For a Look or a Touch was the first and remains the only major musical work to address the Nazi persecution of homosexuals. It tells the story of two idealistic young men whose lives and love were torn apart during the Third Reich. This new production, directed by Erich Parce, features rising star baritone Jarrett Ott as Manfred Lewin and the amazing musical actor Curt Branom as Gad Beck. The work takes its title from a provision in the German penal code that made even an affectionate glance or caress a reason for suspicion and arrest. MOR commissioned and premiered For a Look or a Touch in 2007, and since then the work has traveled the world. This production, especially resonant in June during Pride Month, brings it back in an expanded version.
For a Look or a Touch (2007)
Music by Jake Heggie
Libretto by Gene Scheer
Commissioned by Music of Remembrance
Manfred Lewin - Jarrett Ott, baritone
Gad Beck - Curt Branom, actor
Zart Dombourian-Eby, flute; Laura DeLuca, clarinet;
Mikhail Shmidt, violin; Walter Gray, cello; Jessica Choe, piano
Erich Parce, director
Joseph Mechavich, conductor