Only recently did the operatic adaptation of Angels in America, the important and very Jewish play, run in New York. So it got us thinking, what are other Jewish operas?

There are plenty about Biblical characters, usually written by non-Jewish artists from gentile perspectives. And plenty of operas have a Jewish character here or there, sometimes as a pretty unfortunate stereotype (it’s bound to happen with an art form that’s centuries old). There are several operatic adaptations of The Merchant of Venice alone. Then there’s the singular example of The Death of Klinghoffer, which Lord knows has drawn a lot of attention for its depiction of a real fatal terrorist attack against a Jewish man.

But here are a few honest-to-God operas with Jewish characters, some, we confess, still more likable than others. There are more where these come from, but this is a good list of five that are of at least some prominence:

1. Nabucco is perhaps the highest-profile work on this list, since its composer is Giuseppe Verdi (the librettist is Temistocle Solera). also perhaps best known for its “Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves.” The title refers to Nebuchadnezzar, as in, the Babylonian king, and it’s about the destruction of the Temple and birth of the Jewish Diaspora. Are the Jews clearly written by people who had very little understanding of what it means to be Jewish? Sure, but they are the heroes, and the score is great.

2. Harvey Milk is a 1995 opera composed by Stewart Wallace, with a libretto by Jewish writer Michael Korie. Yes, it’s a bio-musical of the Jewish LGBT activist, over a decade before the film of Milk’s life.

3. Jerry Springer: The Opera isn’t much Jewish in content; it’s about themes of sin and redemption, and Jesus even puts in an appearance. But it is a freewheeling critique of Springer’s infamous TV show, with Jerry as the central figure. (Um, spoiler alert, though: He dies at the end. And the real Springer actually attended a performance!)

In an amazing coincidence, off-Broadway’s New Group just announced that it’s producing this opera next season, but in the meantime, you can watch the whole thing online!

4. The Dybbuk. Yes, there is an opera version of the S.Y. Ansky tale of Jewish demonic possession. It premiered in 1951, composed and written respectively by brothers David and Alex Tamkin.

5. La Juive means “The Jew[ess]” in French, and even though it debuted in 1835, it’s actually an opera by a Jewish composer, Fromental Halévy (though the librettist, Eugène Scribe, was not). The story of a doomed interfaith love is a general condemnation of anti-Semitism. Not bad considering that Jews had relatively recently been emancipated in France.

Image via Wikimedia.

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All aboard the USS Harvey Milk.

Well, U.S. Navy personnel aboard. This is more major than some cruise vessel; the navy has announced its intention to name a ship after the politician and gay rights icon.

It’s been five years since the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and nearly that entire time Californians (the state where this oiler will be built, and where Milk spent much of his life) have pushed for a ship named for Milk.

Although Milk was murdered in his forties, he had a life with so many chapters that some have been largely forgotten. Beginning in the Korean War, he served in the navy from 1951 to 1955, decades before coming to national prominence. During this time in his early twenties, he served on a submarine rescue ship, where he earned the rank of lieutenant, junior grade.

Beyond this, in addition to being a politician and a small business owner, he held various other jobs; for example, in my family we always discussed that he was a teacher at my mother’s High School (before she attended).

Milk served in the navy not only at a time when queer service-people were forced to remain silent about their orientation, but when the military had an explicitly anti-homosexual agenda. It’s vindicating that now a navy ship will bear the name of a veteran who only after his service could come out and become a gay rights leader.

See? When you let an official naval body name a vessel, sometimes you can get something almost as great as Boaty McBoatface (almost). The next step should be to name a star after Milk and have him join the list of other great Jews with celestial namesakes.

Images: Harvey Milk in naval uniform

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Apparently, today is #HeterosexualPrideDay, because people who aren’t marginalized for their sexual identity feel left out during the one time of year designated for LGBT minorities, particularly in the aftermath of a violent hate crimes that killed dozens because they were queer.

But, you know, they didn’t get a parade, which is a bummer.

