A Christmas classic with a heart

Zwei Kinder blicken neugierig hinter einem bunten, märchenhaften Lebkuchenhaus hervor, das auf der Bühne steht.

Do you have an inner child, and if so, isn't it sometimes terribly bored? Perhaps it sits quietly in a corner, having become well-behaved because bills have to be paid, deadlines kept and shopping bags carried. Sometimes it only speaks up quietly - at the smell of cinnamon, the sound of a nursery rhyme, the first snowfall. And then we feel it: It hasn't disappeared completely.

Christmas is a time when this inner child becomes a little braver. It knocks. It reminds us of how it felt not to seek wonder, but to carry it naturally within us. For children, this is natural. For adults, it is a rediscovery. Time to open Grimm's fairy tales.

Few operas are as closely associated with the Christmas season as Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel. The premiere took place on December 23, 1893 in Weimar with Richard Strauss conducting, and since then the work has been part of the Advent and festive season everywhere. When Hansel and Gretel is performed at the Vienna State Opera, it is almost like a joint house concert for an entire city. There is something deeply human about this opera, something that softens us. Its melodies are catchy, its scenes poetic and familiar: siblings who play even though they should actually be working. Fear in the dark forest. The amazement in front of the famous crunchy house. The ride on the witch's broom. The laughter. The trembling. The happy ending.

Eine märchenhafte Bühnenlandschaft in Blau mit leuchtenden Bäumen, schwebenden Wolken und Figuren in weißen Gewändern, die feierlich versammelt sind.

Adrian Noble's production presents the story as a fairy tale between an enchanted forest and Victorian London - a dream of stage sets and poetry. The music shimmers in the orchestral timbres of late Romanticism and creates a world full of warmth and magic. Humperdinck and his sister Adelheid Wette (who wrote the libretto) wove folk songs into the score that remind us of our own childhood: of security, of rituals, of verses that we could memorize as children without ever knowing when we had learned them. Gretel sings Suse, dear Suse while knitting, Hansel dances with her to Brüderchen, komm, tanz mit mir, and in the forest, between fear and curiosity, they hum Ein Männlein steht im Walde.

Eine schrill gekleidete Figur steht mit grimmigem Blick hinter einem Tisch voller Küchenutensilien auf der Bühne vor einem düsteren Hintergrund.

Noble's production also brings out the serious undertones of the fairy tale: poverty, neglect, hunger - situations in which children are actually at risk. Noble reminds us that Hansel and Gretel not only dream, dance and play, but also walk along a border beyond which everyday life can suddenly topple over. The proximity to death, which always resonates in Grimm's fairy tales, is not defused here, but taken seriously. This makes it clear how fragile the world sometimes is - and how strong children can be when danger and salvation, darkness and light, are directly opposite each other.

This evening is not just an opera. It is also the shared breath of a family. Attending a performance of Hansel and Gretel can be a unifying experience: the children experience fear and wonder in the witch's house and dance along inside. Parents can hear the grand, romantic opera between the lines. Grandparents may sense a familiar melancholy in the music. It is a work that allows generations to talk to each other across the stage.

Ein junges Mädchen in einem altmodischen Kleid sitzt fröhlich mit gespreizten Beinen auf der Bühne vor einer märchenhaften Kulisse mit dunklen Baumumrissen.

Eine Person hockt mit ängstlichem Blick unter einem Tisch auf der Bühne in einer rustikal gestalteten Stube mit mehreren Besen im Hintergrund.