Two Remain (Out of Darkness)

Chicago Fringe Opera, 2022

An opera in two acts

Music by Jake Heggie

Libretto by Gene Scheer

Co-directed by Sophia Sinsheimer and Derek Van Barham

Photographed by Vin Reed

Act 1 Directed by Sophia Sinsheimer

Featuring Clarissa Parrish Short, Anna Caldwell, Bridget Skaggs, Lauren Ingebritsen, Alex Salas, Liz Shuman

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Synopsis

Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer’s latest collaboration is based on the true stories of two Holocaust survivors: Krystyna Zywulska and Gad Beck.

Her Jewish identity hidden, Krystyna was a political prisoner held at Auschwitz. In secret, she composed lyrics to inspire fellow prisoners to survive, even as she carried out her harrowing job in the Effektenkammer: cataloging the personal effects of thousands of people before they were murdered in the gas chambers. Many years after the war, a journalists asks Krystyna to record her stories. In doing so, Krystyna is helped by the ghosts of her past: Zosia, Edka, Mariola, and her younger self, Krysia.

Gad Beck’s first true love was the poet Manfred Lewin, who was 19 when he and his family were murdered in Auschwitz. In the years following the war, Gad tried his best to forget what happened, but kept a book of Manfred’s poems. As an old man, he is visited by Manfred’s ghost. When Manfred implores Gad to remember and celebrate their love, the painful conclusion of their stories and fates emerges.