The Opera 'The Emperor of Atlantis': With the Carmel Quartet and Meitar Ensemble

The opera "The Emperor of Atlantis" is a biting satirical work, written in the Terezín camp, which dares to confront questions of evil and war through sharp humor and original music, combined with relevant musical allusions. The opera was written by Viktor Ullmann, with a libretto by Peter Kien in 1943 on papers fiercely stolen from the offices of the Nazi camp. They managed to start rehearsals, but were soon sent to their deaths at Auschwitz. The opera was considered lost, but was miraculously discovered years later and premiered 50 years ago in the Netherlands. The Plot: This is a surreal allegory about tyranny and oppression: a tyrannical Emperor wages endless wars, and in response, Death itself decides to go on strike. Millions of people are left suspended between life and death, as the Emperor loses control and is forced to confront the consequences of his lust for power. The work is a sharp and subversive parable, combining pungent satire and humanity, and serves as a unique example of courageous artistic resistance created under the terror of the Holocaust. The opera's stark message against tyranny, senseless violence, and disregard for human life is, of course, relevant today as well.

The story takes place in a fictional Atlantis. Emperor Über-all ("Above Everything," possibly a wink or a jab at the anthem of Nazi Germany), decides to fight the whole world, but the Angel of Death ("Death") "trips him up" and begins a strike. He disagrees with humans taking over his role. Death stands in the way of executions, and tens of thousands of soldiers are suspended between life and death in suffering and agony. At the end of the sequence, all the characters ask for Death, and the Emperor explains to Death that humans cannot live without him. Death agrees to end the strike, on the condition that the Emperor be the first to die. The criticism and sarcasm are clear, as the opera was written in a crowded camp, against a backdrop of epidemics, starvation, and the threat of annihilation.

The Opera's Creators: Viktor Ullmann and Peter Kien were born on the same date, January 1st, 21 years apart, and were sent to Auschwitz together. Ullmann, born to a converted family from Czechoslovakia, pursued a European musical career as a pianist, opera conductor, and composer, settling in Prague. He became one of the central figures in the musical world created in the Ghetto. He wrote musical reviews, organized concerts, and composed works – 16 of which were preserved, and four seemingly lost forever.

Only in the Ghetto did Ullmann begin to incorporate Jewish motifs into his music, and some argue that the musical identity he adopted in the Ghetto combined his various identities: German and Czech. Ullmann kept his works and writings in a suitcase, which he handed over before his deportation to Auschwitz to the Ghetto librarian, Professor Emil Utitz, who survived the war and kept the suitcase. His documents later found their way to the Anthroposophical Society, with whom Ullmann had connections before the war, and they transferred them to the Paul Sacher Foundation archive in Basel, Switzerland. A special edition of the opera's manuscript (facsimile) is currently being released, alongside other preliminary documents and articles about the work.

Peter Kien was also born on January 1st, but in 1919. His talent for drawing was evident in childhood; he exhibited at age 14, graduated high school with high honors, and studied at the Prague University of Fine Arts. He was deported to Terezín in 1941, where he worked as the deputy director of the technical drawing department. He used to steal office paper to draw and passed his drawings to his beloved Helga Wolfstein, who hid them in the Ghetto clinic where her mother worked. Wolfstein survived the Holocaust and transferred the drawings to Brno, Czechoslovakia, where they were confiscated by the communist authorities. The suitcase is now located at the Terezín Memorial.

Kien and Ullmann met in the Ghetto and wrote the opera, which they decided to stage against all odds: "In any case, we did not sit and weep by the rivers of Babylon; our commitment to art is tantamount to our desire to live," Ullmann wrote in one of his surviving essays. Within the crowded conditions of the Ghetto, amid hunger, death, disease, and forced labor, they began rehearsals in May 1944 with a small number of singers and musicians. In August 1944, SS officers arrived at an opera rehearsal and announced that it would not be performed. On October 16, Viktor Ullmann and Peter Kien were sent to Auschwitz. Ullmann was immediately sent to the gas chambers, and it is unclear whether Kien was as well, or if he died later from illness. All participants in the opera, except for one singer, also perished.

For many years the opera was considered lost. But it was miraculously discovered. A copy of the opera came into the hands of Kerry Woodward, a British orchestral conductor, through a chain of events and coincidences described in the documentary film, "The Emperor of Atlantis" (Director: Sebastian Alfi). The film recounts that Woodward was aided, among others, by a medium (also a composer and pianist) who specialized in communicating with composers from the past and passed on instructions she allegedly received from Viktor Ullmann regarding the correct way to present the work. The opera premiered in Amsterdam in 1975 (50 years ago).

