A magnificent song-cycle about love between two cultures against the background of a Nazi concentration camp is to be performed in Sydney.
‘The Ballad of Mauthausen,’ with lyrics by Greek poet Iakovos Kambanellis and music by world-acclaimed Greek composer, Mikis Theodorakis, conveys the love of a Greek prisoner-of-war for a doomed Jewish prisoner in the Nazi slave-labour camp of Mauthausen in Austria.
To be performed at UNSW’s Clancy Auditorium on Sunday, October 30, the unique performance will feature the Australian Hellenic Choir (AHC) and the Sydney Jewish Choral Society (SJCS).
Theodorakis is best known for composing the music of Zorba the Greek and the acclaimed film Z. Both choirs will also perform other significant Greek and Jewish songs.
The event’s MC is Vic Alhadeff, whose background blends the Jewish and Greek cultures. His family
was one of the largest Jewish families on the Greek Island of Rhodes, and 151 Alhadeffs, including his
paternal grandparents, were murdered in the Auschwitz death camp.
“I’m honoured to be involved in this exceptionally moving collaboration of the two communities,” Alhadeff said.
“The music is magnificent and it promises to be a very moving performance.”
Alhadeff is a non-executive Director of SBS. His previous roles include Chair of Multicultural NSW, CEO of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies and Chief Sub-Editor of the anti-apartheid Cape Times in South Africa.
Read the article in The Greek Herald.