VOICES Boston Children’s Choir Presents ‘Brundibar’ and ‘But the Giraffe’

By Afton Wooten

VOICES will give multiple performances of “Brundibar” and “But the Giraffe” throughout June.

The first round of productions will be held at the Boston Synagogue on June 3 and 4. Included on the program is soprano Jessica Bloch’s newly commissioned song cycle “By Moshe.”

From there, VOICES will present “Brundibar” and “But the Giraffe” at the Brimmer and May School on June 10  and 11. These performances will feature a curtain opener performance of an original work by VOICES Boston training choirs members Emily Vincent and Laura Nevitt’s “The Gray Bird.” Dan Ryan conducts.

Hans Krasa’s children’s opera “Brundibar” follows two children on a journey to find milk for their sick mother and must overcome the tyrant Brundibar, who has taken control of the milk supply. This piece was originally performed by children in the Terezin concentration camp. VOICES will use a new translation by Tony Kushner.

“But The Giraffe” by Kushner supplements “Brundibar” as it is a fictional story seen through the eyes of a little girl who brings to light the courage of those who brought the score of “Brundibar” into the Terezin concentration camp.

Director Allison Talis stated in a press release, “With antisemitism back on the rise in the visible mainstream, it feels powerful to bring this production both to the young performers and audiences. Through the eyes and voices of children,
we remind ourselves and each other what we are capable of as humans, in both directions. These pieces connect to the resilience and strength of the human spirit, while facing unimaginable suffering. It is important that we and pieces of theatre that keep connecting the threads of our humanity and remind us all that our collective liberation is intertwined.”

VOICES Boston Children’s Choir recently performed in “La Bohème” with the Boston Lyric Opera, “The Damnation of Faust” with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, and recently went on an NYC Tour.

Categories

News