Briefe von Ruth

Chamber musical in two acts

Libretto by Aksel-Otto Bull and Gisle Kverndokk

German translation by Elisabeth Sikora

Based on Ruth Maier’s Diary: A Jewish Girl’s Life in Nazi Europe (edited by Jan Erik Vold)

Ruth Maier is full of longings and dreams inspired by the vibrant cultural life in her home city, Vienna. To let off steam, she writes letters and a diary, which soon becomes an important part of her life. But it’s the 1930s, and the atrocities committed by the Nazis bring the Jewish girl’s carefree life to an abrupt end. In 1939 she manages to escape to Norway. Although she suffers mental problems, there is a ray of hope in the far north: she finds the love of her life in Gunvor, a girl the same age as her. In 1942 she is deported to Auschwitz and murdered there. Gunvor keeps her girlfriend’s diary which are later published together with the letters she received from her family in Vienna. With his musical, the Norwegian composer Gisle Kverndokk honours the memory of the “Norwegian Anne Frank”, capturing not just Ruth’s boundless lust for life but also her tragic fate. Following its successful world premiere in 2023, Briefe von Ruth (Letters from Ruth) straight away won four accolades at the German Musical Theatre Awards. A moving and thought-provoking work of musical theatre.

In German with German and English surtitles

Introduction to the work 30 minutes before curtain-up

Program and cast

Conductor: Herbert Pichler

Director: Philipp Moschitz

Stage and Video: Matthias Engelmann

Costume: Claudio Pohle

Choreography: Sven Niemeyer

Light: Franz Tscheck

Dramaturgy: Christian Schröder

Ruth Maier: Emily Mrosek

Judith: Julia Bergen

Gunvor Hofmo: Dorothea Maria Müller

Mutter a.o.: Maaike Schuurmans

Hermann Thimig a.o.: Alen Hodzovic

Professor Williger a.o.: Reinwald Kranner

Ensemble: Anna Fleischhacker, Jan-Eike Majert, Christoph Ruda