So an obvious way to celebrate would be a list of some amazing non-straight Jewish figures, but it’s really difficult to just pick a few: After all, Jews are more likely than Christians to identify as gay.

Even so, let’s narrow it down to a few famous Jews who would be BANNED FROM PARTICIPATING in Heterosexual Pride Day. Let’s try a few who had something particular to say about being a minority:

1. Lesley Gore— The late, great, pop singer-songwriter came out as a lesbian later in life only because she hadn’t really bothered to do so before; her loved ones had known for ages:

“Well, there were was very little acceptance of gay people. I think the record industry, by and large what’s left of it, is still totally homophobic… It’s always been a patriarchal situation, and it always puts women, not necessarily down, but certainly on a lower rung.”

2. Barney Frank— The congressman is one of the most politically powerful LGBT people in the country, and he came out in 1987, certainly not an easy time to publicly identify as gay:

“I’m used to being in the minority. I’m a left-handed gay Jew. I’ve never felt, automatically, a member of any majority.”

3. Harvey Milk—The politician, gay rights activist, and all-around trailblazer addressed during his life the very-real possibility that he could be assassinated for his identity, and ultimately, he was, but it never stopped him:

“Coming out is the most political thing you can do.”

4. Tony Kushner— The great playwright often writes queer themes into his work, and has never shied away from the political:

“If you’re gay and you can’t hold hands, or you’re black and you can’t catch a taxi, or you’re a woman and you can’t go into the park, you are aware there’s a menace. That’s costly on a psychic level. The world should be striving to make all its members secure.”

5.Peaches— born Merrill Beth Nisker, the raunchy musician tends to refuse most labels, identifies as queer, and often speaks her mind about LGBT rights:

“Gay men and gay women have to question standards and authorities in themselves right away when they realize, ‘Oh my God. Everything I see around me is directed towards boy-meets-girl, girl-meets-boy.’ And women do a lot of questioning because we have been so sexualized throughout the years, so now we are totally on top.”

And a very happy Heterosexual Pride Day to you, too!

Image credit: Wikipedia, YouTube, and Mike Lecht via Flickr

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Harvey Milk, the gay activist and pioneering politician who was killed just 11 months into his term on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, would have turned 84 today. To honor his legacy, the United States Postal Service has released a 49 cent “Forever” stamp designed by Antonia Alcalá (you can buy it here).

Milk was born in Woodmere, New York, to a family of Lithuanian Jewish descent. (His grandfather Morris Milk helped found the first synagogue in their neighborhood.) He worked in finance in New York City for many years, and though he had romantic relationships and was at ease with his sexuality, he wasn’t publicly out or active in the gay community until he moved to San Francisco in his early 40s.

In the Castro, the gay neighborhood of the city, he opened a camera store with his partner Scott Smith and became a fixture in the local community—endearing himself to many, antagonizing others (he was seen as a political upstart), and ultimately becoming known as the unofficial “Mayor of Castro Street.” He was a naturally gifted organizer and politician, forming alliances and brokering deals with teamsters, firefighters, construction workers, and small business owners.

In 1978, Milk made history as the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California, but he was tragically murdered on November 27 by political rival Dan White (Mayor George Moscone was also killed). His legacy, however, lives on: in film, opera, education, and through the work of the Harvey Milk Foundation.

Milk was a vociferous advocate of being publicly gay at a time when doing so often meant being socially ostracized. His chutzpah gave others the courage to come out, which in turn helped to break down the stigma associated with homosexuality. In 1978, he said:

“I cannot prevent anyone from getting angry, or mad, or frustrated. I can only hope that they’ll turn that anger and frustration and madness into something positive, so that two, three, four, five hundred will step forward, so the gay doctors will come out, the gay lawyers, the gay judges, gay bankers, gay architects … I hope that every professional gay will say ‘enough’, come forward and tell everybody, wear a sign, let the world know. Maybe that will help.”

Amen!

Celebrate Milk’s life by watching the terrific Oscar-winning documentary, The Times of Harvey Milk:

http://youtu.be/4HfrAyS65pI

Image: United States Postal Service

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