SOFIA PANTOUVAKI, PhD Student, University of the Arts London (UAL)
Lecturer, Department of Theatre Studies, University of Peloponnese, Greece
‘REPETITION AND PERFORMANCE: THE CASE OF CHILDREN’S OPERA BRUNDIBÁR TODAY.’
Stream: Repetition and Embodiment

This paper discusses the case of Czech children’s opera Brundibár, the most popular of all plays relating to World War II ghetto Theresienstadt, and probably the most popular of all the plays related to the Holocaust today, repeatedly staged all around the world.

The case of Theresienstadt.

Terezín is a small town in Bohemia near Prague. After the Nazi invasion to Czechoslovakia (March 1939), in November 1941 the town started to be transformed into a ghetto-camp for European Jewry, known under the German name Theresienstadt. From 1942 to 1945, 150.000 people were transported there, where they lived for different periods, while numerous transports were organized from the Terezín ghetto to the extermination camps of Poland, mainly to Auschwitz.
Being neither a ghetto-neighbourhood within a city, nor a concentration-extermination camp, Terezín is a unique example of an individual town transformed totally into a ghetto of isolation for European Jews of the highest social grade. In the most absurd way, Theresienstadt was a huge ‘workshop’ where all kinds of arts were developed: graphic arts, painting, poetry, literature and lecture evenings, theatrical performances, singing and other musical concerts, for adults and for children. It seemed as if culture would help the Theresienstadt inhabitants preserve their respect for others as well as their self-respect, and keep their faith in a better future after the war.

Children’s opera BRUNDIBÁR.

The most important part in children’s cultural activities in Theresienstadt was Hans Krása’s children’s opera Brundibár. Krása, a Jewish composer from Prague, originally created Brundibár in 1938 for a competition of the Czech Ministry of Culture and Education; as Jewish cultural activities were not allowed after Nazi occupation, it was only produced twice secretly during winter 1942-43 (Karas 1999, pp.192-93). With the establishment of Theresienstadt, gradually all the artists who had collaborated for the staging of the first private performances of Brundibár in Prague met again in the ghetto: the composer Hans Krása, the musical director Rafael Schächter, the young musician Rudolf Freudenfeld, and the architect and scenographer František Zelenka. In July 1943, when musical activities flourished in the life of Theresienstadt, Brundibár was organised into performance.
[Figure 1: Original poster for Brundibár. © tbc]
The story of Brundibár is a simple tale of good and evil. Two children, Aninka and Pepiček, have a sick mother who needs milk to get better. They decide to imitate the organ-grinder, called Brundibár, and raise the necessary funds by singing on the street corner. When they do so, Brundibár and a policeman chase them away. During the night, which the children spend on a bench, three animals, a dog, a cat and a sparrow, promise them help. In the morning, children from the neighbourhood join them in forming a chorus and sing a beautiful lullaby, rewarded with generous donations from the passers-by. In an unguarded moment, Brundibár steals their money; after a brief chase he is caught and the children sing a song of victory.
The first performance of Brundibár in Theresienstadt was given on 23 September 1943. Zelenka was in charge of both the scenography of the opera as well as the direction,. The sets were made out of pieces of wood, leftovers from the ghetto wood workshop, while the costumes were made of remnants from old clothes, of people of any age. Both adults and children enthusiastically dedicated long hours of work to this opera, which was performed totally by children soloists and a children’s choir.

During the Terezín ghetto years, 55 performances of Brundibár are known to having been held (Karas 1990, p.98). Among the musical activities of Theresienstadt, the presentations of Brundibár were especially appreciated. In Brundibár, the children could identify themselves with the story which seemed so familiar; in their eyes, the mean character named Brundibár was “no abstract, imaginary fairytale figure, but the very personification of evil”, which they were encountering every day. They managed to win the war they had declared on Brundibár thanks to their togetherness and cleverness. The words which the children-animals addressed to their audience must have sounded encouraging and revolutionary:
Add your talent to our efforts,
Voice to voice, and we’ll be strong.
Become members of our band,
Right and justice we’ll defend.
Dictator will be defeated,
United we’ll win our stand,
We shall give a good example
To all people in this land.[1]