In the current production, the opera will be presented for the first time in Hebrew, translated by singer Assaf Levitin, and in a reduced version for 11 musicians, with conductor Nir Cohen Shaltiel, the musical director of "Into the Light". The concert will be performed by the Carmel Quartet and the Meitar Ensemble, conducted by Nir Cohen Shaltiel. The soloists are Tali Katzef - Soprano I Reut Venturero – Mezzo Soprano I Yuri Kissin - Bass I Daniel Yan Prozansky - Tenor I Johnny Bombino – Baritone. About the "Into the Light" project: The Nazi regime and the Holocaust resulted in the brutal truncation of the musical careers, and even the lives, of Jewish composers and musicians who lived in occupied Europe. They were imprisoned, murdered, or exiled. Their works were banned from performance because they were labeled "morally degenerate". Despite the Nazi attempt to destroy Jewish musical creativity, many works survived in writing and were found by relatives or in archives. The "Into the Light" project presents music lost to the world due to the Nazi regime. Many works have been rediscovered in recent decades and continue to be found today. These concerts aim to celebrate the high-quality music written by the persecuted creators by bringing it to the stage - into the light. The "Into the Light" project, initiated and managed by Yaakov Fisher, Chairman of the "Marvelous World of Jewish Music" association, works to bring lost music out of archives worldwide and onto the live stage. The project is supported by the Ministry of Culture.

Nir Cohen Shaltiel: A multidisciplinary conductor and musicologist. He has led "Into the Light" as its Musical Director since its inception. As a conductor, Nir has worked with most orchestras and ensembles in Israel, including the Israeli Opera, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, and the Israel Camerata Jerusalem. He is Deputy Artistic Director of the 12th Pianists Festival at the Jerusalem Theatre. As a musicologist, he received his doctorate from New York University, and is engaged in many research topics, ranging from historically informed performance, music by Jewish composers from the Holocaust era, to music theory and the American musical. He frequently teaches and lectures, and is currently a research fellow at the Hebrew University.

The Carmel Quartet: Is one of the oldest, most prominent, and versatile chamber ensembles in Israel. The quartet performs in concerts and festivals worldwide, on prestigious stages including Carnegie Hall in New York. The quartet has won many competitions, awards, and scholarships. Many composers have written works for them, and they frequently perform and record Israeli music. The Carmel Quartet founded the successful concert series "Beyond the Bow," hosted by the quartet’s violist, Prof. Yoel Greenberg. The series has many subscribers across the country and receives high praise from critics and audiences. The Carmel Quartet's activities are supported by the Ministry of Culture and Sport.

Meitar Ensemble: Has been one of the leading ensembles and central forces in the field of new music since its establishment in 2004. The Tel Aviv-based ensemble performs globally and has premiered over 400 works, collaborating with prominent contemporary composers and appearing on many festival stages. Meitar Ensemble is also involved in extensive educational activities, particularly through the 'Tedarim' program in collaboration with the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, and the CEME project – a festival and masterclasses for new music.

Viktor Ullmann (1898 - 1944): Czech-Austrian composer, pianist, and conductor of Polish descent. Born on January 1, 1898, in Těšín, Czechia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, to a converted Jewish family.

At age 11, the Ullmann family moved to Vienna, where he studied theoretical music and piano. He served briefly in World War I and afterwards studied law and composition. In 1919 he moved to Prague and dedicated himself to music, serving as a choir conductor and rehearsal pianist. After years of musical activity across Europe, he returned to settle in Prague in 1933. With the Nazi occupation in 1939, Ullmann managed to smuggle two of his children to England in the Kindertransport. In September 1942, he was deported to Terezín along with his third wife and their young son, and was reunited there with his eldest son. Even in the camp, Ullmann continued to create, and some of his works from this period have been preserved and performed to this day. He was murdered in Auschwitz.

Peter Kien (1919 - 1944): Czech-Jewish painter, poet, playwright, and writer. Born on January 1, 1919, in Varnsdorf, on the Czech-German border, to a Jewish family. In 1929 his family moved to Brno, Czechoslovakia.Kien's artistic talent was discovered in childhood. At age 14, his paintings were displayed in an exhibition in the city. He graduated high school with high honors and studied at the Prague University of Fine Arts. In 1939, Kien was expelled from the university due to anti-Jewish laws and began teaching art in the Jewish community. He sought to immigrate to Palestine but did not receive the desired certificate due to a heart defect. In 1940, he married Ilse Stransky, who was four years older than him. Kien tried to emigrate with his family to the United States and Turkey, but his efforts failed. Murdered in Auschwitz.

The Opera "The Emperor of Atlantis": An opera in a prologue and four scenes (Terezín Ghetto, 1943)Libretto – Peter Kien | Hebrew translation – Assaf Levitin

Conducted and musically directed by Nir Cohen Shaltiel

Singers: Tali Katzef I Reut Venturero I Yuri Kissin I Daniel Yan Prozansky I Johnny Bombino

Tuesday 9/12/25 at 20:00 - Jerusalem - YMCA Auditorium Link to ticketsWednesday 10/12/25 at 20:00 - Ra'anana - Eran Auditorium, Pais Music Center Link to ticketsFriday 12/12/25 at 12:00 - Tel Aviv - Music Center, Jaffa Link to ticketsSaturday night 13/12/25 - at 20:30 - Zichron Ya'akov - Beit Nir Auditorium – Link to tickets An additional performance will be at the "Sounds in the Desert" Festival on 17.12

Tickets 140-155 ILS. For students and youth 50 Go Show l or *6119 Combined Link

(Photography: Michael Favia)