Comedian Harmonists - Best of by Various, Nuo (2023/2024), Opernhaus Düsseldorf, Dusseldorf, Germany

While legions of unemployed singers offered their art for the price of a warm meal in the filthy backyards of the Weimar Republic, golden dreams were sold night after night to millions of people hungry for pleasure in the revue temples on Berlin's Kurfürstendamm. In the glittering, glittering world of the post-war turbulent 1920s, the fame of the Comedian Harmonists shone particularly brightly: Following the example of the American vocal quartet "The Revelers", the six-piece ensemble, led by Ari Leschnikoff, Erich Abraham-Collin, Harry Frommermann, Roman Cycowski and Robert Biberti, delighted audiences and pianist Erwin Bootz with a hitherto unknown mixture of cheeky entertainment hits on the musical pulse of the time and flawless harmony singing. The seizure of power by the National Socialists in 1933 put a dark final chapter under the fairytale story of the half-Jewish formation. All attempts to defy the increasing pressure of political reprisals and build on old successes abroad ultimately failed due to tensions within the group. The Comedian Harmonists split up in 1935, but their music lives on to this day. Under the experienced musical direction of Patrick Francis Chestnut, our top-class ensemble of soloists will present the most popular songs of the Comedian Harmonists in a moderated concert evening.