Hannah
three-act opera by Leonard Lehrmanon libretto by composer and Orel Odinov
based on Talmudic Chanukah legends
dedicated to Xenia Odinov Protopopescu
premiered in concert May, 1980 at Roadside Theater,
Mannheim-Seckenheim, Germany,
co-sponsored by the Seventh Army Soldiers Chorus,
Heidelberg Music and Theater,
the German-American Institute,
the Society for Christian-Jewish Cooperation,
the Student Association of the University of Heidelberg;
and the Jewish Community of Heidelberg;
the product of extensive research,
the work was written up in a lengthy
article in Jewish Currents, April 1981;
the authenticity of the central legend on which the opera is based
is disputed, but believed to date back at least to the time of Rashi;
broadcast complete by WBAI-FM, Dec. 25, 1989
Program cover (design concept: Karen Campbell)
from 1980 production--
CAST
Nicanor, the hegemon: John Porter
Mattathias, the high priest: Hugh Egerton
Zipporah, Mattathias' wife: Ruth Stotsenberg
Jonathan, their eldest song: Joseph Ilardo
Judah, their second son: Jack Garner
Simon, their youngest son: Joan Miller
Hannah, their daughter: Julie Morgan
Eleazar, their nephew,
--betrothed to Hannah: Charles Osborne
Dinah, their niece, Eleazar's sister,
--betrothed to Jonathan: Elizabeth Kimery
Bridesmaids: Kay Lovins, Linnie Garner-Mower,
--Mary McConnell, Ruth Weiershaeuser
Chorus: Kay Lovins, Biola Muniz,
--Ingrid Eppelsheimer, Ruth Weiershauser,
--Mark Hawley, Jerry Ahern,
--Russ McConnell (Director, 33rd Army Band)
Accompanist: Elaine Stelter
Conducted by the Composer
Hannah, the daughter of the high priest, Mattathias,
is told she will have to spend her wedding night with
the local overlord, Nicanor, as per the local custom.
In protest against this, at her wedding ceremony,
she tears off all her clothes. This shames her father
and her brothers into taking action against the oppressive regime.
Nicanor is killed, but so is Hannah's beloved Eleazar.
In the final scene, Hannah prophesies that her youngest brother Simon
will be the sole survivor of the Civil War she has unintentionally ignited.
He promises to remember her, "by lighting the earth with candles."
The Act I chorus, "May the Words," has been elaborated on
and incorporated into Lehrman's Friday Evening Service (1996).
The Act II Wedding Fugue,
"Blessed Be He That Cometh in the Name of the Lord,"
has been performed on various occasions, including weddings,
ecumenical Thanksgiving services, and Palm Sunday.
The Consolation Duet and the Love Duet from Act I Scene 2
have been performed on numerous duet concerts.
The Hannah-Zipporah Duet, also from Act I Scene 2,
was performed by Helene Williams & Susan Blake
at Queens College and NYU, in memory of Morris Schappes.