Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters (or Tevye the Dairyman) and other tales by Sholem Aleichem. The story centers on Tevye, a milkman in the village of Anatevka, who attempts to maintain his Jewish religious and cultural traditions as outside influences encroach upon his family's lives. He must cope with the strong-willed actions of his three older daughters who wish to marry for love; their choices of husbands are successively less palatable for Tevye. An edict of the Tsar eventually evicts the Jews from their village.

The original Broadway production of the show, which opened in 1964, had the first musical theatre run in history to surpass 3,000 performances. Fiddler held the record for the longest-running Broadway musical for almost 10 years until Grease surpassed its run. The production was extraordinarily profitable and highly acclaimed. It won nine Tony Awards, including best musical, score, book, direction and choreography. It spawned five Broadway revivals and a highly successful 1971 film adaptation and has enjoyed enduring international popularity. It has also been a popular choice for school and community productions.^[1]

Tzar's suppression of Russian Jews angered American and British Jewish 

Bankers. They helped Japan to fund the Russo-Japanese War. Tzar lost 

the war and Japan succeeded in colonizing Korea. The musical is 

about the lives of Russian Jews in 1905 in Russia. They were as tragic 

as Koreans at that time.

I had a chance to meet the author of Fiddler on the Roof, who was the brother of the principal flutist of Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Michael Parloff’s mother through the wedding of his

nephew, who got married to one Korean cellist, InMo Kim.

InMo was my first daughter’s cello teacher soon after she came to the States till she moved to New York and subsequently married this Jewish man, Michael.

Michael’s mother's side family was powerful(?) enough to use such prestigious and exclusive Cosmos Club at Washington DC for their wedding and the reception. But, InMo’s eldest brother living in Alaska, then, failed to meet her need to come to the wedding to lead his sister through the wedding to the groom so that I had to do the ‘bride giveaway’ so that I met so many of New York Jewish community members besides his uncle’s family through the wedding reception.

Through such a unique relationship with InMo’s in-laws, I had quite a chance to peep their unique lifestyle including their traditional breakfast and learned a lot more about their culture and I literally fell in love with Yiddish music in particular.

Indeed, I spent so much time and effort to collect the whole gambit of Cantorial, Hebrew & Yiddish Songs especially of Jan Peerce so that my wife teases me as a ‘spiritually’ Jewish man, which I accept with no qualms.

In that sense, ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ is simply overflowing with full of Jewish smell I enjoy eternally. Indeed, I am barely able to control my emotion through ‘Sabbath Prayer’- Fiddler on the roof but when it reaches to ‘Sunrise and Sunset’: https://youtu.be/lRsciuPOWW4, I never fail to helplessly weep!  

BB 

https://youtu.be/nLLEBAQLZ3Q

Sunrise and Sunset

You amaze me all the time. Is there anybody you didn't know on the planet?, Dr. Lee!

I heard about it a lot, but I didn't know exactly what it is. So, I did a little search and I found 

a treasure. I enjoyed it a lot and I am glad that I have known somebody who is close to the 

author. Thank you, Dr. Lee.

https://youtu.be/6wjyflQR6nk

How it became a sensation

Glad you enjoyed my lament, Dr.Ohn.

Lived long enough to have a bit more odd experiences than others, I guess!

Anyway, many stops trying to enjoy this human life saga at the level of broadway shows or a bit more to the movie and no more no less! But it gives a much more meaningful message through simple ways like 'Do you love me!?' Tevye asked his wife Golde.

Enjoy it!

BB

P.S. Michael Parloff retired from MET a bit early but he remains not only very active to teach at Manhattan School of Music as well as at Julliard but also works as concert organizer for Parlance Chamber Concert Series at his town in northern New Jersey through years with his wife, InMo who is still teaching the cello. We infrequently drive up there to help their campaign and enjoy the music as well.

I am sure you do have a lot of Jewish friends, Dr.Ohn, so that you had plenty of occasions to learn their tradition,s especially through the bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah ceremony. So I have no reason to refrain to explain but I reckon you would know all the stories involved to this Fiddler on the Roof to claim for the ‘tradition’ represents pretty much of the Ashkenazim/"Germanics" of Eastern European Jews.

Indeed, this group of European Jews is much less integrated into the local non-Jewish culture than the Sephardim so that they generated more tension with Christians, all the way to reach to such tragic outcome of the holocaust we all are too familiar with.

On contrary, Sephardic Jews were known to be flexible for the interpretations of Halakhah (Jewish Law) to get integrated more with the local culture, which I confirmed through a few Egyptian colleagues belonging to Mizrahim (Oriental Jews).

Indeed, Sephardim no longer limits its definition only to the ‘Iberian’ Jews of  Spanish/Portuguese origin who were expelled through the era of infamous Spanish inquisition; they now further embrace most Jews throughout the Middle East/including Mizrahim (Oriental Jews), representing a heterogeneous collection of North African, Central Asian, Caucasian, and Middle Eastern Jewish communities beyond the "Hispanics".

When you should know more about such complex historical background after the diaspora, you could enjoy more their culture including Yiddish music led by the cantor.

BB Lee

P.S. During my residency at MCV, I had a chance to rotate to Richmond Memorial Hospital where I met a legendary(?) Jewish cardiothoracic surgeon, Yale Zimberg tried to convince me that Koreans are one last Jewish tribe who left for the Orient based on such similarity of the culture and tradition, etc to surprise me. Yale really liked me dearly inviting to their special occasions like bar mitzvah and also bat mitzvah to enjoy their culture, especially their traditional foods like Gefilte fish. 

Thank you, Dr Lee. I learned a lot.

Forgot one thing, buddy!

When you go to Venice, don't forget to stop over at Campo del Ghetto, the original Jewish ghetto, and be sure to eat at 'Gam Gam' and you will not regret it!!!

BB Lee

P.S. We always try to stop over at GamGam whenever we go to Venice at least one meal/lunch no other expensive Jewish restaurants could compete. It is at the edge of the ghetto along the canal and walking distance from the station in the case when you come by rail.

https://youtu.be/vg30xWcOs2U

(Jewish ghetto in Venice, Italy)

I can't believe but how did you get such a video I never expected, Dr. Ohn!!!

It gives an excellent tour through the ghetto though she did not show the inside of the museum and synagogue- her voice reminds me of one of my daughter's Harvard roommates, a typical Jewish princess from a New York Jewish family with a New York Jewish accent in a bit scratchy voice similar to Barbara Walters (I believe Barbara is NOT from NY but from Boston?)-.

Indeed, one of our Jewish friends recommended this GamGam restaurant when we went to Venice for the first time years ago and my wife was so surprised with the vegetable dishes which was almost the same as Korean호박 나물 but much tastier and whenever we went back to Venice we always tried to stop over at GamGam which was by the way on Michelin Guide.

Anyhow,  I never fail to visit the ghettos and their museums as well as synagogues wherever throughout Europe I visit which makes the travel more meaningful like the ghetto in Warsaw, the synagogue in Prague, and the holocaust museum at Thessaloniki.

BB Lee

P.S. I shared/forwarded this video to a few of my Jewish friends to enjoy. It was an exceptional dividend, Dr. Ohn, thanks!!