About the work
Die kleine Hexe (The Little Witch) is a children's opera in two acts (2024) by Franz Wittenbrink after the children's book of the same name by Otfried Preußler (1957), with a libretto by Anne X. Weber and Susanne Lütje. It premiered on 26 October 2024 at the Komische Oper Berlin (at the Schillertheater) directed by Martina Gredler. After "Pippi Longstocking" it is Wittenbrink's second children's opera for the house.
Plot
At 127 years old, the little witch is really far too young to ride to the Blocksberg with the grown-up witches on Walpurgis Night — and yet, despite the warning of her raven Abraxas, she secretly does so. The wicked aunt Rumpumpel tells on her to the head witch, who takes away her broom as punishment but also promises: if she becomes a "good" witch by next year, she may join the Walpurgis Night. Together with the children Vroni and Thomas and with Abraxas, the little witch does everything to become good — while wrestling with the question of what makes a witch "good" in the first place.
Cultural significance
Wittenbrink clothes Preußler's classic about good and evil, individuality and belonging in catchy music that shifts between cabaret style, jazz and musical — complete with market bustle, a forest-animal chorus and Walpurgis Night. The work continues the tradition of children's operas premiered each year at the Komische Oper Berlin and delights young and adult audiences alike.