Opera Orlando is proud to present the Florida premiere of Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezín, a concert-drama that combines the magnificent music of Verdi’s Requiem with video testimony from survivors of the original Terezín chorus and footage from the 1944 Nazi propaganda film about Theresienstadt. The work tells the story of the courageous Jewish prisoners in the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp (Terezín) during World War II who performed Verdi’s Requiem while experiencing the horrors of the concentration camps. With only a single score, they performed the celebrated oratorio sixteen times amidst the most horrendous of conditions.

In addition to a full orchestra, and 120 member chorus, the work also weaves in actors who speak the words of imprisoned conductor Rafael Schächter who organized the performances in the camp and others. The piece was conceived and created by The Defiant Requiem Foundation president Murry Sidlin, who will be on stage conducting the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, the Opera Orlando Chorus, and members of Orlando Sings.

This work is presented in partnership and with permission from The Defiant Requiem Foundation and serves as a benefit concert for the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida.

Coverini will be performing as part of the chorus.

Tickets can be found online at https://www.drphillipscenter.org/events/tickets/2024/defiant-requiem-verdi-at-terezin/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw2Je1BhAgEiwAp3KY76_ANM2Yvv29Udua5TJdwU2iNx96DiNTPRAt5nYAS1tvsyVWhCU9mxoCpwsQAvD_BwE or get them at the door!

The performance will be held at The Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Steinmetz Hall | Orlando, FL