FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 16, 2021
Contact: Mina Miller, Artistic Director; Steve Griggs, Administrator
(206) 365-7770
info@musicofremembrance.org
www.musicofremembrance.org

Music of Remembrance to Stream New Production of Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer’s For a Look or a Touch

SEATTLE, WA—Beginning June 26, Music of Remembrance (MOR) will stream an all-new production of For a Look or a Touch by composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer. The performance was originally scheduled as part of live concerts at Seattle’s Benaroya Hall and San Francisco’s Presidio Theatre. Because of continuing pandemic restrictions, MOR instead created this compelling video production and will make it available around the world on its streaming platform. The performance will be available for on demand access starting June 26. 

The June 26th launch date comes during Pride weekend. For a Look or a Touch was the first and remains the only major musical work to address the Nazi persecution of homosexuals. It tells the story of two idealistic young men whose lives and love were torn apart during the Third Reich. This new production, created and directed by Erich Parce, features rising star baritone Jarrett Ott as Manfred Lewin and the amazing musical actor Curt Branom as Gad Beck. The work takes its title from a provision in the German penal code that made even an affectionate glance or innocent caress a reason for suspicion and arrest. MOR commissioned and premiered For a Look or a Touch in 2007, and since then the work has traveled the world. This production brings it back in an expanded version.

This program is the penultimate performance in Music of Remembrance’s 23^rd season Endurance of Hope, bringing music with messages of strength and perseverance for our troubled time. In July, MOR will stream its performance of another Heggie/Scheer work: Intonations: Songs from the Violins of Hope. "At a time when the pandemic has sent us on a voyage that none of us could have expected,” remarks Artistic Director Miller, “our season’s theme is also one of journeys: journeys in search of safety and freedom, of identity, of hope in the face of daunting odds, and odysseys to new lives in new lands. Remembering these stories strengthens our resolve to prevent human tragedies from happening again.” 

Jake Heggie is one of today’s most important opera composers, with works like Dead Man Walking and Moby-Dick showcased at major opera houses around the world. Librettist Gene Scheer’s words recently touched the hearts of millions when President Biden shared inspiring lines from Scheer’s song “American Anthem” in his inauguration address.

About Music of Remembrance

Now in its 23rd year, MOR remembers the Holocaust through music and honors the resilience of all people excluded or persecuted for their faith, nationality, ethnicity, gender or sexuality. In addition to rediscovering and performing music from the Holocaust, MOR has commissioned and premiered more than 30 new works by some of today’s leading composers, drawing on the Holocaust’s lessons to address urgent questions for our own time. MOR’s stellar ensemble is drawn from the ranks of the Seattle Symphony.

Tickets and more information: www.musicofremembrance.org

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