Opera: Brundibár

Hans Krása Opera for children in two acts. Libretto by Adolf Hoffmeister. First performed in secret at a Jewish orphanage in Prague in 1942. Brundibár! Czech slang for “bumblebee”, this is the name of the evil organ grinder who makes a living entertaining passers-by on the market square with his waltzes and melodies. When two child beggars Pepícek and Aninka sing for money to help their sick mother, they threaten Brundibár’s livelihood, and he chases them away. Fortunately, the kids can depend on the help of a sparrow, a cat and a dog to overcome the injustice and adversity standing in their way, proving there’s strength in unity! Hans Krása was a shining light on Czech’s music scene when the Second World War broke out. Influenced by Mahler, Schönberg and Zemlinsky, he was perceived by the Nazis as a degenerate and his works were banned. In 1942, he was transported to the “model” camp in Theresienstadt and featured in propaganda denying the genocide that was happening. While there, he and young prisoners performed a chamber opera for children composed in 1938 to a libretto based on Grimms’ fairy tales; they were later all sent to Auschwitz and killed. A glimmer of hope in the horror of the concentration camps, “Brundibár” is performed in French by children from the Maîtrise de l’Opéra national du Rhin and music students in a mischievous and whimsical theatrical world straight from the imagination of Jeanne Candel. In French. Duration : 1h without interval. Age limit : from 6 years.