Jewish lives in the history of photography, music, and theatre

Professor Michael Berkowitz鈥檚 research demonstrates the importance of Jewish lives to the histories of creative economies.

12 April 2022

Building on his research into Jewish photographers (including: "脡migr茅 photographers" in Insiders-Outsiders: Refugees from Nazi Europe and their contribution to British visual culture, 2018), Professor Berkowitz produced three stagings of the comic opera, The Tsar Wants His Photograph Taken by Kurt Weill and Georg Kaiser (1928). The stagings were directed by Leo Doulton, with a total audience of 570.听听

Professor Berkowitz鈥檚 research into the Jewish engagement with photographic technology and science, specifically the link between Kodachrome and Jewish musical history (including: 鈥淜odachrome鈥檚 (rather) Jewish musical history鈥� in Colour & Poetry: A Symposium, 2019), served as the main basis for a new musical, Man & God. Written by Doulton and composed by Jacob Dorfman, it was performed as a work-in-progress in York, Leeds, and London in 2019 to a total audience of 140.听

Stimulating wider public engagement听

Media coverage demonstrated how both productions informed a wider public about these obscured aspects of European culture. A substantial 2019 article in the Guardian identified how the revival of The Tsar 鈥渕arks a significant act of defiance against the Nazis, even eight decades after the once-popular comic opera was pulled from the German repertoire by the authorities鈥�, demonstrating new awareness of what the crusade against so-called 鈥榙egenerate鈥� Jewish influence entailed.听听

Professor Berkowitz served as a key consultant for the Wiener Holocaust Library exhibition Berlin-London: The Lost Photographs of Gerty Simon (30 May 鈥� 15 Oct 2019), wrote the Foreword for the exhibition catalogue听and gave a public talk on Simon and other Jewish women photographers. An abridged staging of The Tsar took place in the exhibition space.听

Professor Berkowitz鈥檚 research led to long-term collaboration with the Lithuanian Embassy (London), including concerts and recitals as part of the annual Litvak Days events programme (December 2013鈥擬ay 2020). These events celebrated and explored the culture and memory of the Lithuanian Jewish (鈥楲itvak鈥�) community and each attract audiences of between 60 and 200.听

The performances of both the opera and musical involved 52 performers and creative practitioners in total, broadening their musical experience and fruitfully developing their professional practice. Doulton鈥檚 directorial practice, in particular, has been enhanced by working closely with Professor Berkowitz, calling it 鈥渁 really rewarding creative partnership鈥� that has 鈥渋nfluenced me a lot, particularly in terms of how rigorous I am in researching productions, and going to primary sources rather than other people鈥檚 interpretations of them鈥�.听听

Research synopsis

Enhancing cultural understanding of and raising 鈥楯ewish questions鈥� in the history of photography, music, and theatre through performance and dialogue.听

SUMMARY: Professor Michael Professor Berkowitz鈥檚 research demonstrates the importance of Jewish lives to the histories of creative economies, particularly the integral parts played by migrants and refugees during the first half of the twentieth century to photography, music and theatre. This research has led to the co-development of two stage productions 鈥� a revival of Kurt Weill鈥檚 opera The Tsar Wants His Photograph Taken and a new musical, Man & God 鈥� which have stimulated new interpretations, new works, and new trajectories for creative practitioners. His research has enabled cultural institutions such as the Wiener Holocaust Library and the Lithuanian Embassy to stimulate public engagement with significant historical and cultural issues.听听

Image听

Image credit: Frank Dabba Smith

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