On January 15, 2025 6:30 p.m. State of the Jews, the first English-language opera about Theodor Herzl premieres at the Temple Emanu-El Streicker Cultural Center, 10 East 66th Street, NYC. The performance, co-produced by American Opera Projects (AOP), is an hour in duration and will be followed by a discussion with creators Alex Weiser and Ben Kaplan.

Tickets are free and can be reserved here.

The production for the Streicker Cultural Center is directed by Omer Ben Seadia and performed by baritone Gideon Dabi as Herzl, mezzo-soprano Kristin Gornstein as Julie, with tenor Andrew Morstein, bass-baritone Hans Tashjian and the Temple Emanu-El choir completing the cast. They will be accompanied by the Orchestra of St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble.

State of the Jews focuses on the last years in the life of Theodor Herzl, the charismatic 19th century Viennese journalist whose advocacy for the establishment of a Jewish state as the solution to anti-Semitism tapped into ancient longings and ignited a mass political movement. The opera interweaves the political turmoil of the time - the rise of nationalist movements that ignited anti-Jewish sentiments and horrors - with the story of his relationship with his wife Julie and the toll his devotion to his political work took on their marriage.

“The questions that plagued Theodor Herzl and his contemporaries remain very much alive for us as Jews living in New York City today” explains composer Alex Weiser. “At a moment when Zionism is being hotly debated in the wake of the October 7 massacre in Israel, how much should our Jewishness define us? What is the best way to fight antisemitism? Where is the future of the Jewish people?”

State of the Jews is co-produced by AOP, a company based in Brooklyn that commissions, develops and produces opera, and is composed by Weiser with a libretto by Ben Kaplan. State of the Jews was first workshopped in AOP's Composers & the Voice training program, 2017-19, where Alex Weiser was a composing fellow.

The performance is one in a series of programs accompanying the Streicker Center’s exhibition, All About Herzl. “Too few people understand the origins of Zionism and we have been honored to help educate the public about Herzl’s bold initiative that allowed Jews to return to our ancestral homeland,” explained Dr. Gady Levy, Executive Director of the Streicker Center.

General Admission tickets are free and can be reserved here.

ABOUT ALEX WEISER

Broad gestures and rich textures are hallmarks of the “compelling” (The New York Times), “deliciously wistful” (San Francisco Classical Voice), music of composer Alex Weiser. Born and raised in New York City, Weiser creates acutely cosmopolitan music combining a deeply felt historical perspective with a vibrant forward-looking creativity hailed as “personal, expressive, and bold” (I Care If You Listen). Weiser’s debut album and all the days were purple, was named a 2020 Pulitzer Prize Finalist and cited as “a meditative and deeply spiritual work whose unexpected musical language is arresting and directly emotional.” Released by Cantaloupe Music in April 2019, the album includes songs in Yiddish and English. Active as an opera composer, Weiser is currently working on two operas. Tevye’s Daughters, written with librettist Stephanie Fleischmann, is a commission from American Lyric Theater. Based on Sholem Aleichem’s iconic Yiddish stories, it explores the tragic death of Tevye’s lesser-known daughter, Shprintse. The opera also traces the lasting impact of Shprintse’s fate on her sisters who are now elderly and living in New York. The Great Dictionary of the Yiddish Language with librettist Ben Kaplan is set in 1950s post-war New York and follows linguist Yudel Mark as he sets out to write the world’s first fully comprehensive Yiddish dictionary — an effort of linguistic preservation, and a memorial to the dead.

Alex Weiser is an alum from the 2017-19 cycle of the Composers & the Voice training program, a competitive biannual fellowship offered to composers, librettists, and composer/librettist teams. Created and led by Composers & the Voice Artistic Director Steven Osgood, the two-year fellowship includes a year of working with the company’s Resident Ensemble of Singers and professional instructors followed by a year of continued promotion and career development through AOP and its strategic partnerships.

ABOUT BEN KAPLAN

Born in Brooklyn, NY, librettist​ Ben Kaplan​ studied literature and theater at Williams College. He currently serves as Director of Education at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, where he directs programs that teach Jewish history and culture to a broad and diverse audience. These programs include the Uriel Weinreich Summer Program in Yiddish Language, Literature, and Culture and the YIVO-Bard Winter Program on Ashkenazi Civilization. As a librettist, he creates historically informed dramatic works that chronicle turning points in history lost to contemporary cultural discourse.

ABOUT THE TEMPLE EMANU-EL STREICKER CENTER

The Temple Emanu-El Streicker Cultural Center is a nexus for all things Jewish, offering a multitude of opportunities to explore the diversity that is Jewish culture and tradition through programs that spark curiosity, feed the intellect and stoke the imagination.

Founded in 1988, American Opera Projects (AOP) has been at the forefront of contemporary opera for over 30 years. The Brooklyn-based producing organization commissions, develops and produces lyric theater projects, trains emerging composers and librettists, and creates personal connections within its community. Its works have received critical acclaim at opera companies and venues around the world, establishing a new musical canon that recognizes the operatic story in every life. AOP further expands the operatic field through its training programs The NYU Opera Lab, in partnership with NYU and for students and alumni in The NYU/Tisch Opera Lab; and Composers & the Voice.

AOP's Composers & the Voice is a two-year, tuition-free fellowship for composers and librettists that provides experience writing for the voice and opera stage. Created and led by Composers & the Voice Artistic Director Steven Osgood, the two-year fellowship includes a year of working with the company’s Resident Ensemble of Singers and professional instructors followed by a year of continued promotion and career development through AOP and its strategic partnerships. Since launching in 2002, and this year in Cycle 12, C&V has fostered the development of over 84 composers & librettists.



For more information, visit: https://www.aopopera.org/composers-voice

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AOP PR DEPT.

email: info@aopopera.org

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AOP’s programs are made possible in part by the Howard Gilman Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc., The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Amphion Foundation, BMI, and the contributions of many individuals.