OC Archives: Inna Dukach (Ina) in Steal a Pencil for Me (2018)

By: Suzanne Whitney

In 2018, Opera Colorado presented the world premiere of Steal a Pencil for Me. It was created by composer Gerald Cohen and librettist Deborah Brevoort. The opera tells the true story of Jaap and Ina Polak, two Dutch Jews who fell in love while prisoners, first at the Nazi labor camp of Westerbork in Holland and then the concentration camp Bergen-Belsen.

Here, Ina (Inna Dukach) is imprisoned at the Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp. As the scene opens, Ina is forced to deliver the latest orders from the Berlin Directorate. On her way, she stumbles upon a horrifying sight—Nazi prison guards pulling a cart piled with bodies.

Learn more about the road to this historic world premiere>>

Cohen and Brevoort’s Steal A Pencil for Me was performed at the Wolf Theatre in 2018.

Conducted by: Ari Pelto
Stage directed by: Omer Ben Seadia
Featuring: The Opera Colorado Orchestra
Videography by: Brad Stabio
Image: Opera Colorado/Matthew Staver