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Hitting the Hard Notes LAW PROFESSOR TACKLES EMOTIONAL SUBJECT MATTER, MOUNTS SUCCESSFUL OPERA
WHEN DRAKE LAW PROFESSOR Cathy Lesser Mansfield was a child, she had a nightmare in which German soldiers were chasing her through alleys. Fast-forward to Nov. 8, 2008 — the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht. Mansfield sits nervously in the back row of a sold-out theater where the curtain is about to rise on the world premier of her Holocaust opera The Sparks Fly Upward. AN ACTIVIST AND COMPOSER, Mansfield began working on the opera nearly
30 years ago. She studied at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music before shifting to pursue her interests in social justice and law. After a successful law career, Mansfield brought her consumer advocacy expertise to Drake in 1996. Taking a sabbatical from classes recently, Mansfield planted herself at the piano bench and began fine-tuning the stories and score for Sparks. “Perhaps because I view myself as a helper and a healer,” says Mansfield of her choice to bring such ominous subject matter to the stage. “I tell my students that lawyers are very powerful people and that, with that power, they have a responsibility to help people.” A METICULOUS RESEARCHER, Mansfield conducted interviews and gathered source material in Europe. She spent many long days at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. and the Leo Baeck Institute in New York stooped over reading and photocopying manuscripts. The result: a powerful story following the lives of two Jewish families in Berlin who go into hiding with the help of a Christian family. Through their struggles, the families turn to the biblical story of Job for reassurance and enlightenment. As the story progresses the parallels between their lives and Job’s become apparent. “I decided that it was very important to create a historically accurate piece that had the power to both educate and inspire. When you think about it, the opera’s themes are very relevant today,” says Mansfield, citing the conflicts of Bosnia and Darfur. Mansfield’s labor of love premiered before a full house that included Holocaust survivors and theatrical producers. The production’s cast featured Drake music professors along with several Drake students and alumni. “Sparks disrupted my entire life and changed me in ways that only experiences like giving birth can,” says Mansfield. “Now there’s both theatrical and educational interest in the opera, and I couldn’t be more thrilled.” — Casey L. Gradischnig
Editor’s note: For more information or to order a recording of The Sparks Fly Upward visit www.TheSparksFlyUpward.org.
The Magazine of Drake University
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