The most famous song of the opera is the happy tune of the finale, a song of victory over life:
We won a victory
Over the tyrant mean
[…]
Since we were not fearful,
Since we were not tearful…[2]

[Figure 2: Photograph of a Brundibár performance in the Terezín ghetto. © tbc]
The audience of the opera, hearing the children sing full of joy for life, was filled with courage and hope for the future. The social morale of the opera was very close to the children’s hearts; it reflected their perception of the world, their need for justice and rights. The survivors’ memoirs highlight these ideas:
“Brundibár was a gift for our lost childhood; because in Brundibár we could be children.” (Anna Hanušová, born Flachová, interview to Sofia Pantouvaki)
“Brundibár was optimism, Brundibár was adrenalin, Brundibár was our home, Brundibár restored our normal selves.” (Eva Erbenová, born Levitová[3])

Brundibár repeated today.

Today an exceptionally large number of Brundibár performances can be traced around the world, mainly in Europe and the USA, but also in Israel, Canada, South America, Australia and Japan, from both professional companies and amateur school groups. The frequency of repetition of such contemporary Brundibár performances is so high, that one could go around the world by attending one performance after another.
The opera Brundibár is empowered by the circumstances in which it was originally performed. Today it is usually presented with an accompaniment of historical material, either in the programme booklet or through some kind of presentation performed during the opera.

Despite the myth that very few persons from the original cast survive[4], several members of the Theresienstadt cast are still in life mainly in Europe and Israel. In addition to the survivors’ presence, a new type of ‘tradition’ has been developed in the last few years, and it gradually spreads around the globe in all the cases of new Brundibár productions: the survivors are invited to go on stage at the end of the performance, and then sing along the performers the famous finale of the opera. This repeated ‘ritual’ with which Brundibár is introduced today makes the opera ceremonial and monumental; it is thus presented mostly as a repeated gesture of mourning rather than as a new approach to a piece of art.
In the Czech Republic the most renowned new Brundibár production is the one by Disman Radio Children’s Ensemble of Prague. This is also ‘officially’ recognised by the Terezín Initiative[5] as closest to the original ghetto production of Brundibár. This similarity is reflected in the aesthetics of the setting, of the design and of elements of the direction and the movement. The Disman production was the first production to be performed in Terezín in November 1991, by private initiative, for the first time after the fall of the Communist regime, at the fiftieth anniversary of the creation of the Terezín Ghetto.
Another one of the first contemporary productions of Brundibár was put together by the German section of Jeunesses Musicales in 1995. Jeunesses Musicales collaborated with Tempo Publishing Company who printed the original piano version in 1993, in order to publish instruction material by which the opera Brundibár was opened to world-wide staging. In this occasion, Jeunesses Musicales produced a large project where the opera was performed in three languages (Czech, German and Polish) sung by the same children’s choir, and was presented in three major theatres in Prague, Berlin and Warsaw.
Eva Herrmannová (herself a Theresienstadt survivor, original chorus member and opera specialist) already in 1999 notes that “there are over 80 study versions [of Brundibár] in German schools, but the opera is studied in different languages and presented in the most important opera scenes and concert halls around the world, e.g. in London, Essen, Triest, Leipzig, Utrecht, Antwerp, Washington, New York, Geneva, Montreal, Vienna, Paris, Berlin, Frankfurt, Oslo, Stockholm, Brussels and Barcelona, where it was studied by thousands of children choir members”[6].

