MEMETERIA by Thomas May

Aaron Zigman’s Émigré is a 90-minute oratorio that tells the story of refugees finding a home and community in Shanghai; the libretto is by Mark Campbell. On Friday 17 November, Long Yu and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, along with musicians from the New York Philharmonic, will give the world premiere at the Jaguar Shanghai Symphony Hall.

In the late 1930s, Jewish refugees escaping Nazi Germany found a home and a community in Shanghai, China — one of only two countries in the world that would accept them. While Shanghai had previously served as a haven for Jews escaping persecution, the many refugees who fled to the city directly after Kristallnacht arrived on the shores of a country affected by the occupation of Japan and the atrocities of the Nanjing Massacre committed less than a year before.

This moment in history is the backdrop of Émigré, an oratorio in two acts that dramatizes the experiences of two Jewish brothers who arrive in Shanghai as refugees in 1938. As the young men navigate their new life, bonds are formed between the Jewish and Shanghainese communities that test the social boundaries and traditional ideas of both. Émigré reaches its tragic conclusion in a love story that mirrors the larger world, its message emerges: that our survival as a race depends on diverse communities learning to embrace our shared humanity. See detailed synopsis below.)

Commissioned by Long Yu, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic, Émigré calls for nearly 150 musicians, including members of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic Chorus, and Lanzhou Concert Hall Choir, as well as seven soloists. The solo parts will be sung by Matthew White, Arnold Livingston Geis, Huiling Zhu, Meigui Zhang, Shenyang, Diana Newman, and Andrew Dwan. The Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and Long Yu will also record the oratorio for Deutsche Grammophon, with a release date scheduled in 2024.  The New York Philharmonic will give the US premiere of Émigré on 29 February 2024.

Long Yu, Music Director of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, said: “Émigré will shed light on humanity and provide a valuable lesson to us through the immense kindness and tolerance this city once released in history. From working on the draft idea to finally premiering the work this week, this new production has been carefully crafted over four years. We have musicians of different races and beliefs gathered in Shanghai to collaborate on the stage, and the piece will be performed by other orchestras in years to come, further conveying this message of love and hope to the world. This is the power of art.”

Aaron Zigman is a classically-trained American composer who has written scores for films and TV shows including The Notebook, Wakefield, Bridge to Terabithia, and the Sex & The City franchise whilst also writing, arranging and producing songs for top recording artists such as Ray Charles, Sting, Tina Turner, Seal, and more. Zigman has also composed a number of chamber, orchestral, and vocal works. His -award-winning Tango Manos has been touring the world with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet.

Mark Campbell is a Pulitzer Prize-winning librettist who has created 40 opera librettos alongside lyrics for 7 musicals and the text for 9 song cycles and 4 oratorios. The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, an opera featuring libretto by Campbell, received a 2018 GRAMMY Award for Best Opera Recording. 

Synopsis of Émigré

Act One

Two brothers—Josef and Otto Bader—have escaped Nazi Germany in 1938 and arrive at Shanghai harbour on a ship with other Jewish refugees. They express their sorrow at having to suddenly leave their parents and their homeland but find hope as they approach the city that has welcomed them. Josef, a medical doctor, urges Otto, a rabbinical student, to look ahead to their new life in Shanghai.

Several weeks later, Josef seeks to expand his knowledge of Eastern medicine and visits Wei Song’s herbal medicine shop where he meets two sisters, Lina and Li Song. Josef and Lina immediately feel an attraction to each other, but their flirtation is interrupted by the sudden entrance of Wei, the sisters’ father, who has been attacked by soldiers. Wei rails against the devastating effects of the Japanese occupation of his beloved Shanghai.

Yaakov, a rabbi and Josef and Otto’s uncle, leads a class, including Otto, in a lesson at the yeshiva. After the lesson is done, Tovah, a woman who volunteers at the yeshiva, engages in a conversation with Otto. Otto reveals his anguish at the disappearance of his parents in Germany. Tovah invites him to the Jewish Relief Fund dance and attempts to cheer him by musing on what the world might be like if women were allowed to be in power.

A few months later, while lighting candles at Longhua Temple, Lina and Josef discover parallels between their lives and cultures, deepening their relationship. Otto and Tovah attend the Jewish Relief Dance when Josef and Lina enter as a couple. Wei enters looking for his daughter and both he and Otto assail them for crossing cultural lines. Tovah, Lina and Josef counter their attack by asking for tolerance. As the argument escalates, Japanese soldiers enter the dance hall and announce that members of the Jewish community are to move to the Hongkew District in Shanghai.

Act Two

As Tovah, Otto and Yaakov move from the yeshiva and Lina and Josef look for a place to take them in, all affirm their need to hold on to hope. Josef and Lina visit the Song household and Josef asks Wei for his daughter’s hand in marriage. Wei angrily refuses and Josef leaves. Lina ardently expresses her love for Josef, then defies her father and runs after her fiancé.

Josef and Line are married and attempt to return to the Song home, but Wei shuts them out. Li implores her father to reconsider and both she and Wei go outside to search for Lina. Not long after, Josef and Lina appeal to Otto and Yaakov to shelter them at the yeshiva, but they refuse. After they leave, Tovah argues with Otto and runs into the street. A bomb explodes.

Several months later, Otto mourns the death of Tovah and Wei laments that of Li, both of whom died in the bombing. With Josef, Lina and Yaakov, they vow to preserve the memory of the two women and live in hope again.

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