“Letters from Ruth” as a moving musical premiere in Gmunden

“I want to live! And leave something behind,” wrote the 13-year-old Ruth Maier in her diary in 1934: “A document that I was there, a great beautiful work.” The latter prepares her, who was murdered nine years later in the Auschwitz concentration camp, the musical Frühling Gmunden on Friday in the Stadttheater with a moving and remarkable premiere: “Letters from Ruth” tells – in cooperation with the New York Opera Society and Capital of Culture Bad Ischl Salzkammergut 2024 – based on her notes from the life of the Vienna-born Jewess (1920-1942). Librettist Aksel-Otto Bull and composer Gisle Kverndokk traveled from Norway. We owe the director and co-director Elisabeth Sikora the German libretto translation and thoughtful words in advance about the value of remembering the victims of National Socialism, which bring to the fore what is subliminally present in the sensitive and coherent staging by director Markus Olzinger, without crushing anyone.

Ruth’s youth is characterized by everyday school life, enthusiastic visits to the theater, but also grief for her father, who died young. In 1938 the 18-year-old experienced the pogrom night, in 1939 she fled to Norway, her love for Gunvor Hofmo (1921-1995) was heaven and hell at the same time.

lust for life and loneliness

The emotional world of a girl or a young woman unfolds in all facets between happiness and desperation, everyday life and a state of emergency. Vocally as well as acting overwhelmingly as “Ruth”, Jasminka Sakr is between heart-warming lust for life and nagging loneliness. Equal to her are Tamara Pascual as her lover Gunvor Hofmo and Michaela Thurner from Gmunden as sister Judith alongside Kudra Owens (mother), Previn Moore (also as countertenor), Yngve Gasoy-Romdal, Lukas Müller, Kun Jing and Konstantin Zander several roles each: an excellent ensemble overall, dressed in a contemporary style by Angelika Pichler. Gisle Kverndokk has created music that is both demanding and accessible, full of warm-hearted melodies that let you wallow in childhood dreams, in swing, in short in klezmer sounds. Dull beats or sharp accents tell of the Nazi horror. An engaging world of sound that unfolds its pull with the ten-piece orchestra under Jürgen Goriup. Three play levels, transparent curtains and screens for projected plays of color and archive images give the small stage (Markus Olzinger) breadth and depth. Standing ovations from the noticeably touched and enthusiastic audience.

Conclusion: A special musical experience with a message, depth and yet lightness.

Until April 23musical-gmunden.com