[Figure 3: Titles of programmes of contemporary performances of Brundibár. © Sofia Pantouvaki]
Most contemporary performances of Brundibár are organised by amateur groups in schools or children’s choirs all over the world[7]. An indicative list of such productions includes, for example: Niños Cantores de Valle de Chalco, Mexico (first production in Spanish, 1998); Le Théâtre de la Commune in Aubervilliers, France (1998); Kinderchor der Bühnen der Landeshauptstadt in Kiel, Germany (2000-01); the Åmot secondary school in the town of Rena in Norway (2001-02); Crowden School, Berkeley, CA at the 16th annual Berkeley Jewish Music Festival (March 2001); the Hallé education project at the new Imperial War Museum North, Manchester, U.K. (summer term 2002); activ8 Youth Theatre under the title The Brundibár Project (national tour, 2003); Young People’s Chorus of New York City (2003); the All School Production in Osaka, Japan (2005); schoolchildren from different schools in Űberlingen, Germany (2005); Saskatoon Children’s Choir in Saskatchewan, Canada (2005) and Winnipeg (2006); the production by Jorge Ferrari in the town of Rosario, Argentina (2005); the production by Philip Neumann presented at Gewandhaus Concert Hall in Leipzig (2005) (described by survivors as one of the best contemporary stagings); while the opera was earlier also produced by the choir of a catholic nun, Sister Maria Veronika Grüters in Freiburg and in Israel (1985). These are but very few of the total of performances worldwide.
Children’s choirs are sometimes at the edge between amateur and professional performance, as some of them present productions of a very high standard. Fewer professional theatre companies have also staged Brundibár in the last few years.

One of the most interesting versions of Brundibár and one of the few productions staged by a fully professional company was by the Cherub Company London, under the general title Degenerate! - A season to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust (2001). The new idea in this staging of the piece is the representation of all adult characters (including Brundibár himself) as giant puppets on stilts, in contrast to ‘real life’ characters of children; this element underlined the dramatic presence of all the characters.
[Figure 4: Brundibár in rehearsal by the Cherub Company London (2001), drawing by Jim Russell. © tbc]
The most recent and probably most famous staging of Brundibár today is the Broadway production by Maurice Sendak (design) and Tony Kushner (text), produced in 2006 and performed in several theatres in the U.S. This version is performed by adult singers in several main roles and a children’s choir, and is characterised by Sendak’s enchanting and very colourful designs. In the Broadway version, the character of Brundibár is presented with a sense of humour and satire, quite like in the original Theresienstadt performance. On the other hand, large criticism has been made of this production, as at the end of the show Brundibár appears once again on stage to warn that he may be back; survivors claim that this ruins the original spirit of the opera, in which the evil character is defeated.

Ways of considering Brundibár today.

In almost all contemporary Brundibár productions there is an attempt to somehow create a link between the opera and its background, in order to underline the power it generated under the special circumstances during the Terezín ghetto period. Despite this disposition, this is rarely achieved. Most contemporary amateur productions are very essential and simply reproduce the Brundibár fairytale. As commented previously, even the ‘well-made’ children’s productions are not suggesting any new approach to the opera. Considering that professional productions are anyway very limited, very few contemporary Brundibár stagings address the public in new or original ways.
It is often said that special circumstances cannot be repeated; consequently, the very special reasons that kept the opera and its participants alive, and which made Brundibár offer strength and psychological support cannot be understood today in the same way. Theatre in Theresienstadt was used as a metaphor of personal and collective resistance, which could not happen in any other ‘obvious’ way. Brundibár was saying with music, with image and with theatrical action what could not be easily said with words. What is the artistic value of such repeated re-staging of the same opera piece and what can Brundibár teach to us today?
A dialogue with contemporary theatre artists could bring up new elements that can be developed in and through Brundibár in order to create a new theatrical piece, which would overcome the single-sided ‘historical’ aspect, and which could suggest how this ‘repetition’ may become active, original, and contemporary performance, offering to other aspects, too. Some of these aspects can be the following:

As a way to remember.

The opera can certainly be a way to keep memory alive, to remind everyone about the facts in Theresienstadt. The existence of the specific text, the melody, the photographs, the diary entries, the related drawings and the surviving cast members give evidence that these events did take place.

As a way to commemorate.

This aspect is not underestimated or excluded; the previous criticism addressed to the fact that this ceremonial function is often the main (even the only) reason why performances take place in some occasions today.

As a way to teach today’s children about the Holocaust.

