This exhibition explores the lives and careers of opera and operetta superstars Marta Eggerth and Jan Kiepura, whose charisma and voices captivated audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. It delves into their flight from Austria after the 'Anschluss' and their lives in exile, while also highlighting the fates of their artist friends and colleagues who were silenced by National Socialism.
The exhibition "My Song for You" focuses on the celebrated stage and film careers, as well as the enduring musical legacy, of Marta Eggerth and Jan Kiepura, the beloved 'dream couple' of mid-20th century opera and operetta. Their unique voices and glamorous performances inspired a generation and brought opera to wider audiences. After choosing Vienna as their home, the Hungarian soprano and Polish tenor were forced to flee their adopted country in 1938 due to the Nazi 'Anschluss'.
Their story is emblematic of countless artists who faced exile, persecution, and oblivion. The exhibition not only celebrates Kiepura and Eggerth's enchanting performances on both sides of the Atlantic but also sheds light on the tragic fates of their friends, companions, and colleagues, many of whom were denied a place in collective memory by National Socialism. It highlights the vanished Austria they carried with them to New York and points out the impact of the era on figures such as Paul Abraham, Carl Alwin, Ralph Benatzky, Robert Gilbert, Fritz Grünbaum, Maria Jeritza, Emmerich and Charles Kálman, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Lotte Lehmann, Fritz Löhner-Beda, Paul Morgan, Artur Rubinstein, Mischa Spoliansky, and Billy Wilder, among many others.