On Thursday, March 5, IIJS and the Yiddish Studies Program in the Department of Germanic Languages welcomed composer Alex Weiser and librettist Ben Kaplan for a special presentation of their opera The Great Dictionary of the Yiddish Language at 617 Kent Hall.
The event featured an excerpt from the ambitious new opera, followed by a conversation with the artists about the work’s origins and the challenges of writing a twenty-first-century opera centered on Yiddish language and culture.
The Great Dictionary of the Yiddish Language tells the tragi-comic story of Yiddish linguist Yudel Mark and his unfinished effort to create the first comprehensive Yiddish dictionary. Through music and drama, the work reflects on the extraordinary ambitions of Yiddish cultural life in the aftermath of the Holocaust and invites audiences to consider the enduring power of language to shape identity, memory, and community.
View The Great Dictionary of the Yiddish Language opera trailer here.
The full recording of the event is available to view below.
This event is co-sponsored by the Yiddish Studies Program in the Department of Germanic Languages.