OSWEGO – Oswego Opera Theater will present the operetta “The Golden Cage” on Saturday evening, November 12 at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday, November 13 at 3:00 p.m. in Waterman Theater, Tyler Hall on the SUNY Oswego campus.
It was written by two of the 982 Holocaust survivors who lived at the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter in Oswego from 1944 to 1946. The composer was Charles Abeles, an Austrian conductor, pianist, and composer, and the librettist was Miriam Sommerburg, a German artist and author.
The purpose of the work was to convince authorities that the refugees could remain in the United States after World War II ended, even though they had promised on their entry applications that they would return to their homelands. The plot is their story – life in Europe, the journey to America, and experiences at the Shelter.
They referred to the shelter as The Golden Cage – a place where all their physical needs were met, but where they lacked their freedom and the opportunity to get on with their lives.
Last performed on New Year’s Eve in 1945 at the Shelter, it was presumed to be lost until a draft of the score was recently discovered in an almost forgotten trunk in the home of the composer’s nephew in Germany. The text was found in a separate document in the United States.
Juan Francisco LaManna, artistic director of Oswego Opera Theater, has ednhanced the score with orchestration and harmonization and will musical direct and conduct the performance along with Director Benjamin Spierman of the Bronx Opera Company. Singers in principal roles will come from New York City. Chorus and children from the Central New York area.
Because the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter was the only such shelter in the United States during World War II and President Roosevelt’s only acknowledgment of the Holocaust, the significance of this operetta goes well beyond the history of Oswego and Central New York, and has national and international implications. This performance will be the final event of the 75th Anniversary Celebration of the arrival of the refugees (August, 1944) held in 2019 at Fort Ontario, just before COVID delayed the production.
Prices are $30 for general admission, $25 for senior citizens, and $10 for students.
Tickets are available at tickets.oswego.edu or by calling 315-312-3073.
Tickets for getting the on-demand recorded performance are available at https://oswegogoldencage.bpt.me
For more information, visit the website: www.oswegooperatheater.com
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