Please join us for this spectacular two-part program in Schoenberg Hall inaugurating the Milken Center’s three-day conference, “Sonic Representations of Jewishness, Onscreen and Off.”

We begin at 4 PM with the U.S. premiere of Bas-Sheve (1924), a one-act Yiddish-language opera/melodrama by composer Henekh Kon and librettist Moishe Broderzon. Recently rediscovered, completed and orchestrated by distinguished Yiddish experts Diana Matut, Josh Horowitz, and Michael Wex, Bas-Sheve is based on the tragic biblical story of David and Bathsheba. Our concert performance features four vocal soloists, chamber chorus, and a 20-piece orchestra, with projected images accompanying the performance.

Following a dinner break, the program continues with a screening of Freylekhe Kabtsonim (Jolly Paupers), an uproarious 1937 Yiddish-language musical comedy produced by the famed Kinor film studio in Warsaw, featuring Kon’s music, Broderzon’s screenplay, and the legendary comedy duo of Shimon Dzigan and Israel Shumacher.