This already happens by some researchers or survivors who lecture on the Holocaust, about their experience and about tolerance. Particularly in cases where small children are involved, the story of Brundibár can become a means to start a narration and can create a more natural path towards such a tough part of human history.

As an interdisciplinary method to teach.

In the framework of contemporary cross-discipline teaching, Brundibár can be used to teach children in several fields:  it can be a start to teaching history, it can be used as introduction to music (musical forms and instruments), or to the study of opera, as the melodies connect to specific roles in essential and recognisable ways.

As a way to learn, understand and perceive cultural history.

Brundibár is part of European cultural history of the 20th century. The translation of the opera into so many languages today can open the possibility to discuss about how art and theatre can mingle with life and how people have throughout history expressed their need to create.

As a way to discuss values of life.

Brundibár can give space for discussion of all the values it incorporates, the same ideas which were underlined in its original presentations: the good which defeats the evil, the importance of keeping hope alive, the significance of believing in one’s self and mainly the power of togetherness.

As research on Brundibár proceeds, it is expected that the artists who collaborate for a contemporary staging of the opera may express different approaches. There are still major questions on how to deal with the historical background and how to reflect the effect of the piece on the participants and the audience of a time. The area of the sentimental involvement of contemporary audience as well as the challenge of the audience’s thinking today are important factors to consider when proceeding to artistic decisions. Survivor Mrs. Raja Žádníková comments: “Everything depends on what we do with it”[8].     

REFERENCES

All School Production (2005) Yuzuru (The Twilight Heron) & Brundibár [Internet]. Osaka, Senri International School, Osaka International School. Available from: http://www.senri.ed.jp/ASP/Yuzuru&Brundibar/top.htm [Accessed 5 April 2007].

Åmot Secondary School (2002) Imponerende Brundibar [Internet]. Rena, Norway, Åmot ungdomsskole. Available from: <http://www.amot.gs.hm.no/reportasjer/2001_2002/brundibar/forestilling.htm>  

