‘We wanted to tell the German story of the AIDS epidemic’: Berliner Opernverein chair on the AIDS Quilt Songbook

Sopranist Julie Wyma is the chairwoman of the Berliner
Opernverein. Together with Berlin-based artists of different
nationalities, backgrounds, and sexual orientations, Wyma has
produced a staged version of the AIDS Quilt Songbook: Berlin
Edition.


The project was first started in the United States by baritone
William Parker, who, according to Wyma, was driven by the belief
that “the artistic community could do more to recognize the
epidemic and support those living with it.” The Berlin edition
includes two new commissioned pieces in German, because,
according to Wyma: “Each place has its own unique own story to
tell…and its own way of grieving.”


Produced by Monika Müller-Kroll