Karel Berman (14 April 1919 in

Jindřichův Hradec Jindřichův Hradec (; german: Neuhaus) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 21,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument rese ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

– 11 August 1995 in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

) was a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

singer, composer and opera director.

Life

After extensive musical education, Karel Berman started his career as a bass singer of opera in

Opava Opava (; german: Troppau, pl, Opawa) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Opava. Opava is one of the historical centres of Silesia. It was a historical capital of ...

. In March, 1943, Berman was deported to

Theresienstadt Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination ca ...

, where he took part in cultural life as a singer, composer and director. On 11 July 1944, for example, he and

Rafael Schächter Rafael Schächter (born 25 May 1905, died on the death march during the evacuation of Auschwitz in 1945), was a Czechoslovak composer, pianist and conductor of Jewish origin, organizer of cultural life in Terezín concentration camp. Life ...

produced the ''"Four songs to words of Chinese poetry"'' by

Pavel Haas Pavel Haas (21 June 189917 October 1944) was a Czech composer who was murdered during the Holocaust. He was an exponent of Leoš Janáček's school of composition, and also utilized elements of folk music and jazz. Although his output was not la ...

for the first time. In 1944 he composed ''Suite Terezin'' in three movements ('Terezin', 'Horror', and 'Alone'); a work which musicologist Bret Web described as "a rare ''in situ'' tone portrait of life in a Nazi camp". Later he was also imprisoned in Kaufering and Auschwitz. He survived the camps and later became famous as an opera singer. In 1953, he joined the

Prague National Theatre The National Theatre ( cs, Národní divadlo) in Prague is known as the alma mater of Czech opera, and as the national monument of Czech history and art. The National Theatre belongs to the most important Czech cultural institutions, with a ri ...

opera. Berman is also remembered as an opera director, having directed more than 70 operas.Vrkočová, p. 18 He taught at the

Prague Conservatory The Prague Conservatory or Prague Conservatoire ( cs, Pražská konzervatoř) is a music school in Prague, Czech Republic, founded in 1808. Currently, Prague Conservatory offers four or six year study courses, which can be compared to the level ...

from 1961–71, and from 1964 at the

Academy of Performing Arts in Prague The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague ( cs, Akademie múzických umění v Praze, AMU) is a university in the centre of Prague, Czech Republic, specialising in the study of music, dance, drama, film, television and multi-media. It is the larg ...

Works

* 1944 ''Poupata'' ("Buds") Bass-baritone songs and piano **Majové ráno ( Eva Nonfriedová) **Co se děje při probuzení (

Kamil Bednář Kamil Bednář (4 July 1912 – 23 May 1972), also known by his pen name "Prokop Kouba", was a Czechoslovak poet, translator, prose writer, dramatist and publishing house editor. Life Bednář was born in Prague. After 1931, he studied law, and t ...

) **Děti si hrají (

Josef Hora Josef Hora (8 July 1891 – 21 June 1945) was a Czechoslovak poet, literary critic and journalist. Biography Early life Josef Hora was born in Dobříň, Litoměřice District, Bohemia in a farmstead, which now houses the Museum of Josef Hora. ...

) **Před usnutím č. 1 (

František Halas František Halas (3 October 1901 in Brno – 27 October 1949 in Prague) was one of the most significant Czech lyric poets of the 20th century, an essayist, and a translator. Life Born as the son of textile worker, Halas worked as bookseller ...

) **Velikonoční (

) * 1938 - 1945 ''Reminiscences Suite'' Piano (first published in 2000) *''Terezín Suite'' Piano *'' Broučci'' ("

Glow-worm Glowworm or glow-worm is the common name for various groups of insect larvae and adult larviform females that glow through bioluminescence. They include the European common glow-worm and other members of the Lampyridae, but bioluminescence also ...

s" - after the children's book by Jan Karafiát) Soprano and piano (later made world-famous by

Jiří Trnka Jiří Trnka (; 24 February 1912 – 30 December 1969) was a Czech puppet-maker, illustrator, motion-picture animator and film director. In addition to his extensive career as an illustrator, especially of children's books, he is best kn ...

as a cartoon)

Recordings

*Historical recording opera arias, conducted František Dyk

Notes

References

* Vrkočová, Ludmila: ''Slovníček hudebních osobností''. 1999. *

Herbert Gantschacher Herbert Gantschacher (born December 2, 1956, at Waiern in Feldkirchen in Kärnten, Carinthia, Austria) is an Austrian director and producer and writer. Education 1976 Gantschacher graduated on the second school in Klagenfurt. From 1977 to 19 ...

''Viktor Ullmann - Zeuge und Opfer der Apokalypse / Witness and Victim of the Apocalypse / Testimone e vittima dell'Apocalisse / Svědek a oběť apokalypsy / Prič in žrtev apokalipse''. ARBOS-Edition, Arnoldstein - Klagenfurt - Salzburg - Vienna - Prora - Prague 2015, , p. 125, p. 139, p. 271, p. 286

External links

Music and the Holocaust - Karel Berman
holocaustmusic.ort.org; accessed 29 September 2017. 1919 births 1995 deaths 20th-century classical composers Czechoslovak male opera singers 20th-century Czech male opera singers Academics of the Prague Conservatory Academy of Performing Arts in Prague faculty Czech classical composers Czech male classical composers Czech Jews Jewish classical musicians Operatic basses People from Jindřichův Hradec Auschwitz concentration camp survivors Theresienstadt Ghetto survivors Recipients of the Thalia Award {{CzechRepublic-composer-stub