[Accessed 4 April 2007].
Bertossi, M. J., (2005) “Brundibár”: su director e intérpretes, Entre Notas, La música clásica en Rosario [Internet], 23 November. Available from:http://www.entrenotas.com.ar/program.php?name=Articulos&
file=print&sid=405 [Accessed 15 April 2007].
Blodig, V. (2001a) The Genocide of the Czech Jews in World War II and the Terezin Ghetto. In: Dutlinger, A. D. ed. Art, Music and Education as Strategies for Survival: Theresienstadt 1941-45. New York, London, Herodias, pp.144-160.
Blodig, V. (2001b) Terezín Memorial: A Short History. In: Dutlinger, A. D. ed. Art, Music and Education as Strategies for Survival: Theresienstadt 1941-45. New York, London, Herodias, pp.178-185.
Boosey & Hawkes Opera (2000) Hans Krása: Brundibár children’s opera travels widely, Opera News Centre [Internet], August. Available from: http://www.boosey.de/pages/opera/OperaNews.asp?NewsID=58&MusicID=1592 [Accessed 15 April 2007].
Boosey & Hawkes Opera (2003) Children’s opera Brundibár presented by Young People’s Chorus of NYC, Opera News Centre [Internet], April. Available from: http://www.boosey.de/pages/opera/OperaNews.asp?NewsID=10545&MusicID=1592 [Accessed 15 April 2007].
Brundibár (1965). Directed by Walter Krüttner. Wiederaufgeführt [video:VHS].
Brundibár (1990). Directed by Klaas Rusticus. Ceskoslovenská Televize, NOS Television, Hilversum, ORF [video:VHS]
Brundibár! (1995). Produced and directed by Simon Broughton. English stage production by John Abulafia, for the Mecklenburgh Opera, 1994 [video:VHS].
Brundibár (2005). Directed by Lisbeth Wutte. Űberlingen schools archive video [video:DVD].
Brundibár (2006). Performance by Disman Radio Chidren’s Ensemble at Terezín Magdeburg Attic Theatre, 25 September. Archive video by Sofia Pantouvaki [video:DVD].
Brundibár (2005) and (2006). Theatre programmes for Saskatoon Children’s
Choir, Saskatchewan Teachers’ Foundation (2005), The Winnipeg Foundation (2006).
Brundibár – Die Kinderoper aus Theresienstadt (2000-01). Directed by Lorenz Müller. Kiel, Bühnen der Landeshauptstadt Kiel [video:DVD].
Brundibár – Eine Kinderoper (1995-96). Directed by Daniel Speck, Heike Ulrich, Ileana Cosmovici, Adnan Maral. Weikersheim, Jeunesses Musicales Deutschland [video:DVD].
Brundibár – Opera za zdmi ghetta (Opera behind the ghetto walls) (2005). Directed by Aleš Koudela. Česká televize [video:DVD].
Brundibár –The Show (2006). Directed by Tony Taccone. CBS – 60 minutes archive video, courtesy of Paul Bellinger, producer [video:DVD].
Cantrell, S. (1999) Children’s opera Brundibár a parable of good defeating evil. The Kansas City Star [Internet], 25 March. Available from: <http://www.kcstar.com/item/pages/fyi.pat%2Cfyi/30dad9ab.324%2C.html> [Accessed 22 January 2004].
Davis, B. (2001) Brundibár lives on. The Jerusalem Post [Internet Edition], 23 July. Available from: <http://www.jpost.com/Editions/2001/06/07/Culture/CultureNews.27723.html> [Accessed 22 January 2004].
Degenerate! - A season to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust- Brundibár & Kafka’s The Trial (2001) Theatre programme. London, The Cherub Company London, Spring season.
Dutlinger, A. D. (2001) Art and Artists in Theresienstadt: Questions of Survival. In: Dutlinger, A. D. ed. Art, Music and Education as Strategies for Survival: Theresienstadt 1941-45. New York, London, Herodias, pp.1-9.
Ehrmann, F., Heitlinger, O.,Iltis, R. eds. (1965) Terezín. Prague, The Council of Jewish Communities in the Czech Lands.
Fiorentini, E. (2003) Qualche parola su Musica Rara (A few words on ‘Musica Rara’) Concerto di Sogni [Internet], November, 12. Available from: http://www.concertodisogni.com/mp/tc.asp?TOPIC_ID=6030&FORUM_ID=15&
CaT_ID=4&Forum_Title=6+Musica+e+Canzoni&Topic_Title=musica+rara [Accessed 14 April 2007].
Franĕk (Freudenfeld), R. (1965) Brundibár. In: Ehrmann, F., Heitlinger, O.,Iltis, R. eds. Terezín. Prague, The Council of Jewish Communities in the Czech Lands.
Friche, M. (2000) Bruxelles 2000, Le Soir (extracts) [Internet]. Available from: http://julienas.ipt.univ-paris8.fr/~culteuro/presse/30/p18.htm [Accessed 12 April 2007].
Gelfand, J. (2000) A conversation with ... Ela Stein Weissberger - Children’s opera Brundibár helped her, others endure concentration camp.The Cincinnati Enquirer [Internet], 19 October. Available from: <http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2000/10/19/tem_a_conversation_with.html> [Accessed 22 January 2004].
