Mauthausen Trilogy presented by Niki Jacobs at the JxJ festival

Thu, Dec 3 - Thu, Dec 10  2020

Dutch presentations during JxJ Fest

A unique and exclusively recorded performance by Niki Jacobs and animated short film Bear With Me are part of the virtual JxJ Festival, presented by Edlavitch DCJCC in Washington, D.C.

Niki Jacobs—singer, recording artist, and founder of contemporary Dutch music ensemble Nikitov—present the Theodorakis’ Mauthausen Trilogy, sung in Yiddish.

The Trilogy, also known as “The Ballad of Mauthausen” is a cycle of four arias with lyrics based on poems written by Greek poet Iakovos Kambanellis, a Mauthausen concentration camp-survivor, and music written by Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis.

Niki Jacobs and her band transform these songs, rearranging the original into a vivid present-day composition. By using a small acoustic ensemble, and Yiddish lyrics throughout, Jacobs’ interpretation layers an added dimension of heartbreaking beauty to the music—one that underscores the depth of the Trilogy’s story.

Niki Jacobs: vocals/guitar
Ro Krauss: viola/vocals
Peter van Os: accordion
Ruud Breuls: trumpet
Emile Visser: cello

TICKET LINK: JxJDC.org/events/niki-jacobs-presents-the-mauthausen-trilogy/

TRAILER:

Niki Jacobs, singer, recording artist and founder of Nikitov, has been at the cutting edge of Yiddish music for over fifteen years. She has released 4 full-length albums and an EP. Nikitov has played shows all over Europe, including at the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and at the Jewish Festivals in Munich, Vienna and Budapest. In June 2015 she performed at New York’s first international festival of Yiddish arts and culture, KulturfestNYC and returned in 2017 with an extensive tour across the US.

About JxJ Fest:

Presented by the Edlavitch DCJCC, JxJ is a multidisciplinary arts project that encompasses the Washington Jewish Film and Music Festivals, alongside hybrid arts programming.

The public programming of JxJ is split between 8+ weekly programs that take place in Cafritz Hall—a state-of-the-art performance and cinema venue in the Dupont area of Washington, DC—and an annual Festival (May 7-24, 2020) that is presented on stages and screens throughout DC and Maryland.

Between the Festival and year-round programming, JxJ annually attracts 30,000 patrons across 180+ events.

One of the largest and most respected Jewish film festivals in North America, the Washington Jewish Film Festival (WJFF) is an international exhibition of cinema that celebrates the diversity of Jewish history, culture and experience through the moving image. The WJFF is going into its 30th year.

Established in 1999 with a lead gift from the Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation, the Washington Jewish Music Festival (WJMF) promotes a broad appreciation of Jewish culture through presentations of extraordinary performing artists who preserve and invigorate Jewish music in contemporary culture.