The Snow Queen
Fairytale opera in two acts by Pierangelo Valtinoni
From 6 years and up
Libretto by Paolo Madron
German text by Frank Harders-Wuthenow and Werner Hintze
A work commissioned by the Komische Oper Berlin
Komische Oper ’children festival
Friday, 17.02.2012, 19:00
From 6 years and up
from 6 years and up
2 hour (with intermission)
In the far north, so far north that one can only go south, there is a magical castle. This is the home of the mysterious Snow Queen, whose icy beauty casts a spell over many people. But whoever enters her kingdom stays imprisoned there and gradually turns to ice. This is what happens to little Kay: fascinated by the geometry of the snowflakes and ice crystals, he follows the trail of their mysterious mistress and disappears. His best friend, Gerda, goes looking for him. On her long, danger-filled journey, she encounters a talking river, cheeky birds, a not-at-all-wild robber's daughter, a reindeer, and many other strange creatures who encourage and help her until she finally reaches the sparkling ice palace and is able to save her friend from the cold embrace...
Hans Christian Anderson wrote the fairytale of the Snow Queen, which tells of the perpetual longing for faraway places, and the insurmountable power of true human affection. Pierangelo Valtinoni, whose Pinocchio is one of our theatre's most popular children's productions, has used this story as a basis for composing a new opera which transforms the comic and tragic episodes into music, entirely in the tradition of lyrical Italian opera.
Little Kay was blue with cold, almost black even; and yet he still did not notice, because his heart was like a lump of ice.
Hans Christian Andersen, The Snow Queen