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In this episode of Naked Age, we meet composer, conductor and pianist Leonard Lehrman and soprano Helene Williams, whose lives together have unfolded at the unlikely intersection of opera, political activism and naturism.
Leonard’s musical life connects him to some of the defining artists and political movements of the twentieth century, from studying with Nadia Boulanger and Elie Siegmeister to working in the orbit of Leonard Bernstein, championing the music of Marc Blitzstein, attending the March on Washington and drawing inspiration from historian Howard Zinn. In 1987, Helene auditioned for the title role in Leonard’s E.G.: A Musical Portrait of Emma Goldman. The collaboration that followed became both an artistic partnership and, eventually, a marriage.
Together, Leonard and Helene brought opera, cabaret and musical theater into naturist spaces around the world. Their performances could move from Bernstein and Rossini to political songs, mermaid operas, naked cabaret and Leonard’s own Naturist Anthem, sometimes with considerably less costuming than an opera audience might expect. Their story asks what happens when a lifetime devoted to serious music, radical politics and individual freedom refuses to keep those things in separate boxes.
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Links from this episode
Leonard J. Lehrman — Official Website
https://www.leonardjlehrman.com/Continuator: The Autobiography of a Socially-Conscious, Cosmopolitan Composer
Leonard J. Lehrman
Dorrance Publishing
https://bookstore.dorrancepublishing.com/products/continuator-the-autobiography-of-a-socially-conscious-cosmopolitan-composerLeonard Lehrman & Helene Williams — Performance Videos
https://www.leonardjlehrman.com/ljlehrmancabaretvideos.htmlLeonard Lehrman & Helene Williams on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmhHI8m9j-XuVQV2IYB7VFyf5fCubz7hKThe Naturist Living Show — “Naturist Music,” Episode XXV
Featuring naturist music and performances by Helene Williams and Leonard Lehrman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCzwQ7tt7ewOpera/Musical Theatre Special Interest Group of The Naturist Society — History
Leonard Lehrman’s extensive archive of the group’s naturist performances and history
https://leonardjlehrman.com/OMT-SIGofTNS%27History.html
Show notes
Credits
Hosted and written by Evan Nix
Edited and produced by Nathan More
Featuring Leonard Lehrman and Helene Williams.
Music courtesy of Leonard Lehrman & Helene Williams
This episode includes excerpts from Leonard and Helene’s extensive archive of compositions, productions and performances, including:
E.G.: A Musical Portrait of Emma Goldman
Music by Leonard Lehrman
Libretto by Karen Ruoff KramerThe Comic Tragedy of San Po Jo
Music by Leonard Lehrman
Book & lyrics by Leonard Lehrman and Mark KingdonPrayer for Peace (“Bar Mitzvah Cantata”)
Composed by Leonard LehrmanKarla
Music by Leonard Lehrman
After Bernard MalamudDamn! That Apple!
Overture composed by Leonard Lehrman, based on music by Lutz MeyerThe Booby Trap (Off Our Chests)
Music by Leonard Lehrman
Libretto by Sydney Ross SingerHannah
Music by Leonard Lehrman
Libretto by Leonard Lehrman and Orel Odinov ProtopopescuAdam & Lilith & Eve
Music by Leonard Lehrman
Libretto by Maya Pruzhanskaya LackowNew World
Music by Leonard Lehrman
Libretto by Joel ShatzkyThe Naturist Anthem
Words by Leonard Lehrman
Music based on the Shaker song “Simple Gifts”“Lady Liberty”
Music by Leonard Lehrman
Lyrics by Christina Starobin
Additional performances
“Carried Away” from On the Town
Music by Leonard Bernstein
Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green“Take Off Your Clothes”
Written by Mark Levy
Performed by Leonard Lehrman and Helene Williams“A Song to Begin”
Music by Gerhard Bronner
Performed by Leonard Lehrman and Helene Williams“Naked & Nude”
Written by Lou and Peter Berryman“That Real Old-Time Religion”
Performed by Bill and LaDonna Pacer, Helene Williams and Leonard LehrmanRossini’s Cat Duet
Performed by Helene Williams and Amy Vail“Must There Be a Reason?” from The Mermaid in Lock No. 7
Music by Elie Siegmeister
Lyrics by Edward Mabley
Performed by Helene Williams at the Freeport Memorial Library, October 18, 2015Overture and Mermaids’ Chorus from Rusalka
Alexander Dargomyzhsky
English translation by Emily R. Lehrman and Leonard LehrmanViolin solo from Hannah
Performed by Nathaniel S. Lehrman“I Have a Dream”
Featuring William Warfield, Ronald Edwards and the Metropolitan Philharmonic Chorus at the Harlem School of the Arts“Miracle Song” from Reuben Reuben
Music and lyrics by Marc Blitzstein
Later used as the finale of A Blitzstein CabaretOverture to Reineke Fuchs
Composed by Leonard Lehrman
Additional music
“Tenderly”
Performed by Billie Holiday“Tenderly”
Performed by Frank SinatraTheme from The Rosemary Clooney Show
“The Bell Song” from Lakmé
Music by Léo Delibes
Performed by Lily Pons“The Flower Duet” from Lakmé
Music by Léo Delibes“We’re in the Money”
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Al Dubin“Somewhere” from West Side Story
Music by Leonard Bernstein
Lyrics by Stephen SondheimOpening of Kinderszenen, Op. 15
Robert Schumann“The Nickel Under the Foot” from The Cradle Will Rock
Music and lyrics by Marc Blitzstein“Solidarity”
Music by Hanns Eisler
Lyrics by Bertolt Brecht
Translation by Leonard Lehrman
Additional classical music heard in the episode includes works by Johannes Brahms, Frédéric Chopin, Claude Debussy and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Archival audio & video
Paradise Now: The Living Theatre in Amerika
Directed by Marty Topp, produced by Ira Cohen, 1969.
Information on the film and its archival release:
https://arthurmag.com/2008/06/18/2918/Paradise Now interviews
Archival interviews with members of The Living Theatre.Martin Luther King Jr. — “I Have a Dream”
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
Washington, D.C., August 28, 1963Howard Zinn and Burning Draft Cards — The Rewind, Episode 8
GBH https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aCRu0cn_QA1960s anti-war and anti-nuclear protest footage
Liberty Weekend Opening Ceremony
New York Harbor, 1986
Historical television, documentary and archival excerpts are used for purposes including commentary, criticism and historical context.
Archival photographs & materials
Photographs and personal archival materials courtesy of Leonard Lehrman and Helene Williams, with additional photography credited in the episode to:
Nathaniel S. Lehrman
Including photographs of Leonard Lehrman with Nadia Boulanger, Elie Siegmeister and Leonard BernsteinUschi Karnilova
Berlin, 1989Jonathan Slaff
Theater for the New City, December 1, 2025Helene Williams
Including Leonard Lehrman with Lee Baxandall at Fréjus, France, 1990Stephen Van Eck
Empire Haven video
Additional photographs and archival materials appear courtesy of their respective photographers, collections and sources as credited onscreen.
Special thanks
Carl Hild
Leonard Lehrman
Helene Williams
Nathan More
Shannon Lewis
Stéphane Deschênes
Additional music, sound design and ambiences licensed through Artlist and Envato Elements.
Artlist: https://artlist.io/
Envato Elements: https://elements.envato.com/
Listen to past episodes of Naked Age at: https://www.nakedage.co/
What is Naked Age?
Naked Age is a history podcast profiling remarkable people who have gone to extraordinary lengths to live a nude life.
Naked Age is an interview series profiling activists, artists, individualists and misfits who have a singular point of view on the world.
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