BRUNDIBAR

Sold out | CSPS is pleased to host two family performances of the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre production Brundibár.

Tickets for this special event are only available through Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre or by calling 319-365-7401.

Brundibár is a children's opera by Jewish Czech composer Hans Krása with a libretto by Adolf Hoffmeister. The piece was originally performed by the children of Theresienstadt concentration camp in occupied Czechoslovakia during WWII, thus establishing this opera as historically significant.

The plot involves two children, Annette and Little Joe, a fatherless sister and brother whose mother is ill.  The doctor tells the children that to get well their mother needs fresh milk, but the family has no money for this expensive medicine.

Annette and Little Joe decide to sing in the marketplace to raise the money, but the evil organ grinder Brundibár chases them away. Because of the help of a fearless sparrow, keen cat, wise dog, and the children of the town, they are able to expel Brundibár and sing in the market square.

The opera is structured like a fable; its lesson is how love and perseverance through community can triumph over the dark-hearted.