Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezín

About

This production of Verdi's Requiem is presented by the Defiant Requiem Foundation. It is typically performed as 'The Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezín', a concert drama that tells the story of the courageous Jewish prisoners in the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp during World War II who performed Verdi’s Requiem while facing the depths of human degradation. The performance serves as a memorial to those prisoners, using the power of music to highlight themes of resistance and the human spirit. It often incorporates video testimony from survivors and segments of Nazi propaganda films to provide historical context to the musical performance. In the Amsterdam iterations, the production featured tenor Leonardo Capalbo as soloist, conducted by Murray Sidlin, founder of the Defiant Requiem Foundation and creator of this concert format.