OPERA VIVA – Children perform opera

OPERA VIVA

A fun way for children to get to know opera. Unlike their parents, they are not limited to the role of spectators, but are involved in the action, with costumes, instruments, acting and dancing – almost like the stars in the main building next door.
An unforgettable experience – opera can be that lively!
The Austrian musician Klaudia Kadlec offers children the opportunity to come into contact with great operas in a playful way. »Klaudia Kadlec’s biography

Tickets: CHF 35 (incl. buffet and drinks in the interval)
Max. 50 children (7–14 years)

Performances in this season:
24. / 25. September 2011 Il barbiere di Siviglia
22. / 23. October 2011 Otello
28. / 29. January 2012 Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
3. / 4. March 2012 Don Carlo
2. / 3. June 2012 Die Entführung aus dem Serail
7. / 8. July 2012 Die Zauberflöte
»more information

Wagner’s “Ring of the Nibelung” for children

Much of what is found in “Harry Potter” and “The Lord of the Rings” is also contained in Wagner’s “Ring of the Nibelung”: fairytale elements and mysterious worlds are of the utmost importance in both the opera and these books. It was therefore clear to the director and author Matthias von Stegmann to create a version of Wagner’s “Ring” for children and young people together with the composer Hirofumi Misawa. However, the production, which lasts for just over an hour, is not a condensed version of Wagner’s epos, but tells the story freely based on the original. The young audience are acquainted with Wagner’s figures and come into contact with his music, which – in a reduced orchestration – is played almost exclusively in its original state. The production skilfully plays with heroic and comic elements, and as the successful performances in Tokyo and in the Children’s Marquee at the Vienna State Opera have shown, also casts its spell over adult opera connoisseurs.  
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«Die zauberflöte» for children

Mozart’s masterpiece is presented in a version shortened to approximately 70 minutes for the youngest (from 5 years), young and also adult audiences, thus providing children with their first insight into the fascinating world of opera. Papageno is the presenter, who accompanies the audience through the piece in an easily understandable, cheerful manner, and experiences his adventures with the prince Tamino, who has fallen in love with Pamina, the daughter of the Queen of the Night, and yearns to liberate her from the kingdom of Sarastro, who has abducted her. However, until the happy ending of the piece, there are numerous hindrances to be overcome, such as wild beasts that bar Tamino’s path, or Monostatos, who has also fallen in love with Pamina. And even if Papageno is in no mood for heroic deeds, his yearning for a “girl or young woman” is rewarded – and her name, of course, is Papagena.
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