A hedgehog prince

Opera for children
by Cesar Bresgen

May 2016
Konzerthaus am Gendarmenmarkt, Berlin

Children Soloists from Musikschule Bela Bartok, Berlin

Choir: Löwenkinderchor Berlin, Pariser Platz

Conductor: Wsewolod Silkin

Set and costumes: Maria Gamsjäger

Light and Technique: Ismael Schott

Choir teachers: Norienne und Jan Olberg

Teacher Soloists: Michael Engelke

A production by  VIVOCCHIO led by Thomas Böttcher.
In cooperation with the Lions Club Berlin – Pariser Platz
and the Löwenkinder – Chor Berlin e.V.

A hedgehog that can talk. A king who strayed in the moor. Singing fish and rushing forests.

This is the story of the Brothers Grimm, and Cesar Bresgen set it into an amusing opera for children. Let yourself be carried away into the fantastic adventures of the small hedgehog!

In this project I was concerned to involve the kids in every part of the production process. It is not just an opera for children, but an opera with children. The children have not only sung and played, but they were involved in the design of the stage and the costumes themselves, and they have developed some scenic ideas. Together we worked on the ideas for costume and stage design. The texts have been found out together in the rehearsals.

In doing so, the children are able to learn to solve complex processes and become a strong team. In addition, the musical progress must not be forgotten, as well as the speech training and, at the same time, the combination of these skills with scenic events and choreographies. Projects of this kind promote the of personality development at all levels.

I was especially pleased with the positive reviews, as well as the feedback from the most important viewers: the children in the audience were the biggest fans.