07.12.2025

PATRICIA NOLZ makes her debut at the Opéra national du Rhin in Strasbourg as Hansel

Since its premiere in the 1890s, Engelbert Humperdinck's fairy tale opera Hansel and Gretel has been delighting German-speaking audiences at Christmas time – and now this classic is shining in new splendour once again. The multi-layered score combines folk song-like melodies with Wagnerian leitmotifs and grand lyrical arcs, creating a sound world full of warmth, longing and fairy-tale magic.

The current production by the Opéra national du Rhin in Strasbourg - directed by Pierre-Emmanuel Rousseau and conducted by Christoph Koncz - purposely avoids folkloric clichés. The classic gingerbread house gives way to a dark amusement park setting, where the witch, the so called Knusperhexe, reigns with the charisma of a show star. The production focuses on the original brutality of the Grimm fairy tale and constantly navigates the supposed contrast between childlike innocence and the threatening tension of the story.

In this new interpretation, which is now being performed in front of a live audience for the first time after the video production version during covid times, Patricia Nolz makes her house debut at the Opéra national du Rhin stepping into the role of Hansel or the first time. The young mezzo-soprano, known for her versatility in roles such as Cherubino, Zerlina, Orlovsky and Rosina, brings her impressive vocal range and stage presence to this complex role. Patricia Nolz succeeds in credibly embodying Hansel's childlike vulnerability, brave inventiveness and emotional depth, which underscores both the delicate melancholy and the dark magic of the Grimm fairy tale.

An experience for children and adults alike, combining tradition and modern stagecraft in a wonderful way and putting everyone in the Christmas spirit. Further performances of Hansel and Gretel with Patricia Nolz as Hansel will also be staged at the Opéra national du Rhin in Mulhouse in the new year.