Since it was a crime to become romantically involved with a Jew, Leopold is excommunicated and thrown into prison, along with Rachel and her father. The Jews could save themselves by renouncing their faith, but they refuse. In the end, Rachel and her father are thrown into a vat of boiling oil.
“La Juive” was performed 562 times when it was introduced at the Paris Opera in 1835.
Performances took place Saturday at U.C. Berkeley’s Hertz Hall and Sunday at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s Hellman Hall. The opera opened the 15th annual Jewish Music Festival, presented by the Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center.