Brundibár is an opera written for children. No more than forty minutes long, it was composed in 1938 by Hans Krása, with lyrics by Adolf Hoffmeister, as an entry for a children’s opera competition. It received its premiere in German-occupied Prague and was performed by children at the Jewish Orphanage in Belgicka Street.
Brundibár had one additional performance in the Hagibor building before the mass transports of Bohemian and Moravian Jews to Terezín began in 1942. In July 1943, the score of Brundibár was smuggled into camp, where it was re-orchestrated by Krása for the various instrumentalists who were available to play at that time. The premiere of the Terezín version took place on 23 September 1943 in the hall of the Magdeburg barracks.
