The Bremen Town Musicians
Davie's
SUNDAY
OCTOBER 17
2:00 PM
Performances will take place throughout the 2022-2023 Season
THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT FOR 2022-2023.
To be added to the waitlist, please email us at info@piedmontopera.org.
SYNOPSIS
The Bremen Town Musicians, is an operatic version of the Brothers Grimm classic fairytale set to music by Rossini, Donizetti, Offenbach, Arthur Sullivan and Verdi. This opera for children tells the story of a rooster, dog, cat, and a donkey whose paths cross on the way to the town of Bremen.
Working together as a team to overcome difficult challenges, the newly-formed Bremen Town Musicians celebrate the idea that friendship, teamwork, and respect for others are much better than facing our problems by ourselves.
CAST AND CREW
A note from John Davies
Acceptance of others unlike ourselves is certainly a worthy subject, and importantly, our attitude toward others who are "different" is a lesson we learn when we are young.
When Fort Worth Opera asked me to write a children’s opera based on the Brothers Grimm folktale, The Town Musicians of Bremen, I saw an opportunity to present acceptance & cooperation as high on the list of options for solving shared problems.
The story follows the fortunes of four farm animals, thrust together accidentally and forced by circumstance to move together through the course of a difficult day on the hazardous Bremen Road. Different by species (donkey, rooster, dog, and cat) with distinctly dissimilar temperaments, they begin their association petulantly, with not the least bit of consideration for each other.
As the day advances, however, difficulties arise that none of the animals would be able to overcome by themselves. Recognizing there's safety in being together, and with each character offering unique abilities, the unlikely companions begin to appreciate that staying with each other and combining strengths is the best strategy for survival. By degrees, "What's best for me?" gives way to a collective "What's best for us?" and "What can I do for myself?" gets nudged out by "How can I help?"
Inclusiveness and diversity were probably not driving themes when Will & Jake Grimm envisioned The Town Musicians of Bremen. That said, I’d like to think young audiences will conclude that acceptance of folks, no matter how different, is the smart and decent thing to do. And along with my drum-playing donkey, opera singing rooster, cantankerous dog, and opinionated cat, that marching together is a far better choice than going it alone on the Bremen Road.
About Our Performers
The performers are graduate-level students of the A. J. Fletcher Opera Institute of the UNC School of the Arts, working on professional degrees in opera. In most cases, these students have already performed with professional opera companies throughout the United States.
The A. J. Fletcher Opera Institute is an Academic Institute of Higher Education in Winston-Salem, NC.
Piedmont Opera is a professional opera company also located in Winston-Salem, NC.
Both organizations are collaborating to bring you this educational program.
The A. J. Fletcher Opera Institute is not financially supported by Piedmont Opera.