Composer

:

Jake Heggie

Genre

:

Vocal

Style

:

Scene

Compose Date

:

Mar 2007

First Performance

:

May 7, 2007

Average_duration

:

33:47

Movement_count

:

7

Movement ....

For a Look or a Touch is a chamber opera composed by Jake Heggie with a libretto by Gene Scheer. The opera is based on the true story of a gay Jewish man named Gad Beck, who lived in Berlin during the Holocaust. The opera premiered on June 23, 2007, at the ODC Theater in San Francisco. The opera is divided into two acts and features six characters: Gad Beck, his lover Manfred Lewin, Gad's sister Miriam, Manfred's mother, and two Nazi officers. The music is scored for piano, violin, and cello, and the vocal parts are written for a baritone, tenor, mezzo-soprano, and soprano. The first act of the opera takes place in Berlin in 1941 and focuses on the relationship between Gad and Manfred. The two men are deeply in love but must keep their relationship a secret due to the danger of being gay in Nazi Germany. The act ends with Manfred being arrested and taken to a concentration camp. The second act takes place in 1945, after the war has ended. Gad is searching for Manfred, hoping against hope that he has survived. The act is a meditation on loss, grief, and the power of memory. Heggie's music is characterized by its lyricism and emotional intensity. The vocal lines are expressive and often soar to dramatic heights, while the instrumental writing is spare and evocative. The opera's themes of love, loss, and memory are universal, and the story of Gad Beck is a powerful reminder of the human cost of hatred and intolerance.

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