Die wilden Mendelssohns der 1920er

Composition by Josef Piras
with music by Felix Mendelssohn

JEWISH

A new chapter in the German-Jewish history of the Mendelssohn family: the dazzling siblings Francesco and Eleonora von Mendelssohn were notorious in Berlin in the 1920s, embodying the proverbial ‘dance on the volcano’ in the nightlife of the metropolis of Berlin. In extravagant outfits and intoxicated with absinthe, they partied with Max Reinhardt and Gustaf Gründgens - until the National Socialists seized power. Although the family had been converts for generations, the siblings emigrated to America where they met a tragic end.

TODAY

The ‘Golden 20s’ exert a special fascination – from ‘Cabaret’ to ‘Babylon Berlin’, this period continues to inspire creative minds to this day. At the same time, we keep finding parallels to our own time: are we now experiencing the same ‘dance on the volcano’ as 100 years ago?

FOR ALL

In a concert evening with literary texts, we create an exciting, fragmentary biography of the siblings. Anja Signitzer (Ensemble Münchner Kammerspiele) tells of special encounters and special events from Eleonora and Francesco’s lives in the ‘Roaring Twenties’, interwoven with music from Felix Mendelssohn to the 1920s, which the young Munich composer Josef Piras congenially combines into a complete work.

Anja Signitzer

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Sigrid Reinichs

Daniel Grossmann

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Robert Brembeck

Francesco and Eleonora

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