Name: ALICE
Start: 2026-04-30T18:00:00
Location: Staatstheater Kassel

Nora Quest

Philipp Staschull

Peter Schedding

Kristina-Sofia Katsagiorgis

Helena Pape

Jonathan Suras

Paul Leevke

Keyan Ramic

Liane Dingel

Alina Moch

Clara Lencastre

Frida Rosenkranz

Charlotte Geismann

Maria Katharina Schmid

Marco Schlotzhauer

Mark Reingardt

Milou Klee

Juno Glück

Helene Thielemann

Anna Rudolph

Marlene Pawlak

Nele Neugebauer

Brigitta Hüttmann

Staatstheater Kassel

The famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart lived over 250 years ago. He wrote a wealth of music – music that transports us to faraway lands, tells stories of cheeky bird catchers and angry queens, and makes us feel sad but also truly brave. In this children's concert, we'll embark together on a journey through Mozart's magical world – and get to know him personally!

2. Children's Concert: Mozart and the Enchanting Flute Sounds

A mother and daughter live in a rented apartment building by the canal, outside the city. Rents are rising, and the mother reacts to every other crisis in her life with helplessness and lethargy. Neither the accusations nor the efforts of her daughter Vera help her.

Schamparadies (UA)

tif - Theater at the Fridericianum

"Which of you loves me most?" King Lear asks his three daughters, Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia, intending to divide his kingdom fairly among them after their sworn declarations of love. But he miscalculates: his beloved daughter, Cordelia, rejects the love contest and demands honesty instead. Lear—beside himself with rage—banishes her and divides his land between his other two daughters. The condition: he and his retinue must be fed and housed by one of them each month. But Goneril and Regan quickly tire of this demand, want to be rid of him, and seize the first opportunity to depose him. The once great king, reduced to bare human existence, descends further into madness, abandoned by everyone—except his court jester. Then news arrives from France that the exiled Cordelia has raised an army to rescue him and fight against her own sisters. An unprecedented spiral of violence is set in motion. At its end, everyone is dead. Almost.

König Lear

Beyond Mars to the right, then through the first black hole and 100,000 light-years straight ahead – is there life in space in distant galaxies? What does the planet Arktos, where it's always icy, sound like? What songs do the Gummi Bears sing on the star Boriha? How do you defend against space debris? And can machines make music too?

Ready, set - music!

What exactly does a director do? At the "Mittendrin" workshop on March 6th and 7th, Olivia Müller-Elmau, director of the production SCHAMPARADIES and assistant director at the theater, will offer insights into the profession of directing. Using the production SCHAMPARADIES as a case study, you'll gain an overview of the various phases of directing at the city and state theater: developing a directorial concept, collaborating with set design, costumes, and music, and rehearsing with actors. And because practice is better than theory, the workshop will also put you in the role of a director: How can you develop an idea based on a short scene? Which theatrical techniques help in realizing your idea? And how can you guide actors to bring their vision to life on stage?

Right in the thick of it, not just a bystander

The Dushevin's Ballet School presents a classic ballet production at the Kassel State Theatre: the ballet "Coppélia." With "Coppélia," based on the libretto by Charles Nuitter and Arthur Saint-Léon, the fantastic music of Léo Delibes, and the story "The Sandman" by E.T.A. Hoffmann, one of the most famous ballets returns to the theatre's stage. Considered one of the greatest comic ballets of the 19th century, it is among the best-known and most beloved works in the repertoire and has been performed on all the world's most renowned stages. Choreographed according to the finest Russian traditions of classical ballet performance, it is presented by members of the Kassel-based Dushevin's Ballet School.

Guest performance: Coppelia

To the world-famous strains of Verdi's triumphal march, Kassel's new opera ship sets sail on its voyage through the ocean of the global market and the shallows of its global crises. What begins as a sensual cruise on our theatrical stage tanker in Kassel's new INTERIM venue will soon become the benchmark for a future of experiential music theater. And no sooner have we set sail than some are already grumbling that the boat is full, while others are demanding new defensive capabilities to preserve the current prosperity on deck.

Despite its crew of over 200 people—including the chorus, extra chorus, and supernumeraries, the state orchestra, the stage orchestra, the famous six distant trumpets, and the international cast of outstanding soloists—this musical ship of dreams is already listing badly on its maiden voyage with Giuseppe Verdi's Aida . For it soon becomes clear that Verdi's ecstatic love story is primarily a parable of European imperialism—especially in the popular choral scenes with their biting musical jabs at the war-mongering Prussian military and its blind obedience. This imperialistic quest for a place in the sun evokes memories of the German Empire, forcibly founded by Prussia in 1871, the year of the premiere, which is now confined to the walls of the Kassel Jägerkaserne, built in 1910. On its former parade ground, the new INTERIM of the formerly Prussian, now Hessian State Theatre Kassel will open in autumn 2025 with Verdi's monumental work.

Aida

We need to talk about motherhood and women's unpaid care work! What does the body do before, during, and after childbirth? Aside from the biological changes and resulting pension gaps, pregnancy is one of the greatest challenges and miracles the female body performs. Is this kind of work actually worth paying for?

Milch & Schuld (UA)

Based on the hit film of the same name starring Jack Black, Andrew Lloyd Webber's rousing rock musical follows struggling singer Dewey Finn, who is kicked out of his band just before a competition. To at least pay the rent, Dewey pretends to be a substitute teacher and, without actually knowing anything about math or any other school subjects, ends up at an elite school. What he does know a lot about, however, is music! As homework, he assigns his students to listen to music by bands like AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath – which, much to the headmistress's chagrin, becomes the soundtrack to everyday school life.

School of Rock

A lineup that has long captivated instrumentalist and composer Diego. The unique possibilities offered by the classical ensemble of string quartet/quintet continually inspire the charango virtuoso to seek a fusion of his small, little-known string marvel with the king of classical chamber music ensembles.
His compositions and arrangements, which take center stage in this project, combine classical instrumentation with the originally purely folkloric Andean guitar.

2nd Chamber Concert

The company revives one of our most successful productions, one which has been seen across Europe and has become only more relevant in our divided world.

Gastspiel: The life and death of Martin Luther King

The Japanese word 開花 (Kaika), along with the concept of blooming, is the theme of TANZ_KASSEL's season. Kaika is composed of the characters 開 (opening, unfolding) and 花 (flower) and means flowering or blossoming. It describes the moment when a flower opens its bud and blooms in all its glory. This meaning can be understood both literally and metaphorically—as a symbol of growth, unfolding, and the beginning of something new. It becomes a metaphor for life, which blossoms amidst death and decay but can never last. A fleeting moment of elevation that is inevitably swallowed by darkness.

The Whole And Its Parts (at)

Immerse yourself with us in the wondrous world of the musical and accompany the heroine Alice on her adventurous journey through the mysterious Wonderland, where nothing is as it seems, and fantastic characters like the Mad Hatter, the White Rabbit and the evil King of Hearts await us.