal story.
In this episode Barrie Kosky, the grandson of Jewish emigrants from Europe himself, explores the tragedy and tongue-in-cheek wit of a forgotten genre: Yiddish operetta. With songs of melancholy and despair, to infectious comedy, these were the soundtrack to multiple generations. Barrie explores these songs with themes of exile, loneliness and homesickness, but which are also about the joy of life – against all odds. Including a special recording of a concert he gave at the Komische Oper in Berlin.

Ellstein – Maz’l
Rumshinksky – A bis’l libe
Secunda – Shver tzu zayn a yid
Runshinksy – Du bist do likht fun
Olshanetsky – Glik
Ellstein _ Ikh sing, Oygn
Ellstein – Farges mikh nit
Ellstein – Tif vi di nakht
Ellstein – Yid’l mit n fid’l
Bock - To Life from ‘Fiddler on the Roof’
Ellstein – Oy mame bin ikh
Strock – Vi ahin zol ikh geh’n
Goldfaden – Rozhinkes mit mandl’n
Lebedeff – Romania, Romania

Produced by Lindsay Pell
Photo credit: Jan Windszus