Below are the recollections of two choristers who travelled to Czechoslovakia.
The experience of filming Butterfly left an indelible mark on my life that will never be matched by anything else. Talking with the people who miraculously survived a life of pure hell gave me a different outlook on my life. Those people are living heroes and heroines for whom I have a great admiration and reverence. Seeing the emotions that were felt by the survivors as they told their stories was truly heartwrenching.
No one should ever be forced to go through an ordeal such as the Holocaust, and it is everyone's responsibility to insure that it never happens again.
Looking back, I now realize that I experienced a miracle first hand and that this miracle changed the way that I will view our world forever.
Steam poured from our mouths with every breath as we tromped into the small theater in Terezin.... Now, extremely tired and extremely cold, we were preparing for yet another rehearsal in order to make the piece "just right." ... Due to a heating problem we were forced to open the doors on either side of the auditorium, allowing the cold breeze to create a refreshing draft. Finally, it came to the point where even our conductor was becoming impatient or, though he wouldn't say it, bored....
Having previously sung this with full orchestration, our minds were not on the soloists but on the violin theme floating with the soloists and complementing their voices. The solos ended, and we all sat on the risers watching our director discussing the score with the soloists.
The music started and then ended again; but this time it was not due to a mistake but to a single finger pointing in the direction of the open door. The last musical phrase-"Only I never saw another butterfly" - echoed through the hall as we all stared, awestruck, at the beautiful blue butterfly circling through the room. The moment was short-lived, and the butterfly passed back out into the freezing, cloudy outdoors. The only sounds remaining were the quiet sniffles of [composer] Charles Davidson's overwhelming emotion.
That rehearsal ended right there, and the incident was not discussed again so that the tour could continue. But I can assure anyone in doubt that not one person in that room will ever forget the exact details of that butterfly or the expression on Mr. Davidson's face portraying happiness and sorrow at the same time.
This trip was truly an incredible educational, and even a spiritual, experience. It all had something to do with the way that the music and the visual suggestions combined. We were in a beautiful city with beautiful people - and could only think of death. Then, the music began to really hit home; and we began to understand, and even see, what the young poets did. They too were surrounded by a beautiful city, and even some beautiful people. But unlike our original view, they looked past the death. They saw the city and people and saw beauty! This is a very special view and, like our experience, could even be looked upon as a miracle!
This trip truly taught me what it means to "keep the faith." These people looked past the death that was part of their daily existence to the God, who, if given up, would have prevented the death. The trip changed the way I think and look at life, and I will never forget it!