Viktor Ullmann's Terezín Lieder: A Performance Guide to Songs for Soprano or High Voice is, as the title states, a detailed guide of nine songs composed while Ullmann was imprisoned in the Terezín Ghetto from 1942-1944. This dissertation also proves that although he was incarcerated in terrible and inhumane conditions, Ullmann, among others, was able to compose music highly artistic in style and value. The songs and sets included in this document are "Wendla im Garten" (1918/1943), Hölderlin Lieder (1943/1944), Lieder der Tröstung (1943), and Drei jiddische Lieder/Březulinka Op. 53 (1944). Included is the history of Terezín before and during World War II, the camp's musical output, and a concise biographical background of Viktor Ullmann's life. A brief biography of each poet or writer (Frank Wedekind, Friedrich Hölderlin, Albert Steffen, David Einhorn, and Zalman Shneour) is given along with a discussion as to why Ullmann chose particular poems and prose. The importance anthroposophy had on his life and his musical output is also explored. The original text of each poem or prose is given with a poetic translation. In addition, the texts presented in Ullmann's scores are provided with a word for word translation and International Phonetic Alphabet pronunciation guide. A style guide to various elements - e.g. melody, harmony, range, accompaniment, etc. - in each song is also provided in hopes of allowing these songs to be more approachable and accessible. Finally, lists of various foundations dedicated to the life and music of Viktor Ullmann and the Holocaust, as well as Ullmann lieder scores and recordings are provided.

Viktor Ullmann’s opera Der Kaiser von Atlantis, composed in the Theresienstadt concentration camp in 1943-44, has received regular performances since its belated first performance in 1975. Research on this opera has largely been restricted to the confines of Theresienstadt, with limited connections made to the outside world. Nevertheless, when Ullmann’s work is viewed within the artistically evolving context of the interwar period – a formative era in Ullmann’s life – new light is shed on his artistic achievements. This era of change between 1919 and 1930 gave rise to new artistic movements such as Neue Sachlichkeit and produced the genres of Zeitoper, Brechtian Epic Theatre,” and Kabarett. Artists of staged works used their artistic freedom to challenge audiences, most obviously with techniques such as Bertolt Brecht’s “Verfremdungseffekt.” In the freedom of the newly established Republics, political commentary and the representation of contemporary life became the source material for libretti. It is within this era that we find the inspiration and source of Ullmann’s representation of Theresienstadt within Der Kaiser von Atlantis. Indeed, examining the opera within the context of the interwar period expands many elements beyond the representation of Theresienstadt. By investigating the inherent symbolisms within the opera to the spirit of the new Republics, we can re-contextualize the modest but growing place Der Kaiser von Atlantis holds in the operatic repertoire. For it is only by combining these two radically contrasting worlds – the freedoms associated with the artistic experiments in liberal democracy typical of the interwar period and the restrictions of detention in Theresienstadt at the hands of the National Socialists – that a robust understanding of the mastery of defiance and irony that is Der Kaiser von Atlantis becomes possible. / Graduate / 0413 / mbuckton@hotmail.com