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Reading and Music

Location: Einsteinhaus Caputh
Am Waldrand 17, 14548 Schwielowsee-Caputh 
Free admission
The event will be held in German
Registration

Caputh, in the 1920s. At an evening gathering, Albert Einstein presents his latest invention: a time machine. But to which era should the journey lead? This scene marks the beginning of the opera “Der Chronoplan”, a work by the composer Julia Kerr (1898–1965).

Julia Kerr was a rising composer whose career came to an abrupt end when she was forced to flee the Nazis. As wife of the theatre critic Alfred Kerr, mother of the author Judith Kerr and judge Michael Kerr, her own story was often overshadowed by the legacy of her family. During fifteen years of exile in Switzerland, France and finally England, she became the family’s principal breadwinner. In 1947, she returned alone to Germany, where she witnessed the Nuremberg Trials while working as an interpreter.

During her escape from Nazi Germany, Julia Kerr carried the score of her opera with her at all times, and after her return she resumed work on it. In the late 1940s, the opera – for which Alfred Kerr had written the libretto – was recorded for the first time and broadcast on the radio. Yet it was not until almost ninety years later, in January 2026, that “Der Chronoplan” finally received its world première at the Staatstheater Mainz following an extensive reconstruction.

In cooperation with the Einstein Forum and the Staatstheater Mainz, the Stiftung Exilmuseum now brings Julia Kerr’s music for the first time to the setting of her opera itself. In the garden of Albert Einstein’s summer house in Caputh, songs by Kerr will be performed by Prof. Norbert Biermann (piano) and Ruth Rosenfeld (vocals). Musicologist Dr. Christian Leitmeir, University of Oxford, will give an introduction to the life and work of Julia Kerr. In addition, there will be an artistic intervention by the German-British artist Sophie von Hellermann.

The event is part of the program Embassies of Exile, in which the Exile Museum collaborates with embassies and cultural institutions around the world. We are pleased that British Ambassador Andrew Mitchell will be joining us for this occasion.

Directions:
Public transportation: Bus Line 607 toward Ferch Mittelbusch, Schwielowsee, bus stop: Caputh Schumannstraße. From there, it’s a 10–15 minute walk.
By car, please use the parking lot on Waldstraße, just past the entrance to Caputh. Accessible parking (limited) is available in front of the property.

Photo: Julia and Alfred Kerr Family Archive, courtesy of Lady Diana Kerr and Matthew Kneale