Curator's Pick: Gimpel the Fool by David Schiff
Gershwin and Goldfaden meet (musically, at least) in David Schiff's opera, Gimpel the Fool. Based on a story by Isaac Bashevis Singer, Gimpel the Fool is a parable about the true believer who appears foolish in the eyes of the world. The opera showcases Schiff's ability to combine modern compositional techniques with tuneful melodies and lilting rhythms--as well as his ingenious use of traditional folk and religious motifs. Listen for Unter Yankele’s Vigele (the lullaby that inspired Avrom Goldfalden’s famous Yiddish theater song Rozhinkes mit mandlen) and the plaintive melody of Gershwin's second piano prelude.
