The Wizard of Oz
Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | Su |
A whirlwind sweeps Dorothy and her dog Toto into the magical land of Oz. To get back home, Dorothy must find the Wizard of Oz. Together with a scarecrow, a tin man and a lion, she sets out on her journey. But perhaps in the end help is waiting where you don't expect it and the way home can only be found within yourself.
Henry Mason's production became an audience hit for the whole family at the Volksoper.
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum is probably America's most famous fairy tale, which gained worldwide cult status through the film version with the young Judy Garland (1939). The most famous song from it, Over the Rainbow by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg, won an Oscar in 1940.
Recommended from 6 years
Synopsis
Act I: Dorothy is beset by difficulties: cruel Miss Gulch has it in for her because Dorothy’s little dog Toto sometimes chases her cat. But Dorothy’s Aunt Em and Uncle Henry have no time for her – there is too much to do on the farm. The farm workers Zeke, Hunk and Hickory give Dorothy plenty of good advice – but when Miss Gulch appears with a warrant from the sheriff to take Dorothy’s dog away, none of the adults is able to stand up to her.
Dorothy resolves to run away from her home in Kansas together with Toto. She meets a person who calls himself the fortune teller Professor Marvel, who invents a story that Dorothy’s aunt is fatally ill. Dorothy immediately runs home. Just then a tornado appears. While the others take shelter in a cellar Dorothy arrives too late and runs into the farmhouse, which is whisked up by the storm. Dorothy is carried away – to the mystical Land of Oz.
Dorothy and the farmhouse are blown all the way to Munchkin City, squashing the Wicked Witch of the East upon landing and thereby releasing the tiny Munchkins from the witch’s spell of fear. Dorothy is celebrated as a heroine. But then the sister of the dead witch appears, the Wicked Witch of the West. She wants her sister’s ruby shoes, which confer power upon whoever wears them. Suddenly, however, the ruby shoes are on Dorothy’s feet. The Good Witch Glinda tells Dorothy to go to the Emerald City to consult the Wizard of Oz, who can tell her how to get back to Kansas. Dorothy sets off with Toto along the yellow brick road to the Emerald City.
On the way she makes friends with a scarecrow, who desperately wants to acquire a brain, a tin man who wants to get a heart, and a cowardly lion who dreams of being courageous. The three of them accompany Dorothy on her way to the Wizard; if he can show Dorothy the way back to Kansas, he can surely fulfil their wishes also. But the Wicked Witch of the West is not willing to accept defeat: she conjures up a field of poisonous poppies which make the friends fall into a deep sleep on the spot. Glinda comes to their aid and causes snow to fall on the poppies, which breaks the witch’s evil spell. Now at last the friends can see their goal ahead of them: the Emerald City.
Act II: When he sees that she is wearing the ruby shoes, the watchman at the Emerald City allows Dorothy and her friends to enter. Finally they are admitted to the presence of the Wizard of Oz. He promises to grant the friends their wishes if they will first prove themselves worthy by bringing him the broomstick of the wicked witch.
The Witch of the West mobilises all the forces under her command – the enslaved people of the Winkies and the flying monkeys – and sets biting insects, the jitterbugs, after Dorothy and her friends. Anyone who is bitten by a jitterbug has to dance until they are exhausted. The monkeys drag Dorothy and Toto off to the witch’s castle. Toto succeeds in escaping. When the witch fails to wrench the ruby shoes from Dorothy’s feet, she threatens to kill her.
The scarecrow, the tin man and the cowardly lion get a hold of Winkie uniforms and are thus able to enter the castle. With Toto’s help they find Dorothy. When the witch threatens the scarecrow with fire, Dorothy pours water over her – whereupon the witch melts away and dies.
When the friends present themselves to the Wizard again, they find that he is just an ordinary person and his magic is just a fraud. But through him the four discover that everything they so dearly wished for is already in their possession. As an external symbol of this, the scarecrow is given a diploma, the lion is given a medal for bravery, and the tin man is given a prize for the extraordinary love and care he gave to his friends. And Dorothy learns that she is able at any time, under her own powers, to return to Kansas.
Program and cast
Conductor: Tobias Wögerer
Stage direction: Henry Mason
Set and costume design: Jan Meier
Choreography: Francesc Abós
Lighting design: Mario Ilsanker
Choir director: Holger Kristen
Dorothy Gale: Juliette Khalil
Toto, ihr Hund: Rafael Schuchter
Tante Em/Glinda, die gute Hexe des Nordens: Martina Dorak
Onkel Henry/Wächter in der Smaragdstadt: Georg Wacks
Hunk/Die Vogelscheuche: Peter Lesiak
Hickory/Der Blechmann: Oliver Liebl
Zeke/Der Löwe: Jakob Semotan
Almira Gulch/Die böse Hexe des Westens: Christian Graf
Professor Chester Marvel/Der Zauberer von Oz: Thomas Sigwald
Ensemble: Lorna Dawson
Ensemble: Victoria Demuth
Ensemble: Tara Randell
Ensemble: Ilvy Schultschik
Ensemble: Thomas Höfner
Ensemble: Kevin Perry
Ensemble: Eva Zamostny
Volksoper Vienna
Public transport:
Underground line U6
Trams 40, 41, 42
Bus 40A
Stop "Währinger Straße / Volksoper"
A taxi stand is located at Währinger Gürtel.
Parking garages in WIFI and AKH
The Volksoper is Vienna’s main stage for operetta, opera, musicals and ballet, offering sophisticated musical entertainment. Colourful, eclectic and full of vitality, it is the only theatre dedicated to the genre of operetta.
Operetta belongs to Vienna and Vienna installed it at the home of operetta, Volksopera Vienna, which thereupon became the leading operetta house in the world. First class singers, actors and dancers together with a versatile orchestra cunjure up a musical firework display every evening.
Johann Strauss, Franz Lehár, Emmerich Kálmán wrote their world famous beloved melodies for operettas such as “The Fledermaus”, “The Merry Widow” and “The Csárdás Princess”. A visit to at least one of these operettas at the Volksopera Vienna is a must for every visitor to Vienna!
Also performed are operas from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, as well as classic musicals and ballet. In addition, the Volksoper has a fifth longstanding and proven speciality: it stages soirées, cabaret and burlesque performances under the name of “Volksoper Spezial”.
In the repertory theatre, which seats 1,337 persons, some 300 performances of around 35 different productions are staged every year between September and June.