About the work
Play by Salomon An-ski, written between 1913 and 1916, first in Russian and then translated by An-ski himself into Yiddish. The Yiddish-language premiere took place on 9 December 1920 at the Elyseum Theatre in Warsaw, performed by the Vilna Troupe under director Dovid Herman, one month after An-ski's death.
Plot
The poor student Chanan dies of despair after the wealthy merchant Sender refuses him his daughter Lea's hand in marriage. When Lea is about to be forced to marry another man, Chanan's spirit — a dybbuk — possesses her body; a rabbi attempts to exorcise the spirit, but in the end Lea and Chanan are united in death.
Cultural significance
"The Dybbuk" is regarded as the best-known play in Yiddish theatre history and, after its worldwide success with the Vilna Troupe, was translated into numerous languages and adapted repeatedly, including as a feature film (1937) and as a ballet by Leonard Bernstein (1974). This production established the Vilna Troupe's international reputation as a leading Yiddish ensemble.