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���� alum and composer Evan Fein (BM ’07, Brouwer) premiered his latest Opera City of Ashes at Opéra de Poche in Paris on November 18. This was the work’s third production by Opéra de Poche, which commissioned the piece.

City of Ashes is told from the perspective of the women of Berlin at the end of World War II. Inspired by the anonymous memoirs of a female journalist who lived through those days, it tells the story of what they had to do in order to move forward with their lives, how they targeted Russian officers and initiated intimate relationships with them in order to protect themselves from the vengeful soldiers.

The premiere took place only days after Paris’s Bataclan Theater was attacked by terrorists. Opening the performance with a moment of silence, Fein is proud that his work became part of the antidote to the violence in Paris that week.  “Given the nature of the piece – which sheds light on the atrocities of war – I felt like it was very important to be there,” he said.

Fein’s second opera, L’Île des sept sœurs, was also commissioned by Opéra de Poche and premiered in 2013.

PHOTO: Fein, left, with Barry Spann (scenic designer) and librettist Emily Anderson. The paintings in the background are Mr. Spann's work, which were enlarged and projected as backdrops for the opera.