If anyone ever had cause to doubt the power of Opera to stir the human spirit then just have a look at the history to the children’s opera, BRUNDIBAR.

At their lowest ebb, imprisoned in the hell of the Terezin Ghetto camp, the Jewish inmates performed the Opera some 55 times, to give themselves some cultural nourishment to sustain them in the hellhole they had found themselves in.

BRUNDIBAR was composed in 1938 by Hans Krasa with lyrics by Adolf Hoffmeister as an entry for a children’s Opera competition.  Later Hoffmeister was to describe his Opera as a ‘kind of Brechtian didactic play’. The narrative tells the story of a brother and sister who overcome a local town bully to help their ill mother. The allegorical story of victory gave impetus to the inmates to feel hope despite their oppression under the Nazi regime.

Inmates  smuggled planks out of the carpentry shop at Terezin to build the original set. The cream of Prague musicians performed. Even the SS men in the audience were moved to the extent that their Commandant decided that the Red Cross should see it.

A beautification program of the ghetto ensued with new curtains and the construction of a new children’s pavilion that enticed the Red Cross delegates into a false belief that the children were well taken care of.  What a shocking irony – when the child performers of Brundibar were actually incarcerated in the ghetto. A mere two weeks later transportation of children from Terezin ghetto to Auschwitz and the ominous ‘east’ occurred.

For many years now, going back to the 1970s, Opera companies throughout the world have performed this work as a way of connecting respective generations of children with Holocaust history and with need to be always vigilant that such discrimination and oppression never occurs again.

Now this Opera has come to Sydney as a result of the great work by the Sydney Brundibar Project, a collaboration between academic and musician Dr Joseph Tolz and start-up chamber opera company Opera Prometheus, in association with the Sydney Jewish Museum.

Not a moment too soon one would suggest as the young performers who graced the City Recital Hall stage still have the chance to communicate with the few remaining survivors of that devastating time in history. Also relevant is that Sydney is the home to the largest number of Terezin camp survivors in Australia.

The audience warmed to what was a very unique performance. For me it had special significance. My maternal grandparents perished in the Terezin Ghetto and may well have been in the audience for one of the fifty five performances.

BRUNDIBAR captures many poignant moments. The Doctor prescribing the mother sick with typhus fresh milk. There was no fresh milk from ‘Bessy’s Udder’ for her poor children with no money. The piece sees the raucous organ grinder villain Brundibar himself wheeled in on an imposing dias with his pompous uniform festooned with Czarist medals.

Morning is heralded by a chirping sparrow and the sound of vigorous carpet beaters and bundles of twig brooms. And a whispered plot is hatched – to teach Brundibar a lesson. The three piece set mural of butterflys, bright sunshine and houses with beautiful flowers is emblematic of the remarkable optimism of the children.

The Sydney premiere production commenced with an opening monologue presented by Paul Smith as Rudi Freudenfeld. Smith read extracts from the Terezin memoir compiled by Freudenfeld. Then the Opera began with Joseph Tolz conducting the orchestra and Dr Sarah Penicka-Smith as chorus master. The choir included over 30 Sydney school children aged between 8 to 12 years being cast, including in the principal roles.

The cast list included Kate Aruman as Aninka, Jackson Low as Pepicek, Tom Burton as Brandibar, Miriam Arnold as the Cat, Tali Greenfield as the Dog, Danah Gressel as the Sparrow, Jason Nerwich as the Policemen, Aden Ezra as the Milkman, Jaymie Perl as the Ice Cream Seller and Kristabella Leembruggen as the Baker. The cast had been mentored in the last few months by emerging adult opera artists.

A Joseph Tolz and Opera Prometheus production in association with the Sydney Jewish Museum, directed by Sharna Galvin, BRUNDIBAR: A CHILDREN’S OPERA was performed twice on Thursday 14th August at the City Recital Hall, Angel Place.

The Sydney Jewish Museum will host a series of special performances for school groups following the City Recital Hall public performances. These performances will include a conversation with a Holocaust survivor and a tour of the Museum.