Franz Wittenbrink
Children’s Opera in two Acts [2022]
Libretto by Susanne Lütje and Anne X. Weber
Based on the book of the same name by Astrid Lindgren

 

Pippi Longstocking is the strongest girl in the world! Her roommates, a monkey and a horse, are called Mr. Nilsson and Little Uncle. So it's no surprise that Tommy and Annika from next door think Pippi, Mr. Nilsson and Little Uncle are so terrific that they even forget about dinner… Pippi Longstocking moves into Villa Kunterbunt to wait for her Dad, Captain Efraim Longstocking, who was lost on the high seas during their last adventure together. The neighbors, Annika and Tommy, quickly make friends with Pippi, who is fearless and doesn't want to fit into any of the prescribed categories: She doesn't like it at school, nor does she want to be put into a children’s home. She even turns a coffee party at the neighbor’s house on its head! Pippi has everything she needs: an almost endless scope of imagination, and an unequivocal determination to have fun, together with her friends Annika and Tommy!

Actress and singer Dagmar Manzel makes her debut as a director with Pippi Longstocking . She found a kindred spirit in Astrid Lindren’s books, who packed more wisdom into her children’s books than many philosophers. Though more than 75 years old, not aged a day: Playing with the supposed importance of rules and conventions and the appeal of a child being left to her own devices, Pippi Longstocking still inspires both young and old today.

By the way Franz Wittenbrink, known to many as the composer of successful programs such as Sekretärinnen or Men , wrote this children's opera for the first time for the Komische Oper Berlin – with Jazz, Pop and Rock’n’Roll!