{"id":43305,"date":"2017-02-28T16:14:06","date_gmt":"2017-02-28T21:14:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=43305"},"modified":"2017-02-28T16:15:36","modified_gmt":"2017-02-28T21:15:36","slug":"interview-dean-burry-on-why-an-opera-about-confronting-bullies-is-just-what-we-need-right-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2017\/02\/28\/interview-dean-burry-on-why-an-opera-about-confronting-bullies-is-just-what-we-need-right-now\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Dean Burry On Why An Opera About Confronting Bullies Is Just What We Need Right Now"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Dean
CCOC Artistic Director Dean Burry \/ Brundib\u00e1r<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

F<\/span>ounded in 1968 by Ruby Mercer and Lloyd Bradshaw, the Canadian Children\u2019s Opera Company (resident children\u2019s chorus for the Canadian Opera Company), possesses a prolific history of commissioning and performing new operatic works written for children, including The Hobbit<\/em> (Dean Burry, 2004), A Dickens of a Christmas<\/em> (Errol Gay & Michael Patrick Albano, 2005), Chip and his Dog<\/em> (Gian-Carlo Menotti, 1979) and The Snow Queen<\/em> (John Greer & Jeremy James Taylor, 1993). Yet this week, the CCOC opens Brundib\u00e1r<\/em>, an opera by Jewish Czech composer Hans Kr\u00e1sa with a libretto by Adolf Hoffmeister, which premiered in Prague in 1942 before being reworked to be performed over fifty times by children in Theresienstadt concentration camp.<\/p>\n

Musical Toronto spoke with CCOC Artistic Director Dean Burry, about the inspiration to perform Brundib\u00e1r<\/em> and the challenges presenting it provokes.<\/p>\n

What inspired the CCOC to produce Brundib\u00e1r<\/em>?<\/h3>\n

Back in 1997, I was involved as an Arts-Educator with the first production of Brundib\u00e1r<\/em> in Toronto, presented by producer Helena Fines.\u00a0 I worked with several Hebrew schools to create a small version of the opera and actually got to conduct it myself.\u00a0 Not only did I fall in love with the work, I was\u00a0also moved by the poignancy of the back story. \u00a0Being an opera composer myself, the fact that this children\u2019s opera provided so much hope for the prisoners of Terezin was just inspirational.\u00a0 I knew it was a piece that Canada\u2019s premiere children\u2019s opera company had to do, so when I started as Artistic Director in 2015, I knew it was one of the first things I wanted to do.\u00a0 The fact that this year is the 75th anniversary of the Prague premiere only made it more appropriate.<\/p>\n

Brundib\u00e1r is written for children, as are many of your own works. How do operatic works written for children differ from larger scale operatic works? What factors does a composer have to consider when composing for children?<\/h3>\n

It is really important to NOT treat the composing for children in a different way then composing for adults.\u00a0 That\u2019s why so many [works for children]] come across as being facile or pandering.\u00a0 Children are capable of great emotion in the same way that adults are.\u00a0 They may not have had the same amount of experiences, but as demonstrated by the children of Terezin, some children will have deeper emotional experiences than many adults ever will.\u00a0 Children as performers are, of course, different instruments than adults.\u00a0 Because of the nature of their instruments, oboists have different levels of range and stamina than violinists. This doesn\u2019t make one lesser than the other.\u00a0 To write for children, like any instrument, you need to know their strengths and weaknesses.\u00a0 And create an engaging well-paced story, but doesn\u2019t everyone want that?<\/p>\n

What is the age range of the performers in Brundib\u00e1r? How have the performers prepared for and responded to preparing this work, considering its history?<\/h3>\n

The CCOC has children aged 3-18.\u00a0 Yes, the back story of this opera in the context of the Holocaust has its challenges.\u00a0 We haven\u2019t ignored that but rather found a way to present it in an age appropriate manner.\u00a0 Terezin Survivor John Freund and novelist Kathy Kacer have done a great job of illuminating the rich and meaningful story behind the opera.<\/p>\n

How does Hans Kr\u00e1sa\u2019s music compare to other composers of his time? Are there any composers or musical styles with which you see parallels?<\/h3>\n

Hans Kr\u00e1sa is certainly not a household name when it comes to composers, and Brundib\u00e1r is certainly his most well-known work.\u00a0 It is always a shame to think of what more would have come from him in different circumstances.\u00a0 There are definitely contemporary flourishes in Brundib\u00e1r<\/em>\u2026 perhaps a little\u00a0Bart\u00f3k, given the folk influence, but I think there\u2019s a real nod to the cabaret style of Kurt Weill and jazz as well.<\/p>\n

Brundib\u00e1r\u2019s<\/em> instrumentation was reworked when Hans Kr\u00e1sa was in Theresienstadt, based on the resources he had available in the concentration camp. Are you using this instrumentation?<\/h3>\n

Yes, we are using the Terezin orchestration, which added the guitar and replaced the viola with a 4th violin.\u00a0 It is so interesting to think about this essentially being a pickup orchestra based on what was available.\u00a0 Even though this is the 75th anniversary of the Prague premiere, I couldn\u2019t pass up the chance to use that \u201cinventive\u201d orchestration.<\/p>\n

It has been said that the evil character, Brundib\u00e1r, in the opera, represented Hitler. Does this change how the character has been treated\/approached? Are there other symbolic characters\/references in the work?<\/h3>\n

I don\u2019t think any changes were needed to bring out the connection with Hitler, or other current work leaders for that matter.\u00a0 Bullies are bullies, and the fact that most people will know the back story here means they will make all the connections they need to.\u00a0 It amazes me that the Nazis allowed this work to be performed. It really couldn\u2019t be more a condemnation of tyranny and a support of unity.<\/p>\n

What lessons does Brundib\u00e1r<\/em> teach in 2017?<\/h3>\n

As mentioned above, bullies, tyrants, and dictators will always rise.\u00a0 If we ignore them and give into them, we set ourselves up for tremendous hardship.\u00a0 If we stand together, we all stand to triumph.<\/p>\n

The CCCO’s Brundib\u00e1r runs March 3 through 5 at\u00a0Harbourfront Centre Theatre. Details here<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

#LUDWIGVAN<\/h3>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Musical Toronto chats with CCOC Artistic Director Dean Burry, about the inspiration to perform Brundib\u00e1r and the challenges it provokes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":43306,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6439,29,43,63],"tags":[620,978],"yst_prominent_words":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/02\/Dead_Burry.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-bgt","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43305"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43305"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43305\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43313,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43305\/revisions\/43313"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43305"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=43305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}