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Hansel and Gretel
Seating plan Order tickets
 January 2025 | ||||||
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Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | Su |
Opera by Engelbert Humperdinck
in German language with German surtitles
After a night in the forest, far away from their parents, Hansel and Gretel can't believe their eyes: a house made entirely of gingerbread! At first the witch living in the house sounds quite friendly, but soon she shows her true colours: Hansel is locked in a cage. Will Gretel succeed in saving her brother?
Karl Dönch's production of Engelbert Humperdinck's fairy tale opera has lost none of its fascination over the years! The indispensable classic in the repertoire of the Volksoper never fails to thrill, complete with the witch's flight over the orchestra pit.
Recommended from 6 years
Synopsis
Act One: Hansel and Gretel are supposed to help their parents by working, but they would rather play. Their mother is very angry with them. She sends the children out into the forest to gather berries. Otherwise they will have nothing for supper. The children’s father, a broom-maker, comes home. He is happy because he has sold a lot of brooms. The children’s mother tells him that the children are in the forest. He is shocked, fearing that they might have lost their way and ended up at the house of the wicked witch.
Act Two: While they have been looking for berries, Hansel and Gretel have lost their way in the heart of the forest. It is getting dark and the children are tired. The Sand Man comes and scatters sand in their eyes, and Hansel and Gretel fall asleep. They are watched over by guardian angels who come down from Heaven specially to make sure that nothing happens to them.
Act Three: Next morning the children are woken by the Dew Fairy. Seeing the gingerbread house, they go and start nibbling at it. The wicked witch comes out of the house and casts a spell on Hansel and Gretel. She locks Hansel in a cage in order to fatten him up and roast him for her dinner. Gretel is supposed to help her in the house. She overhears the witch’s magic spell, by which she has brought all the children who have passed by into her power. Gretel pretends not to be clever enough to perform the task of taking some gingerbread out of the oven. The witch shows her how to do it. Quickly Gretel frees her brother from the cage and they both push the witch into the oven. All the other children are released from their enchantment by Gretel. Finally, the parents find Hansel and Gretel, and all join in a happy song of praise.
Program and cast
Stage direction: Karl Dönch
Set and costume design: Toni Businger
Volksoper Vienna
Public transport:
Underground line U6
Trams 40, 41, 42
Bus 40A
Stop "Währinger Straße / Volksoper"
A taxi stand is located at Währinger Gürtel.
Parking garages in WIFI and AKH
The Volksoper is Vienna’s main stage for operetta, opera, musicals and ballet, offering sophisticated musical entertainment. Colourful, eclectic and full of vitality, it is the only theatre dedicated to the genre of operetta.
Operetta belongs to Vienna and Vienna installed it at the home of operetta, Volksopera Vienna, which thereupon became the leading operetta house in the world. First class singers, actors and dancers together with a versatile orchestra cunjure up a musical firework display every evening.
Johann Strauss, Franz Lehár, Emmerich Kálmán wrote their world famous beloved melodies for operettas such as “The Fledermaus”, “The Merry Widow” and “The Csárdás Princess”. A visit to at least one of these operettas at the Volksopera Vienna is a must for every visitor to Vienna!
Also performed are operas from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, as well as classic musicals and ballet. In addition, the Volksoper has a fifth longstanding and proven speciality: it stages soirées, cabaret and burlesque performances under the name of “Volksoper Spezial”.
In the repertory theatre, which seats 1,337 persons, some 300 performances of around 35 different productions are staged every year between September and June.
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