STATE OF THE JEWS
STAte of the jews
Composed by alex weiser
libretto by ben kaplan
The first English opera about Theodor Herzl, State of the Jews interweaves the political turmoil of turn-of-the-twentieth-century Europe with the relatively unknown story of Theodor’s marriage.
Featuring Gideon Dabi as Theodor Herzl, Kristin Gornstein as Julie Herzl, Hans Tashjian, Andrew Morstein, and the chorus Temple Emanu-El, accompanied by the Orchestra of St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble conducted by Emily Senturia. Directed by Omer Ben Seadia with production and lighting design by Joe Beumer and costume design by Barbara Erin Delo. Presented in partnership with The Streicker Center.
CREATORS
Born and raised in New York City, Alex 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
Composer
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.
Ben Kaplan
Librettist
partner
The 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.
Watch the recorded livestream of State of the Jews:
Cast
Kristin Gornstein as Julie Herzl
Praised as “a fine actress with a deep, spacious sound” [Parterre], American mezzo-soprano Kristin Gornstein brings her “rich-voiced mezzo-soprano” and “lines of an uncannily silky legato” [New York Times] to her work, ranging from the traditional to the edgy and imaginative. In the fall of 2022 she made her Lincoln Center debut in the China Now Music Festival, singing the role of Wang Sheng in the US premiere of the opera Painted Skin. Recent performances include the title role in Dido and Aeneas with Opera Fort Collins, Marte in Torrejón y Velasco’s La púrpura de la rosa with the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado, and Tonia Ko’s Smoke and Distance with the Brooklyn Art Song Society. In previous seasons she portrayed Ramiro in Mozart’s La finta giardiniera in a co-production by On Site Opera and Atlanta Opera, and performed in the ensemble of Michael Gordon and Deborah Artman’s groundbreaking opera Acquanetta, both in the world premiere at the Prototype Festival and at Bard Summerscape. She has toured with Mark Morris Dance Company’s acclaimed production of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, and appeared at Lincoln Center with the New York Philharmonic for Honegger’s Jean D’Arc au Bûcher. Visit her at www.kristingornstein.com
Andrew Morstein
In the 2024-2025 season, Andrew performs Florindo in Mascagni’s Le maschere in his return to Wexford Opera Festival, Lindoro in L’Italiana in Algeri with Opera in the Heights and Anchorage Opera and in concert, Mozart’s Requiem with Boise Philharmonic, as well as a return to Pensacola Opera for a recital as part of their Opera After Dark series.
In 2023-2024, Andrew performed the role of Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville with Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Serge in Erlanger’s L’Aube rouge at the Wexford Opera Festival in Ireland, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor with Pensacola Opera, and with Chicago Opera Theater, performed the roles of Pyotr Fyodorovich/7th Man/7th Student in The Nose and sang the tenor solo in Carmina Burana with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Xian Zhang.
Gideon Dabi as Theodor Herzl
Baritone Gideon Dabi continues to receive great acclaim delivering “powerfully felt, beautifully performed and articulated” performances across a wide array of genres and styles. His “earnest interpretations” have thrilled audiences throughout the United States, to Israel, Italy, and back again. Last season, Gideon sang Dandini in La Cenerentola with Opera Columbus as well as the studio recording of Gerald Cohen’s Steal a Pencil For Me, which he premiered with Opera Colorado, and he made his debut with Jerusalem Opera in Ahran Harlap’s Therese Raquin. In 2021, Gideon made his company and role debut with the Northern Lights Music Festival as Dandini , repeated the role in his company debut with Annapolis Opera, and was a featured singer on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. In the 2018-19 Season, he returned to The Dallas Opera as Schaunard in La bohème, following his debut with the company in Carmen. He has spent multiple seasons with Sarasota Opera where he has been heard as Dr. Malatesta in Don Pasquale and as Schaunard.
Hans Tashjian
Hans Tashjian, a bass-baritone whose voice has been described as “rumbling and sumptuously lush,” and “hauntingly striking,” recently made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera singing Count Ceprano in Rigoletto. He also recently appeared with Salt Marsh Opera as Le Fateuil and L’arbre in L’enfant et les sortilège, Opera Baltimore as Méphistophélès in Faust, Teatro Nuovo as Callistene in Poliuto and the title role in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as Bartolo in The Barber of Seville, Houston Grand Opera as Billy in the world premiere of The Snowy Day, and Opera Essentia as the title role in Imeneo and Zoroastro in Orlando. Equally at home on the concert/artsong stage, Hans recently sang with the Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival where he was praised for his “luminous,” and “otherworldly,” performance, appeared with Connecticut Choral Society as a bass soloist in Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers, presented the world premier of the formidable song cycle Paradoxides for composer John Sichel, and will present Mussorgsky’s Songs and Dances of Death next fall with pianist Anna Keiserman. Other upcoming performances include Hercules in Handel’s Admeto with Opera Essentia. Mr. Tashjian is an alumnus of the Yale School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, and Carnegie Mellon University.
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PRESS
Selected press about State of the Jews:
The Forward | New Opera About Theodor Herzl Explores His Complex Nature
The New York Jewish Week | A N.Y.C. Opera Will Give Herzl’s Wife A Star Turn
Jewish Journal | A Glimpse of Zion
Information
Duration 70' / no intermission
Commission State of the Jews received development workshops and support from AOP’s Composers & the Voice program with support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, as well as a Grants for Arts Projects from the National Endowment for the Arts, in addition to semi-staged preview performances at the 14th Street Y in NYC.
Premiere January 15, 2025; the Temple Emanu-El Streicker Cultural Center, New York, NY; American Opera Projects; Emily Senturia, conductor; Omer Ben Seadia, director.
Roles 4 singers (1 mezzo-soprano, 1 tenor, 1 baritone, 1 bass-baritone) ; choir (8 singer minimum)
Instrumentation Clarinet, String Quintet, Piano