Singer

“Crunchy, crunchy crunch, who’s going to crunch my house?”
Hanover's cult production of Hansel and Gretel is back—and here it is! Steffen Tiggeler's work has been on the State Opera's program since 1964, making it the longest-running production of this fairytale play, lovingly composed in Wagnerian style by Engelbert Humperdinck and with a nostalgic libretto by his sister Adelheid Wette.
Hansel and Gretel, the children of a broom-making couple, live in dire poverty. There's hardly any food on the table at home. So, while their father senses trouble, their mother sends them into the forest to gather berries. Hansel and Gretel get lost and fall into the clutches of the evil gingerbread witch, who wants to turn them into gingerbread and consume them herself. Gretel manages to outwit the gingerbread witch, who throws them both into the oven. In the happy ending, all the gingerbread children who had previously fallen into the clutches of the witch are freed. Father and mother also find Hansel and Gretel safe and sound.

Hansel and Gretel

Staatstheater Hannover

"Am I still Don Juan? No, I don't know anything about him anymore. The role is over. Something has ended, and something else is beginning."
Don Giovanni—the epitome of the ruthless, charismatic seducer. His life is marked by interpersonal encounters, affairs, and relationships. He savors life to the fullest, finding himself in the midst of a frenzied feast. But now Don Giovanni crosses the line: in a duel, he kills the Commendatore, which suddenly leaves a pool of blood in his life book, which was previously meticulously filled with women's names.
The production by Bastian Kraft and his team questions Don Giovanni about the life images of this radically ruthless man, who already sees his own death approaching and yet clings to life once more. More and more memories of his life so far intrude on him. But the voices of the dark figures he encounters—opponents, rivals, lovers—also grow louder and louder. Don Giovanni's actions do not remain without consequences. The images of a single night are overwritten and blurred beyond recognition.

Don Giovanni

Two things must be known about Undines, aquatic beings in feminine form; first, they can only attain an immortal soul by marrying an earthly man. Second, if Undine's love is betrayed, she must kill the unfaithful man. When the knight Hugo falls in love with Undine, it seems that happiness is perfect at last, the wedding bells ring, the village rejoices and celebrates. But then Bertalda appears and the lake's water level ominously begins to rise.

Undine

Oper Leipzig

The opera has barely gotten underway before the first death occurs and Don Giovanni is in hot pursuit. But this does not stop the seducer of all seducers from going after the next woman: he adores them all! His wildly colourful exploits sweep him through all social strata, regardless to whether the lady of choice is already involved with someone else. Even if one may have slight doubts when it comes to the total number of his conquests – 1470! – Don Giovanni's appeal amongst women is undeniable. But what exactly is his secret?

We've all been there: in hotels, you're always fascinated by people from all over the world and their customs! And when this motley crew find themselves in a tizzy because they all want to go to Paris for the coronation but are prevented from doing so by the transportation system? And when the Hotel zur Goldenen Lilie is run by an excellent proprietor like Madame Cortese, who is determined to make her guests' stay unforgettable, virtuoso, colorful entertainment is guaranteed. Love potions, deft personnel, fainting spells due to a missing hatbox, f librations and misunderstandings culminate in a banquet with international toasts: long live the monarch and long live international understanding!

The Journey to Reims

Conceived as a preliminary evening to Wagner’s interpretation of world mythology, »Das Rheingold« introduces the central themes of this tetralogy: »Only he who renounces the power of love« can form the Rheingold into a ring that promises its bearer power over the world. It is the low E-flat in the strings that gives us the musical manifestation of the idea of a natural primitive state. But once Alberich steals the Rheingold, a chain of events are set in motion: Wotan’s megalomaniacal plan to build a structure representative of gods’ long-lost authority is followed by Alberich’s betrayal at Wotan and Loge’s hand and Alberich’s subsequent curse. The murder of Fasolt by his brother Fafner ensues. Not even Erda, with her wisdom and warning, can stop the chain of events from unfurling.

Das Rheingold

La Traviata is the final work in the Trilogia Popolare, Verdi’s trio of masterpieces written between 1850-52. Once again, he was inspired by an outsider: after the jester in Rigoletto and the gypsy Azucena in Il Trovatore, the courtesan Violetta Valéry -- a woman whose charm surpasses her predecessors -- takes center stage here. The Parisian demimonde is the setting for the story of the unconditional and hopeless love between Alfredo Germont and the terminally ill Violetta. From the very beginning, their love is threatened not only by death, but also by the norms of the society and the honor of a family.

La Traviata

The brave knight Amadis is held responsible for the disappearance of the brother of Arcabonne and Arcalaus. The two use their magical powers and mobilize the demonic underworld to lure Amadis into their realm and defeat him once and for all. Suddenly, nothing is as it seems: Amadis is abandoned in the forest by his beloved Princess Oriane and held captive in Arcalau's secret laboratory. All seems lost... but fortunately the powers of heaven have something to say about it.

Amadis, the Knight

Welcome to the mysterious fairy-tale world of the »Magic Flute«! Even the names of the characters sound magical and remind us of our first visits to the opera: Tamino, Pamina, Papageno, Sarastro … Hardly any other work of opera literature includes so many contradictory elements, so harmoniously combined into a coherent entity by Mozart's music . Is his arguably most popular opera an adventure story about growing up? A parable of wisdom, philosophy and friendship? Is it simply about staying true to oneself, like the bird catcher Papageno? He accompanies Prince Tamino, who has fallen in love with a picture of the kidnapped Pamina and plans to free her. We are reminded that the world cannot always be divided into good and evil: the Queen of the Night and Sarastro illustrate this to us through their quarrel over Pamina. On our journey we are also accompanied by three ladies, three boys, a glockenspiel, and a flute that tames even the wildest animals.

Soprano

Olga Jelínková

Events

Past events

3 - 23 Dec, 2025

Hansel and Gretel · Staatstheater Hannover

Oct 2 - Nov 1, 2025

Don Giovanni · Staatstheater Hannover

Future and recently performed repertoire

Donna Anna in Don Giovanni by Mozart

Staatstheater Hannover

1. Dame in The Magic Flute by Mozart

Oper Leipzig

Violetta Valery in La traviata by Verdi

Oper Leipzig

Woglinde in Das Rheingold by Wagner

Oper Leipzig

Donna Anna in Don Giovanni by Mozart

Oper Leipzig

Undine in Undine by Dvořák

Oper Leipzig

Gretel in Hansel and Gretel by Humperdinck

Staatstheater Hannover

About

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