Rothschild’s Violin

About the show

Yakov Ivanov, a coffin-maker and amateur fiddler, quarrels with the local musicians and treats the Jewish musician Rothschild with contempt. As his wife Marfa lies dying, she recalls their little daughter, who died decades earlier. Ivanov reflects on the life he has wasted and on his mistreatment of Marfa and Rothschild; after her death, he gives his violin to Rothschild, who plays it.