NEW CHAMBER MUSIC
ABHANDENGEKOMMEN
THE UNDERWATER CABARET
THE DRAMA ONSTAGE AND BEHIND THE CURTAIN
PROJECT
DESCRIPTION
Curt Bloch hid from the Nazis in a crawl space in Enschede, Netherlands for more than two years. His protectors brought sustenance and clothing, as well as - at his request - newspapers, scissors, glue, and pens. With these, Bloch produced 95 issues of a satirical magazine called "The Underwater Cabaret."
Using collage, poetry, and song, Bloch ridiculed the Nazis and their collaborators, twisting their own propaganda against them. Amazingly, all 95 issues of the magazine survived his captivity.
This project juxtaposes the exuberantly defiant cabaret in Bloch's own words, with the drama unfolding "backstage" - the terror of being hunted, the boredom and isolation of being in hiding, an unrequited love with a fellow captive, and the explosion of vindication and joy at the war's end.
Read the New York Times article about Bloch, his magazine, and an exhibition at the Jewish Museum in Berlin.
PROJECT CONSIDERATIONS
Fluid in its productions, this work can be presented as
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a song cycle for one to three singers and piano, lasting up to 60 minutes
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a dramatized song cycle for multiple singers, optional narrator, and flexible orchestration with a duration of up to 60 minutes
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a fully realized production with a running time between 70 - 110 minutes.
Proposed casting for a fully-realized stage production:
CURT in hiding/the Cabaret's writer/composer ………………………… Baritone
OLA in hiding; Curt's love interest/leading lady ………………………. Soprano
BRUNO in hiding; Ola's boyfriend/ Cabaret MC…………………….. Tenor
BERTUS caretaker/Cabaret Stage Manager ……………………………. Bass
ALEIDA caretaker/Cabaret Director ............................................... Mezzo-soprano
Ensemble - SATB (minimum of eight singers), potential for dancers and/or supernumaries.