About the work
Alice im Wunderland is a family opera (fairy-tale opera) by the Italian composer Pierangelo Valtinoni (b. 1959), with a libretto by Paolo Madron after Lewis Carroll's classic children's book; the German text version is by Hanna Francesconi. The work was commissioned by the Opernhaus Zürich and the Hong Kong Arts Festival. The premiere, originally planned for Zürich, had to be postponed because of the Covid pandemic; the world premiere took place in Hong Kong in 2021, the Swiss premiere in Zürich in 2022. Valtinoni's melodious, colourfully orchestrated music introduces young audiences from about the age of seven to the genre of opera in a playful way. The Bielefeld staging follows the Zürich production by director Nadja Loschky.
Plot
On a boring afternoon the girl Alice follows a talking white rabbit with a pocket watch into its burrow and falls into Wonderland — a world where nothing obeys familiar logic. A little bottle labelled "Drink me!" makes her shrink, a piece of cake makes her grow enormous. On her journey Alice meets the smoking Caterpillar, the grinning Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter and the March Hare at their never-ending tea party, and the hot-tempered Queen of Hearts, who cries "Off with their heads!" at every turn. Between an absurd trial and a turbulent game of croquet, Alice holds her own with stubbornness and courage, until at last she wakes from her wondrous dream.
Cultural significance
Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" (1865) has inspired countless stage, film and operatic versions; Valtinoni's setting belongs to his successful family operas for the Opernhaus Zürich, which previously included "The Wizard of Oz." By combining demanding music with child-friendly storytelling, the work helps introduce new, young audiences to opera. The fantastic world of Alice, its play with language, logic and proportion, still makes the material an ideal subject for music theatre.