An intimate new opera about an Yiddish dictionary is having its world premiere in NYC this month—and tickets are free

On September 18 and 21, YIVO Institute for Jewish Research will be mounting a staged version of the opera The Great Dictionary of the Yiddish Language. Composed by Pulitzer Prize finalist Alex Weiser with a libretto by Ben Kaplan, the production, inspired by a true story, was performed as a concert in New York last year, but this latest iteration will feature special lighting, costumes, sets and more.

Set in New York a decade after the Holocaust, the 50-minute chamber opera tells the story of linguists Yudel Mark and Max Weinreich as they work on a “definitive” all-Yiddish dictionary following the near-death of the language during the Holocaust.

“But each of them has his own unshakeable vision of what the dictionary should be like,” reads an article about the production by the Forward. “Despite their long friendship and deep mutual respect, their visions for the dictionary prove incompatible.”

Whereas Mark wants to create “the Yiddish equivalent of the Oxford English Dictionary,” Weinreich envisions a more straightforward volume, one more akin to Webster’s.

The opera will be performed by an ensemble of five singers, “combining characters based on historical figures,” according to the official description of the work.

The best part? Tickets are completely free but must be reserved in advance right here.