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The Cunning
Little Vixen

Dame med blomst i munnen sitter på en gynge Photo: Monika Karl Forster
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Running
22. March–​12. April
Scene
Main Stage
Duration
2 h 30 min / 1 Break

Stefan Herheim is back – with a fantastic fairytale opera for adults!

A magical forest and enchanting workshops: Encounter parallel worlds, dig through layer upon layer of games and meaning – and experience the music that makes it all possible.

Outfoxing humans 

A cunning little fox is taken home by a forester. She is full of animal instincts, yet also surprisingly human. The fox gossips, steals and kills. She fights for her freedom, seizes the moment with passion and shows everyone around her what it means to live. 

When the magic of opera comes to life 

Now and then, it takes a fairytale to make us see reality for what it is. And sometimes it is animals who draw our attention to what it means to be human. The Cunning Little Vixen does just that – through music. 

kaleidoscope of images, associations, and subject matter

Moore Parker, theoperacritic.com

A celebration of the power of music 

The Cunning Little Vixen was written by Czech composer Leoš Janáček, who also wrote the operas Jenufa and Katja Kabanova. It first premiered in 1924 and is adapted from a novella by Rudolf Tešnohlídek published in a Czech newspaper in 1920. With this as inspiration, Janáček created an unconventional portrayal of both humans and animals that shows that nature and culture are not opposites, but two sides of the same coin.  

The music in the opera is as playful as it is melancholic, and is a celebration of the circle of life. Director Stefan Herheim takes this as an invitation to celebrate the transcendent power of musical theatre to change – both us and the world.   

The Cunning Little Vixen is opulent, technically complex and grand both in scale and aesthetics, and also packed with meta commentary. 

Chanda Vanderhart, Bachtrack

Critically acclaimed director returns – together with a new music director 

Norwegian Stefan Herheim is respected worldwide for his clever and light-hearted opera interpretations. Here in Oslo, he has orchestrated such critically acclaimed performances as Julius Cæsar, Tannhaüser, La Bohème and La Cenerentola.  

Herheim is currently opera director at the Theater an der Wien. The Cunning Little Vixen was the first performance he personally directed from this director’s chair. It first premiered in Vienna in 2022 and was praised by critics.    

Several of our up-and-coming Norwegian opera soloists are sharing the stage, while the Oslo Opera House’s new music director Edward Gardner can be found in the orchestra pit. 

  • Free introduction (in Norwegian) one hour before the performance
  • Production borrowed from Theater an der Wien

Kunstnerisk team og medvirkende

  • Music
    Leoš Janáček
  • Original title
    Příhody lišky Bystroušky
  • Libretto
    Leoš Janáček, basert på en historie av Rudolf Tešnohlídek
  • Musical direction
    Edward Gardner
  • Direction
    Stefan Herheim
  • Set design
    Silke Bauer
  • Costume design
    Doris Maria Aigner
  • Choreographer
    Beate Vollack
  • Dramaturg
    Kai Wessler
  • Participants
    The Opera Choir, The Opera Orchestra
    • Den lure reven / Revebarnet
        • 22. Mar 2025 18:00
        • 25. Mar 2025 19:00
        • 27. Mar 2025 19:00
        • 30. Mar 2025 18:00
        • 6. Apr 2025 18:00
        • 9. Apr 2025 19:00
        • 12. Apr 2025 18:00
    • Skogvokteren
        • 22. Mar 2025 18:00
        • 25. Mar 2025 19:00
        • 27. Mar 2025 19:00
        • 30. Mar 2025 18:00
        • 6. Apr 2025 18:00
        • 9. Apr 2025 19:00
        • 12. Apr 2025 18:00
    • Hans kone / Kamhøna / Uglen / Frau Pasek
        • 22. Mar 2025 18:00
        • 25. Mar 2025 19:00
        • 27. Mar 2025 19:00
        • 30. Mar 2025 18:00
        • 6. Apr 2025 18:00
        • 9. Apr 2025 19:00
        • 12. Apr 2025 18:00
    • Skolemesteren / Myggen / Hunden Lapek / Hanen / Hakkespetten / Janacek
        • 22. Mar 2025 18:00
        • 25. Mar 2025 19:00
        • 27. Mar 2025 19:00
        • 30. Mar 2025 18:00
        • 6. Apr 2025 18:00
        • 9. Apr 2025 19:00
        • 12. Apr 2025 18:00
    • Grevlingen / Pastoren
      • Levente Páll
        • 22. Mar 2025 18:00
        • 25. Mar 2025 19:00
        • 27. Mar 2025 19:00
        • 30. Mar 2025 18:00
        • 6. Apr 2025 18:00
        • 9. Apr 2025 19:00
        • 12. Apr 2025 18:00
    • Reven
        • 22. Mar 2025 18:00
        • 25. Mar 2025 19:00
        • 27. Mar 2025 19:00
        • 30. Mar 2025 18:00
        • 6. Apr 2025 18:00
        • 9. Apr 2025 19:00
        • 12. Apr 2025 18:00
    • Harasta
        • 22. Mar 2025 18:00
        • 25. Mar 2025 19:00
        • 27. Mar 2025 19:00
        • 30. Mar 2025 18:00
        • 6. Apr 2025 18:00
        • 9. Apr 2025 19:00
        • 12. Apr 2025 18:00
    • Pepik
        • 22. Mar 2025 18:00
        • 25. Mar 2025 19:00
        • 27. Mar 2025 19:00
        • 30. Mar 2025 18:00
        • 6. Apr 2025 18:00
        • 9. Apr 2025 19:00
        • 12. Apr 2025 18:00
    • Frantik
        • 22. Mar 2025 18:00
        • 25. Mar 2025 19:00
        • 27. Mar 2025 19:00
        • 30. Mar 2025 18:00
        • 6. Apr 2025 18:00
        • 9. Apr 2025 19:00
        • 12. Apr 2025 18:00
    • Pasek
        • 22. Mar 2025 18:00
        • 25. Mar 2025 19:00
        • 27. Mar 2025 19:00
        • 30. Mar 2025 18:00
        • 6. Apr 2025 18:00
        • 9. Apr 2025 19:00
        • 12. Apr 2025 18:00
Price
150–870 kr
Subtitles
English and Norwegian
  • Saturday 22. March
    18:00 / Main Stage
  • Tuesday 25. March
    19:00 / Main Stage
  • Thursday 27. March
    19:00 / Main Stage
  • Sunday 30. March
    18:00 / Main Stage
  • Sunday 6. April
    18:00 / Main Stage
  • Wednesday 9. April
    19:00 / Main Stage
  • Saturday 12. April
    18:00 / Main Stage