Costume Designer

Johann Strauss worked on a ballet based on the well-known fairy tale of Cinderella at the end of his life. Only a fragment of the piece survived. Axel Ranisch and Martina Eisenreich have created their own work inspired by this: In Vienna, 1899, Strauss is working on his ballet, but who is the mysterious librettist? And what does Ida Grünwald have to do with the project, when she is supposed to be merely typing the libretto? The story behind the creation of the Johann Strauss ballet, its storyline, and an unusual Cinderella narrative set in our present day – this fairy tale opera blends timelines and explores themes of self-discovery, emancipation, creativity, and the power of imagination.

Vienna, 1899: Johann Strauss is working on a new ballet. A competition is held to find a suitable libretto, but only one truly sparks the composer’s imagination...

The Cinderella Ballet: The talented seamstress Grete works in her stepmother’s fashion salon. Grete dreams of designing her own clothing, but her stepsisters, Yvette and Fanchon, mock her relentlessly. When the painter Leon enters the salon, everything changes.

Cinderella's Dream

Volksoper Wien

“I want to experience something for once, not just bat my eyelashes” is the motto of the strong-willed, karate-wielding Snow White in Elena Kats-Chernin and Susanne Felicitas Wolf’s powerful version. Supported by the life-size rabbit Richard III and 77 dwarves from the Graz Opera singing school, Snow White succeeds in taking her life into her own hands and escaping persecution by her deceitful stepmother. Lovingly encouraging fun for the whole family with a fast-paced musical mix of classical, musical and pop, cartoon film music and pop songs.

Snow White and the 77 Dwarfs

Oper Graz

Smetana's Bartered Bride depicts the state of emergency into which an entire Czech village is plunged during the fair and the seemingly hopeless struggle of a young woman for her seemingly betrayed and sold love. The utopian counter-world of a traveling circus holds up a mirror to the villagers' desires, their dependencies, fears and hopes.

Die verkaufte Braut (Prodaná Nevěsta)

Vienna State Opera

Lydia Steier's production shows us three worlds: A dazzling vaudeville atmosphere in which Venus is at home - the first act. Then the cold, restrictive Wartburg world (Act 2) and an illusionless media landscape in Act 3. As a second level, Steier inserts a theatrical journey through time: It begins with the cult that does not separate audience from spectator, then the path leads to sensual baroque theater and ends up in the classic separate spectator-performer situation; finally, Steier leads us into a landscape in which isolation has taken hold and flashing screens draw attention to themselves. Until, in the final moments, she draws a line back to baroque theater.

Tannhäuser

What does it feel like when, in an instant, your life is turned upside down? That’s what happens to Christine, the wife of court music director Robert Storch. A misdelivered letter leads her to believe that her husband is betraying her in a most shameful manner. She goes on an emotional rollercoaster ride, and the story seems to be veering towards a tragic end ..

Intermezzo

Semperoper Dresden

“This is a delicate matter, how will it end?”
Countess, Susanna and Figaro
On the occasion of Figaro and Susanna's wedding, Count Almaviva wants to once again indulge in the long-abolished "right of the first night," setting in motion a machine of confusion, intrigue, and doubt that ultimately leads to the exposure of the Count's abuse of power, but also to the possibility of forgiveness.
Only a composer like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart could have come up with the downright ludicrous idea of ​​setting Beaumarchais's La folle journée ou Le mariage de Figaro to music in 1786 , the most politically explosive comedy of those years—a portrait of a society in upheaval and a nobility once again exercising their privileges and blindly running towards their own ruin. The very first bars of the overture make it irresistibly clear: in this play, every bar, every syllable, every whisper carries the undertone of nervous excitement. There is a standstill only at the turning points, those precious moments in which Mozart reveals the inner lives of his heroes. But the adventure continues, and only the onset of night can bring this "mad day" to an end.

The Marriage of Figaro

Staatstheater Hannover

First performed in Dresden in 1924, Richard Strauss’s Intermezzo provides all manner of insights into his turbulent married life.

“How am I supposed to do that? I'm going mad!” On Fadinard’s wedding day, his horse eats the straw hat of a lady having a bit of fun with her lover in the bushes. But Anaide doesn’t dare return to her jealous husband Beaupertuis without her new Florentine hat: she simply has to get hold of a new one! An odyssey full of hijinks begins, taking Fadinard across the length and breadth of Paris ...

Costume Designer

Alfred Mayerhofer

Events

Upcoming events

Sep 25, 2025 - Mar 31, 2026

Die verkaufte Braut (Prodaná Nevěsta) · Wiener Staatsoper

Nov 29, 2025 - Jun 12, 2026

Snow White and the 77 Dwarfs · Oper Graz

Nov 29, 2025 - Feb 8, 2026

Cinderella's Dream · Volksoper Wien

Mar 1 - May 30, 2026

The Marriage of Figaro · Staatstheater Hannover

23 - 30 Apr, 2026

Intermezzo · Semperoper Dresden

Past events

Nov 29, 2025 - Feb 8, 2026

Cinderella's Dream · Volksoper Wien

Nov 29, 2025 - Jun 12, 2026

Snow White and the 77 Dwarfs · Oper Graz

About

Alfred Mayerhofer hasn't added a bio