Trumbull Opera Singer to Perform Saturday

Cristina DiMuro, an opera singer from Trumbull, will perform in the Connecticut Lyric Opera, "Der Kaiser von Atlantis," staged in Recognition of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

"I have been working hard," said DiMuro, who also teaches singing professionally.

Her new role is part of her residency in CLO's young artist program, adding that it is her first paid opera work. She will be playing "Bubikopf."

The show is second production for the Connecticut Lyric Opera its 2013-14 Season.

"The profoundly moving opera 'Der Kaiser von Atlantis' (The Kaiser of Atlantis) [is] by the Jewish composer Viktor Ullmann who was sent to his death at Auschwitz once the subversive nature of his work was recognized by the Nazis.

Kaiser will be performed throughout the state in late January and February in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Jan. 27.

"Der Kaiser von Atlantis" was created in 1943 at the Theresienstadt concentration camp, the “Artists Camp" that "was used to deceive the Red Cross and the world to show how well the Jews were living under the 'benevolent' protection of the Third Reich," according to a press release.

"SS officers attended a final rehearsal of Kaiser in September 1944 and became outraged by what they saw. They shut down the production and shipped composer Viktor Ullmann, librettist Peter Kien, the entire cast, orchestra, and all their families to Auschwitz for immediate liquidation. Only the composition and several of the singers survived," according to the release.

For tickets, please visit: http://thevirtuosi.ticketleap.com/kaiser/ or call The Virtuosi Box Office at (860) 325-2826. For more information, please visit CLO's website at http://CtLyricOpera.org or call 860-415-6441.

The Plot

"As the opera opens, the characters Harlequin and Death are reflecting on the sorry state of the world when the Drummer-girl arrives with a proclamation from Kaiser Überall declaring total and universal war, pitting everyone against everyone else.

Death is outraged and refuses to cooperate. The Kaiser, who conducts the war through a microphone from his empty palace, learns that despite all the fighting, no one is dying. Hospitals are full of wounded patients who are unable to die.

Prisoners are hanged, but remain alive. A soldier and a girl named Bubikopf from the enemy side meet on the battlefield and, unable to kill each other, fall in love. The Kaiser is appalled. Finally, Death agrees to relieve the human race of its endless pain by going back to work – on condition that the Kaiser be his first victim."