Together with pianist Lieselotte van Tol, Emma will present a lecture recital about the history of opera and musical theatre. It includes songs from well-known operas, operettas, and musicals, and invites you to question the genre. Tickets are available at the door.
21st November, 14:00, Pier-K Theatre, Nieuw Vennep, the Netherlands
Chief Rabbi Jacobs in the German War Cemetery. Photo: Ronald Hartsuiker
Every few years, British Remembrance Sunday falls on the same Sunday as the German Volkstrauertag. This is because Volkstrauertag is on the third Sunday of November, and Remembrance Sunday is on the Sunday closest to 11th November.
I first sang at Volkstrauertag on the invitation of British veteran John Sleep. He fought in the Netherlands and was injured by a German tank shell. He was grateful for his injury because he believed it saved his life; he believed he was deliberately injured and not killed.
John died last January aged 100. Had he been alive and able to travel, he would have attended the Volkstrauertag ceremony in Ysselsteyn, the Netherlands, and the ceremony at the Monument of Tolerance, as he did every year.
This year’s ceremony was very confronting. For the first time, the Chief Rabbi of the Netherlands was present. He gave a speech and led the prayers in Hebrew and Dutch.
Surrounded by the graves of 32,000 German soldiers and civilians, and of Dutch collaborators, we prayed for the millions of victims of the Third Reich’s terrible campaign of hatred and discrimination: Jews, Sinti, Roma – victims of some of the very people whose graves surrounded us, victims who have no graves.
Chief Rabbi Jacobs said he felt almost as if he were a traitor by being present at the ceremony, and yet he was grateful to be together with people who are not trying to polish away the past, but working to make it visible and to confront people with and warn them about the consequences of prejudice and hatred.
After the ceremony we had tea in the new visitors centre. I was moved by the warmth of the Rabbi and his wife. And very, very sad to learn about the anti-Semitism that people still face today, in 2021, right here in the Netherlands. There is still much work to be done.
Chief Rabbi Jacob’s speech, in Dutch, is available on his Twitter feed.
Emma was delighted to collaborate with the famous Westlands Male Voice Choir and conductor Hans de Wit and pianist Martin van Broekhoven in a video project organised by Arum Uitvaartzorg.
Thiepval Monument to the Missing
On 11th November, Emma sang for the Royal British Legion’s ceremony of remembrance at the CWGC Memorial to the Missing of the Battle of the Somme in Thiepval, France. This huge edifice has the names of more than 72,000 soldiers who were reported missing during the Battle of the Somme. It has become a place of pilgrimage. Emma led the hymns and anthems, and sang the poignant song “Danny Boy” in which a mother laments that her son has gone away to war and may never return.
On 10th November, Emma will sing during a remembrance ceremony in Arras, France, to commemorate the troops who fought in the Battle of Arras in 1917.
Underneath the beautiful city of Arras there is a network of tunnels over 12 km long, sometimes 20 m deep. Some are natural, others were mined by, amongst others, the New Zealand soldiers during the First World War. Over 20,000 soldiers stayed there in preparation for the Battle of Arras.
Emma will also give a short concert on 11th November for Remembrance Day.
For more information, please click here.
Emma was honoured to sing during the unveiling of a monument Mariapeel, Limburg, the Netherlands.
The monument, which can be seen in the video, commemorates twenty-one young British airmen who died during the Second World War, fighting for the liberation of the Netherlands.
The remains of five different aircraft were found by two local gentlemen who would go for walks in the beautiful nature reserve with their metal detectors. It is thanks to their work and the initiative of the community that the monument exists today.
Emma is delighted to announce she will be recording Dutch composer Jannum Kruidhof‘s setting of the mass for mezzo-soprano and piano, together with pianist David Vaamonde. Kruidhof has a background in classical violin and jazz. His music blends genres seamlessly, creating a musical world that is both refreshingly new and at the same time has comforting, familiar elements. His new setting of the mass is sometimes intimate, sometimes challenging, and very refreshing. Watch this space for more information!