The work reflects the encounter between Jewish musical tradition, klezmer interpretation, and European modernism from both the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and the 1930s and 1940s, presenting timeless themes of identity, memory, uprooting, and acceptance. It is inspired by Heinrich York-Steiner's short story about Mendel, a klezmer musician whose life is profoundly affected by his encounter with Wagner's opera Lohengrin. The music for this performance – a Singspiel – is original, with references and quotations, and was composed by Evgeni Orkin (born 1977), a member of the performing orchestra.
