Judith was a pious woman but also a beautiful and dangerous seductress who infiltrated the palace of her Assyrian enemy, seducing the powerful commander Holofernes and beheading him. Tonight at the South Bank Centre in London, Croatian singer Katarina Livljanic will perform for the first time a new piece of classical music called the Agony of Judith. Using the text of a 16th century Croatian poem and traditional Croatian melodies, Katarina has compiled this new work after extensive research.
Jenni asks Katarina what inspired the project and finding out about the significance of the Book of Judith, which (unlike the books of Esther and Ruth) is part of the Apocrypha and has less status than Esther and Ruth in Protestant churches. Why?
She is also joined by Rabbi Marcia Plumb of Southgate Reform Synagogue who explains the significance of the Book of Judith.
