Karel Berman (14 April 1919 in Jindřichův Hradec, Czechoslovakia – 11 August 1995 in Prague, Czech Republic) was a Jewish Czech opera singer,

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and opera director.

Life

After extensive musical education, Karel Berman started his career as a

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

singer of opera in

Opava Opava (; german: Troppau, pl, Opawa) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Opava (river), Opava. Opava is one of the historical centres of Silesia. It was a histori ...

. In March, 1943, Berman was deported to Theresienstadt, where he took part in cultural life as a singer, composer and director. On 11 July 1944, for example, he and Rafael Schächter produced the ''"Four songs to words of Chinese poetry"'' by Pavel Haas for the first time. In 1944 he composed ''Suite Terezin'' in three movements ('Terezin', 'Horror', and 'Alone'); a work which musicologist Bret Web described as "a rare ''in situ'' tone portrait of life in a Nazi camp". Later he was also imprisoned in

Kaufering Kaufering is a municipality in the district of Landsberg in Bavaria in Germany. It lies on the river Lech. During World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted ...

and

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

. He survived the camps and later became famous as an opera singer. In 1953, he joined the Prague National Theatre opera. Berman is also remembered as an opera director, having directed more than 70 operas.Vrkočová, p. 18 He taught at the Prague Conservatory from 1961–71, and from 1964 at the

Academy of Performing Arts in Prague The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague ( cs, Akademie múzických umění v Praze, AMU) is a university in the centre of Prague, Czech Republic, specialising in the study of music, dance, drama, film, television and multi-media. It is the larg ...

Works

* 1944 ''Poupata'' ("Buds") Bass-baritone songs and piano **Majové ráno (

Eva Nonfriedová Eva or EVA may refer to: * Eva (name), a feminine given name Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Eva (Dynamite Entertainment), a comic book character by Dynamite Entertainment * Eva (''Devil May Cry''), Dante's mother in ...

) **Co se děje při probuzení ( Kamil Bednář) **Děti si hrají ( Josef Hora) **Před usnutím č. 1 ( František Halas) **Velikonoční ( František Halas) * 1938 - 1945 ''Reminiscences Suite'' Piano (first published in 2000) *''Terezín Suite'' Piano *''

Broučci ''Broučci'' is a classic children's book by Jan Karafiát (author), Jan Karafiát published in Czech language, Czech in the early 1870s. The title is the Czech word for beetles, and the word is also used for "traditional Czech figures of fairylik ...

'' (" Glow-worms" - after the children's book by Jan Karafiát) Soprano and piano (later made world-famous by Jiří Trnka as a

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...

)

Recordings

*Historical recording opera arias, conducted

František Dyk František () is a masculine given name of Czech origin. It is a cognate of Francis, Francisco, François, and Franz. People with the name include: *Frank Daniel (František Daniel) (1926–1996), Czech film director, producer, and screenwriter ...

Notes

References

* Vrkočová, Ludmila: ''Slovníček hudebních osobností''. 1999. * Herbert Gantschacher ''Viktor Ullmann - Zeuge und Opfer der Apokalypse / Witness and Victim of the Apocalypse / Testimone e vittima dell'Apocalisse / Svědek a oběť apokalypsy / Prič in žrtev apokalipse''. ARBOS-Edition, Arnoldstein - Klagenfurt - Salzburg - Vienna - Prora - Prague 2015, , p. 125, p. 139, p. 271, p. 286

External links

Music and the Holocaust - Karel Berman
holocaustmusic.ort.org; accessed 29 September 2017. 1919 births 1995 deaths 20th-century classical composers Czechoslovak male opera singers 20th-century Czech male opera singers Academics of the Prague Conservatory Academy of Performing Arts in Prague faculty Czech classical composers Czech male classical composers Czech Jews Jewish classical musicians Operatic basses People from Jindřichův Hradec Auschwitz concentration camp survivors Theresienstadt Ghetto survivors Recipients of the Thalia Award {{CzechRepublic-composer-stub