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.
Produced by the Opéra national de Lyon.
In collaboration with the Comédie de Colmar - CDN Grand Est Alsace.
In co-production with La Filature, Scène nationale de Mulhouse.
Infos
Colmar
Théâtre municipal de Colmar
Mulhouse
La Filature
Strasbourg
Théâtre de Hautepierre
Without entracte.
The Société Générale Corporate Foundation is the main sponsor of the Opéra Studio.
With the support of SOCOMEC.
Cast
Direction musicale Sandrine Abello Mise en scène Jeanne Candel Remontée par Jean Hostache Décors Lisa Navarro Costumes Pauline Kieffer Lumières Vyara Stefanova Chorégraphie Isabelle Catalan
Artists
Brundibár Michał Karski, Carlos Reynoso en alternance Piano Annalisa Orlando, Thibaut Trouche en alternance Les Petits Chanteurs de Strasbourg - Maîtrise de l'Opéra national du Rhin, Classes à horaires aménagés musique de l’École élémentaire de la Canardière
Presentation
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.
