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Hansel and
Gretel

Mann i kostyme sitter i radiobil Photo: Erik Berg
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Running
26. January–​15. February
Scene
Main Stage
Duration
2 h 15 min / 1 Break

Frightful delight of a fairytale opera for the entire family

Hansel and Gretel feel the hunger gnawing at their insides. When they are sent from home to find food, they discover a candy heaven and a child’s paradise, but also a strange man.

A carousel of a performance 

In director Alexander Mørk-Eidem’s critically acclaimed version of Hansel and Gretel, the familiar forest has been replaced by an abandoned carnival, complete with bumper cars, a Ferris wheel and cotton candy. But a shadowy figure lurks in the wings...  

Aftenposten critic Maren Ørstavik called Mørk-Eidem’s tampering with Humperdinck’s classic opera “delightfully creepy”, while NRK’s Eystein Sandvik asserted that the set design alone was worth the price of admission at the Oslo Opera House. 

The evening promises to be both unnerving and amusing for young and old alike. So, take the kids, grandma or your best friend and hop on a carousel of a performance! 

Direction that sears itself into the mind.

OLAV EGIL AUNE, VÅRT LAND  

Fairytale and reality 

The story about two children who meet a witch in the woods is found in many countries and variants, with no fewer than 12 different versions found in Norway alone. Humperdinck’s opera is a milder version of the Brothers Grimm’s rather brutal fairytale. 

Fairytales sprout from a seed of reality and in Hansel and Gretel, we find a fear that was very real at one time. When the Grimm’s fairytale was written in 1812, children were sometimes placed in the woods to die. But like in the fairytale, the children overcome both the witch and their own fear. 

This freaky figure (Rossini Wildenway) is a stroke of performance genius.

EYSTEIN SANDVIK, NRK 

Playful music that endures 

The world’s most famous children’s opera was first performed on the night before Christmas Eve in 1893, when Humperdinck’s opera premiered, and with no other than Richard Strauss as conductor. But even though Hansel and Gretel was written for children, it holds its own among Wagner’s great romantic operas, with playful, German folk tunes that are hard to forget. 

Artistic team and cast

  • Music
    Engelbert Humperdinck
  • Original title
    Hänsel und Gretel
  • Libretto
    Adelheid Wette, bases Grimm's Fairy Tales
  • Norwegian translation
    Gudrun Glette
  • Conductor
    Leo Hussain
  • Direction
    Alexander Mørk-Eidem
  • Set design
    Christian Friedländer
  • Costume design
    Jenny Ljungberg
  • Lighting design
    Ellen Ruge
  • Participants
    Children's Chorus and Opera Orchestra
    • Grete
        • 26. Jan 2025 16:00
        • 30. Jan 2025 19:00
        • 1. Feb 2025 18:00
        • 5. Feb 2025 19:00
        • 11. Feb 2025 19:00
        • 13. Feb 2025 19:00
        • 15. Feb 2025 18:00
    • Hans
        • 26. Jan 2025 16:00
        • 30. Jan 2025 19:00
        • 1. Feb 2025 18:00
        • 5. Feb 2025 19:00
        • 11. Feb 2025 19:00
        • 13. Feb 2025 19:00
        • 15. Feb 2025 18:00
    • Mor
        • 26. Jan 2025 16:00
        • 30. Jan 2025 19:00
        • 1. Feb 2025 18:00
        • 5. Feb 2025 19:00
        • 11. Feb 2025 19:00
        • 13. Feb 2025 19:00
        • 15. Feb 2025 18:00
    • Far
        • 26. Jan 2025 16:00
        • 30. Jan 2025 19:00
        • 1. Feb 2025 18:00
        • 5. Feb 2025 19:00
        • 11. Feb 2025 19:00
        • 13. Feb 2025 19:00
        • 15. Feb 2025 18:00
    • Wildenway
        • 26. Jan 2025 16:00
        • 30. Jan 2025 19:00
        • 1. Feb 2025 18:00
        • 5. Feb 2025 19:00
        • 11. Feb 2025 19:00
        • 13. Feb 2025 19:00
        • 15. Feb 2025 18:00
Price
150–870 kr
Language
norsk
Subtitles
norsk og engelsk
  • Sunday 26. January
    16:00 / Main Stage
  • Thursday 30. January
    19:00 / Main Stage
  • Saturday 1. February
    18:00 / Main Stage
  • Wednesday 5. February
    19:00 / Main Stage
  • Tuesday 11. February
    19:00 / Main Stage
  • Thursday 13. February
    19:00 / Main Stage
  • Saturday 15. February
    18:00 / Main Stage