Saltzman’s ‘Geniza: Hidden Fragments’ Set for Performance at Adas Israel Congregation

By David Salazar

Arnold Saltzman’s “Geniza: Hidden Fragments” is set for its second performance on April 23, 2023, at the Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, D.C.

The opera, which premiered on Oct. 13, 2022, at the University of DC Theater of the Arts, will feature Janice Meyerson, Richard Crawley, Claire Galloway, Faith Snyderman, Madison Marie McIntosh,  Derrick Miller, Nathan Letourneau, and Melanie Ashkar. Jeffrey Silberschlag conducts.

“The story also highlights the fact that world scholarship brings together fragments which are dispersed in libraries and that with technology we can piece together a document and possibly a history, or missing link in our story. Mostly, though, the opera is meant to be enjoyed and celebrated which we neglect to do in our concern for the anti-Semitic incidents which claim our attention and increase our anxiety. What we are about is interesting, enjoyable, worthy of study, musical, and historic,” Saltzman told OperaWire.

“It’s a positive work, which embraces this history, the working together of Christian and Jewish Scholars over 125 years ago, the path which Jewish people walk in and which other religions like to walk in and discover. It is a revelation that in 12th century Egypt, Church, Mosque and Synagogue were built near each other and many Jews and synagogues prospered in Egypt even though we say in our prayers daily ‘Thank you for the Exodus from Egypt.'”

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