A discarded donkey playing the double bass, a hoarse rooster with a trumpet, an old dog playing percussion and a cat singing. Four animals together form a colourful group. In the eyes of the people, the animals are too old or no longer suitable to do their work. Full of energy, they throw themselves into a musical adventure.

After the very successful Reinaert de V. production, Holland Opera and Duda Paiva Company are working together again. Two-time Gouden Griffel winner Simon van der Geest is writing the libretto again. This time, the music is composed by Lucas Wiegerink. The direction is in the hands of Pim Veulings.

In this version, the animals talk with their instruments. The roles of the robbers are sung by top singers from Holland Opera.

The adaptation of Bremer Straatmuzikanten by Simon van der Geest:

The bosses of the factory walk in time. But they are shocked by the results: The donkey (accordion) is too old, the new technology is too complicated for him. He will be written off. But the donkey has heard everything, and as soon as they try to catch him, he breaks out and flees into the wide world.

In a tiny, fenced-in field sits a dog (saxophone). An owner tries to teach him to count. But he is too wild and cannot sit still, and he is constantly being punished. The donkey convinces him that a free life as a street musician suits him better.

On the street they find a hen/rooster (violin) that has been beaten up. Two bosses of the laying battalion tell them that the hen worked for them but refused to lay eggs; she claims not to be a hen. ‘Good; If you are not a hen, then you are a rooster, and you have to cluck, for the wake-up service.’ But this animal does not feel like a rooster either. The hen rooster does not want to lay or cluck, but much prefers to dance.

The donkey and the dog help the hen rooster up and take them with them. When they also encounter a cat with a war trauma, the quartet is complete.

They continue but have trouble with each other’s whims: the donkey is too slow, the dog shoots in all directions and the hen rooster is stubborn. When the storm breaks, the cat shrinks and does not dare to continue. The others sigh, but help her through it and they reconcile. They decide to start a band: the Bremer Buitenbeentjesband.

music: Lucas Wiegerink | libretto: Simon van der Geest | direction Pim Veulings | puppet maker and puppet choreography: Duda Paiva | dramaturgy: Joke Hoolboom | set design: Douwe Hibma | costumes Bregje Maatman |