Brundibar

On Saturday March 14th, I was able to attend a performance of an Opera
work entitled "Brundibar", in the small (600 seats) auditorium of the
Bastille National French Opera in Paris.

Brundibar is a short (1 hour) Opera, written by the Czech composer Hans
Kraska and the writer Adolf Hoffmeister, in 1938, and which was played
many times in the concentration camp of Terezin (near Prag).

The argument : two children want to earn some money to buy some food for
their ill mother. They try to sing in the street, but a wicked barrel
Organ player, Brundibar, makes more noise, and chase them away with the
help of other grown-up people.  Schoolboys and various enchanted animals
help the two children to compete successfully with the horrible devilish
Barrel Organ player.

This work may be read on several levels : as a performance for children
(victory of pure children against wicked grown up people), as a fairy
tale, as a political parabole (resistants against Hitler).

The music looks simple, but is actually very complex and stimulating,
with a little orchestra, about 20 people singing, and several soloists
singers.  In the Paris Bastille performance, there are about 70 people
on stage.

The performance I attended was absolutely fascinating and wonderful,
many excellent performers being not older than the hundreds of boys and
girls in the audience, aged from 6 to 12. Instrumentists and choir was
composed mainly of adults. It was sung in Czech, but with some French
sentences to ease the understanding.

My only regret : the barrel organ was replaced by an accordeonist,
actually very good in his devilish role.

You must remember the name of this Opera : Brundibar.

Last but not the least : this Opera was played 55 times first in Prag,
in the clandestinity, then mostly in the concentration camp of Terezin,
near Prag, by deported children, from 1942 to 1944 or 1945. The Nazis
made Terezin a showcase for the  International Redcross to show that
deported Jewish people were well treated. Nevertheless, the stagers of
this Opera, and 14.000 of the 15.000 children who went to Terezin never
came back.

Jean-Pierre et Lorraine Aressy, who manage the French association
"Perforons la musique", have published in the last September 1997
edition of their Journal (only in French) a very well documented
10 pages study of this Opera, the circonstances of its creation and
performances, with a good bibliography and filmography added.

Best regards,

Philippe

Philippe Rouille
(Paris, France)
rouille@cnam.fr
http://www.cnam.fr/museum/musica_mecanica/