The Brundibar & Vedem Project
The Brundibar & Vedem Project will launch in January 2022. As part of our mainstage series, we are producing a children's opera called Brundibar, in which members of the Indianapolis Children's Choir will perform alongside our Resident Artists. It was written in Prague right around the beginning of World War II, and was taken to the Terezin/Theresienstadt Concentration Camp, which was a propaganda camp where visiting dignitaries would be shown how “wonderfully” the Nazis were treating the Jews. It was performed 55 times by children in the camp during the war.
While it has no Holocaust-themed storyline, the circumstances surrounding its inception and performance are unique and important in understanding our history, particularly in regards to anti-Semitism. Many important conversations, lessons, and lectures will surround this performance, and we will facilitate those as well.
Brundibar and Vedem Project Community Engagement and Education Events
This season, our Brundibar & Vedem outreach events will launch in January with a community art project aimed at children, which will coincide with International Holocaust Remembrance Day and encourage students to create artwork from the mindset of a young prisoner of Theresienstadt and to use their art as an escape from bullies, from loneliness, from boredom, and from fear and doubt. Artwork produced by this project will later be used in the production, alongside original artwork from the camp, and displayed at outreach events. At the beginning of March, the Indianapolis Opera Resident Artists will perform at the Indianapolis Artsgarden in a concert titled Eve of Liberation: Honoring 77 Years Since Terezin, which will feature a documentary screening, excerpts from the show, and a panel discussion. Lastly, in mid-April, the Opera will be hosted by Congregation Beth-El Zedeck to share the premiere of the WFYI film recording of Indianapolis Opera’s Brundibar, an evening that will also showcase thought-provoking exhibits and guest speakers. The Brundibar recording will then be shared, along with a curriculum guide, with middle school students and teachers across Indiana, free-of-charge.
About the Production
While Brundibar has no Holocaust-themed storyline, the circumstances surrounding its inception and performance are unique and essential to understand our history, particularly in combatting anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial. For this reason, as part of our mainstage performances, we will also present the theatrical oratorio Vedem, by prominent female American composer Lori Laitman, as a double-bill with Brundibar. The text comes from Vedem, the underground newspaper that boys in the camp ran during their time at Terezin, and also features children’s chorus. The world-premiere combination of these two works brings together the art performed at Terezin with the historical circumstances surrounding its performance.
For more information about this project, including updated educational offerings, please contact Lyndsay Moy, the Education Director at Indianapolis Opera at moy@indyopera.org, 317-283-3531
Thank you for your interest. We look forward to coordinating with you to bring this amazing musical and historical education experience to your students.
While it has no Holocaust-themed storyline, the circumstances surrounding its inception and performance are unique and important in understanding our history, particularly in regards to anti-Semitism. Many important conversations, lessons, and lectures will surround this performance, and we will facilitate those as well.
Brundibar and Vedem Project Community Engagement and Education Events
This season, our Brundibar & Vedem outreach events will launch in January with a community art project aimed at children, which will coincide with International Holocaust Remembrance Day and encourage students to create artwork from the mindset of a young prisoner of Theresienstadt and to use their art as an escape from bullies, from loneliness, from boredom, and from fear and doubt. Artwork produced by this project will later be used in the production, alongside original artwork from the camp, and displayed at outreach events. At the beginning of March, the Indianapolis Opera Resident Artists will perform at the Indianapolis Artsgarden in a concert titled Eve of Liberation: Honoring 77 Years Since Terezin, which will feature a documentary screening, excerpts from the show, and a panel discussion. Lastly, in mid-April, the Opera will be hosted by Congregation Beth-El Zedeck to share the premiere of the WFYI film recording of Indianapolis Opera’s Brundibar, an evening that will also showcase thought-provoking exhibits and guest speakers. The Brundibar recording will then be shared, along with a curriculum guide, with middle school students and teachers across Indiana, free-of-charge.
About the Production
While Brundibar has no Holocaust-themed storyline, the circumstances surrounding its inception and performance are unique and essential to understand our history, particularly in combatting anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial. For this reason, as part of our mainstage performances, we will also present the theatrical oratorio Vedem, by prominent female American composer Lori Laitman, as a double-bill with Brundibar. The text comes from Vedem, the underground newspaper that boys in the camp ran during their time at Terezin, and also features children’s chorus. The world-premiere combination of these two works brings together the art performed at Terezin with the historical circumstances surrounding its performance.
For more information about this project, including updated educational offerings, please contact Lyndsay Moy, the Education Director at Indianapolis Opera at moy@indyopera.org, 317-283-3531
Thank you for your interest. We look forward to coordinating with you to bring this amazing musical and historical education experience to your students.