Goldman Rubin, S. with Weissberger, E. (2006) The Cat with the Yellow Star – Coming of Age in Terezín. New York, Holiday House.
The Hallé (2002) Brundibár [Internet]. Manchester, The Hallé Concerts Society. Available from: <http://www.halle.co.uk/publishedSite/brundibar.asp> [Accessed 22 January 2004]
Herman, D. (2003) Ghosts of Terezín. The Guardian, 6 September, p.19.
Herrmannová, E. (1999) Brundibár. Theatre programme, Prague, Dĕtská Opera Praha (Children’s Opera Prague).
Karas, J. (1990) Music in Terezín 1941-1945. Stuyvesant, NY, Pendragon Press.
Karas, J. (1999) Operatic Performances in Terezín. In: Rovit, R. and Goldfarb, A. Theatrical Performance during the Holocaust. Baltimore, London, The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp 190-200.
Krása, H. (1938) Brundibár, Disman Radio Children’s Ensemble, Prague. Channel Classics Records, 1993. [sound recording: CD].
Lederer, Z. (1953) Ghetto Theresienstadt. London, Edward Goldston.
Lieblová, D. (2006) O Brundibárovi v Argentinĕ. Terezínská Iniciativa, No. 35, May, p.12.
Milton, S. H. (2001a) Art in the Context of Theresienstadt. In: Dutlinger, A. D. ed. Art, Music and Education as Strategies for Survival: Theresienstadt 1941-45. New York, London, Herodias, pp.10-59.
Milton, S. H. (2001b) Chronology of Theresienstadt. In: Dutlinger, A. D. ed. Art, Music and Education as Strategies for Survival: Theresienstadt 1941-45. New York, London, Herodias, pp.162-169.
Niños Cantores de Valle de Chalco (2002) Brundibár, Ópera infantil en dos actos de Hans Krasa, fue estrenada por nosotros en México. [Internet]. Available from: <http://mx.geocities.com/ninoscantores/brundibar.html> [Accessed 22 January 2004].
The Octagon Theatre (2004) The Brundibár Project [Internet]. Bolton, The Octagon Theatre. Available from: http://www.octagonbolton.co.uk/Brundibarproductionpage.htm [Accessed 22 January 2004].
Opera Guild of San Antonio (2007) History and Projects of the Opera Guild, Opera Guild of San Antonio [Internet], February, 20. Available from: http://www.operaguildsa.org/history.html [Accessed 14 April 2007].
The Oswego Opera Theatre (2001) Brundibár Slated for April Performance [Internet]. The Oswego Opera Theatre. Available from: http://www.oswegoopera.com/past/brund/home.html [Accessed 4 April 2007].
Rovit, R. (2001) A Carousel of Theatrical Performances in Theresienstadt. In: Dutlinger, A. D. ed. Art, Music and Education as Strategies for Survival: Theresienstadt 1941-45. New York, London, Herodias, pp.122-143.
Russell, J. (2001) Brundibár by Hans Krása, drawings during rehearsals of The Cherub Company London, director Andrew Visnevski. Available from: http://www.andrewvisnevski.com/gallery.html [Accessed 15 April 2007].
Sendak, M. and Kushner, T. (2004) Brundibár. London, Walker Books Ltd.
Sliva, K. (2003) Kinderoper ‘Brundibár’ wurde 60 Jahre nach ihrer Premiere wieder in Theresienstadt aufgeführt [Internet]. Radio Praha, October, 12. Available from: http://www.radio.cz/de/artikel/46224 [Accessed 5 April 2007].
Le Théâtre de la Commune (1998) Brundibár [Internet]. Aubervilliers, France. Available from: http://www.theatredelacommune.com/francais/brundi.htm [Accessed 2 April 2007].
Theresienstadt Martyrs Remembrance Association (1997) Activities at Beit Terezín [Internet]. Newsletter, July, No. 43. Available from: http://www.cet.ac.il/terezin/daejul.htm [Accessed 5 April 2007].
Wall, A. (2001) Terezín performer relives the show that gave her hope. Jewish Bulletin of Northern California [Internet], February, 23. Available from: http://www.jewishsf.com/bk010223/1bterezin.shtml [Accessed 5 April 2007].
Windmill Performing Arts (2003) Brundibár [Internet]. Adelaide South Australia, Windmill Performing Arts. Available from: http://www.windmill.org.au/past_projects/brundibar.html [Accessed 5 April 2007].
Wonschick, H., and Dutlinger, A. D. (2001) Coming of Age in Theresienstadt: Friedl's Girls from Room 28. Translated from the German by Ian Pepper. In: Dutlinger, A. D. ed. Art, Music and Education as Strategies for Survival: Theresienstadt 1941-45. New York, London, Herodias, pp.60-82.
You Never Do What You Should – The Life of Sister Maria Veronika. (1986) Directed by Sigrid Faltin. SWF, White Pepper Filmproduction [video: VHS].