Baritone, Actor, Producer, Adapter: David Serero Gives Classic Theatrical Works a Jewish Twist

Jun 2, 2019 by Susan Rosenbluth

French-born Jewish baritone, actor, producer, and philanthropist David Serero has a knack for finding the Jewish angle in classic works for the theater. A few years ago, he showed New York audiences the pathos and Sephardic-Jewish soul of Shylock in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, and last month, he took Giuseppe Verdi’s early opera, Nabucco (Nebuchadnezzar), and demonstrated why it has long held a place in the hearts of Jewish opera lovers as well as those in the greater community.

It is so beloved by the Italian people that its iconic Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves came close to becoming the national anthem of the Risorgimento, the political and social movement that consolidated the diverse city-states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of the Kingdom of Italy in the 19th century.

Mr. Serero, now 38, has performed more than 2,000 times throughout the world. While he plays for general audiences in venues ranging from the Eiffel Tower and the Paris Opera in his native France to the Royal College of Music in London, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and Carnegie Hall in New York, there is no question that he favors productions with any sort of Jewish angle.

Jewish Roles

For example, he has played the title roles in Mozart’s Don Giovanni and the Marriage of Figaro.

“The Jewish point here is that the librettist for both operas, Lorenzo da Ponte, was Jewish,” said Mr. Serero.

Other “Jewish” roles he has played in productions he has adapted and produced include Barabas (Christopher Marlowe’s The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Jew of Malta), King Ahasueros (Samuel J. Bernstein’s Queen Esther’s Dilemma), and Reb Dovidl Moysheles, the Yiddish King Lear (Jacob Gordin’s The Yiddish King Lear). He also starred in the title role in Stanley Kubrick’s “Napoleon”: The Greatest Movie Never Made, which Mr. Serero adapted for the stage.

“Yes, I know Kubrick once said he wasn’t really a Jew, he just happened to have two Jewish parents, but there was no question he identified as a Jew, if not by religion, then certainly by culture and feelings,” said Mr. Serero.

In 2011, he performed the lead role in the first opera written in Hebrew, David Tamkin’s The Dybbuk, at the Kfar Blum Festival in Israel.

Charities

His benefits and charities are usually for Jewish or Jewish-related causes. He has performed at the Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem to benefit Jewish and Israeli children, as well as for the Jewish Deaf Association and Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. In 2015, he performed a tribute concert at the Center for Jewish History for journalist Daniel Perl who was murdered by Islamist terrorists because he was Jewish.

President of Young Hadassah in France since 2011, Mr. Serero created The Forbidden Talents (Les Talents Interdits) in an effort to instill new life into the works of composers whose music was banned by the Nazis before and during the Holocaust.

He approaches his music and performances with a resolute professionalism tempered by sweetness and a desire to enlighten his audiences while entertaining and delighting them.

Biblical Story

His production of Nabucco, which was performed last month at the Center for Jewish History under the auspices of the American Sephardi Federation, takes its libretto from the Biblical Books of Jeremiah and Daniel. The opera had its wildly successful debut at La Scala in Milan in 1842 and secured the reputation of the then-29-year-old Verdi as an important composer.

Adapted by Mr. Serero, last month’s condensed version of the opera consisted of five singers (rather than dozens, including choruses of soldiers and Jewish slaves) and the distillation of the story and score to an hour and a half, rather than its usual three-plus hours.

The story of love (romantic, familial, and patriotic) and religious devotion follows the plight of the Jews in the sixth century BCE as they are assaulted, conquered, and subsequently exiled from their homeland by the Babylonian King Nabucco. The opera’s book, however, does not follow the historic or Biblical record. The piece’s eponymous character, who goes mad and, at the end, not only accepts the G-d of the Hebrews, but also promises to free the slaves and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, is a composite of Nebuchadnezzar, Nabonidus (the last king of Babylon), and Cyrus the Great, who, according to history, conquered Babylon before releasing the Jews and allowing the re-establishment of the Temple.

Accomplished Cast

In Mr. Serero’s hands, Nabucco is a complicated character, by turns arrogant, mad, bereaved, and, finally, ready to achieve redemption and recognition as a leader touched by the Divine.

Javier Ortiz, a fine bass-baritone, portrayed Zaccaria, the High Priest of the Jews, with a determined majesty, while tenor Michael Celentano gave the romantic lead, Ismaele, a demeanor of torment as he tries to do right by both his lover and his people.

The most challenging roles in the opera are reserved for the women. The mezzo-soprano Robin Bradley portrayed Fenena, Nabucco’s daughter who falls in love with an Israelite prince and adopts his faith. Soprano Leslie Swanson portrayed Abigaille, the supposed elder daughter of Nabucco, bringing robust energy to a role long recognized as one of the most demanding in the entire repertoire.

Special credit must be paid to music director/accompanist Shawn Chang who managed to substitute a single piano for a full operatic orchestra.

Using all his singers for the chorus numbers, Mr. Serero showed why these pieces are at the center of the opera. Small wonder that when the Metropolitan Opera Company opened its 2001 season in Lincoln Center with Nabucco, eleven days after the destruction of the World Trade Center, the company began the evening with the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves in honor of the victims of the attack.

Upcoming Productions

The success of Nabucco at the Center for Jewish History whets the appetite for Mr. Serero’s upcoming productions.

On Thursday, June 13, at 3pm, he will debut a show with a unique spin on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Taking the part of Romeo himself, he will present the star-crossed lovers as products of Sephardic and Ashkenazic families. Instead of the usual Shakespearian songs, Mr. Serero will insert classic Ladino and Yiddish melodies.

“Don’t be shocked if we offer some additional surprises,” he teased.

For example, Friar Laurence will morph into the local rabbi.

After the June 13^th debut, the show will be presented on June 16^th at 6pm, June 18^th and 20^th at 8pm, and June 23^rd at 6pm.

Marriage of Figaro

During the summer, he expects to present a condensed version of Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro. He will play the role of the barber-turned-count’s valet in this 1784 opera buffa in which Da Ponte managed to omit all the then-objectionable political nuances in favor of a comedy about  servants who succeed in getting married, foiling the efforts of their philandering employer and, in the process, teaching him a lesson in fidelity.

While wildly funny, Figaro also contains some of Mozart’s most ethereal music as well as arias that have become so popular they can be confused with folk music.

“The librettist was Lorenzo da Ponte, a Jewish poet who was born Emanuele Conegliano. Even though he converted and became a frequently sinning Catholic priest, it’s nice to bring him back to a Jewish venue,” said Mr. Serero.

Anne Frank

In September, he will present the Off-Broadway debut of Anne Frank, the Musical. Written by Jean-Pierre Hadida, the piece has earned critical acclaim in France since its debut there in 2008.

Mr. Serero will direct and produce this new production as well as star in the role of Otto Frank.

“We will feature 12 artists on stage to bring the poetry and music of Jean-Pierre Hadida to life,” said Mr. Serero.

Anne Frank, the Musical will open on September 11 at 3pm and then will play on September 15, 17, 23, and 24 at 8pm.

Sharpen the Enthusiasm

All Mr. Serero’s upcoming performances will be held at the Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16^th Street, in Manhattan.

Some of the performances will include after-parties to which audience members can be invited. For more information about tickets and dates, call 800-838-3006.

“There is great pleasure in presenting the role of the Jewish people in art and in the Jewish twists we can give some classic pieces. We keep it light and not too long, and I hope it will sharpen the enthusiasm audience members will feel to learn more,” he said.