Berthold Goldschmidt, whose "The Magnificent Cuckold" was the last opera by a Jewish composer to premiere in Germany before Nazis took power, has died. He was 93.
Goldschmidt, who lived in London since fleeing Germany in 1935, died Thursday. No cause of death was released.Born in Hamburg, he was one of Germany's most promising young musicians, and it was music that saved him from the Nazi death camps.
His early success as a composer included the premiere of "The Magnificent Cuckold" in Mannheim in 1932. The Nazis' rise to power shortly after that blocked any further performances.
Goldschmidt began giving piano lessons to survive in Hitler's Germany. Hauled in for questioning by the Gestapo, he established a rapport with the interrogating officer, who had an interest in music and advised him to leave Germany quickly. Goldschmidt left within a week.
Shunned as unfashionable for nearly 40 years after World War II, his music saw a major revival of interest in the 1980s.