Brundibar
An opera as it could have been performed in Theresienstadt.
In 1943 the opera was performed for the first time in Theresienstadt and is a symbol of cultural resistance until today. Based on the book „The Girls from room 28“ (Die Mädchen von Zimmer 28) by Hannelore Brenner- Wonschick, we set the thirty minute long opera in the context of the children from room number 28. Those perform an opera in times of horror and lack of the most fundamental things, while the opera takes place in a market place with a rich display of food.
The Libretto
The protagonists of the opera need milk for their ill mother, but have no money to pay for it. The matador Brundibar, the organ-grinder, uses and seduces everybody to his own advantage and leaves no room for „other opinions“. All together the children manage to attract the attention of the adults and finally succeed in driving Brundibar away.
An opera that encourages everyone to stand up against injustice.
About the production
The opera is staged with the knowledge of the situation in the ghetto of these times. The thirty kids meet to think about how to put on this opera with the few devices they have at hand and decide to concentrate on their own strengths and ideas. They indulge themselves in the market crier’s offers by thinking about how long it has been since they have eaten fresh bread and ice cream. The audience gets to share the memory of the artistic children, the musicians and singers who survived.