Hanns Eisler settled in the United States in 1938 after fleeing National Socialism. In the late 1940s, he was interrogated by HUAC and blacklisted. Described as “the Karl Marx of music,” Eisler left the United States in 1948, and eventually settled in East Germany, where he composed the national anthem for the GDR. Hollywood Elegies, a program of compositions by Hanns Eisler presented by Long Beach Opera, reflects on one of the most divisive periods of the Cold War.

Program
Hanns Eisler – Vierzehn Arten den Regen zu beschreiben Op. 70 (Fourteen Ways of Describing the Rain) (1941)
Hanns Eisler – Hollywood Songbook (1943)
Hanns Eisler – Auferstanden aus Ruinen (National Anthem of the GDR) (1949)

About the Long Beach Opera
Founded in 1979, Long Beach Opera is the oldest operatic producing company in the Los Angeles and Orange County metropolitan region. With a repertory of over 100 operas, which includes early and late Baroque works, twentieth-century works, and operas of special interest from the standard repertory, Long Beach Opera is well known for its world, American, and West Coast premieres of new and rare operas. Long Beach Opera’s essential purpose is the advancement of the frontiers of opera, in repertory and in production style.

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Music at the Wende is a free concert series in which esteemed musical organizations present programs inspired by the Wende’s collection and mission. Launched in October 2018, Music at the Wende is thrilled to announce its second season, with concerts from October 2019 through March 2020.

All concerts are free. Concerts begin at 8 p.m. and are preceded by a museum tour and reception at 7 p.m. RSVPs open four weeks prior to each event at 10 a.m.

The concert series is generously supported by the Music at the Wende Donor Group.