The fairy Kräuterweis transforms the boy Jakob into a dwarf. No one recognizes him now. But Jacob does not lose his courage to face life. Because he still has a trump card up his sleeve! When 12-year-old Jacob mocks an old woman at the market because of her big nose, he has no idea that he will soon regret his actions. A short time later, the boy is already a prisoner of the fairy Kräuterweis and is forced by her to cook for her and her guests for several years. And as if that wasn't punishment enough, she then transforms him into a dwarf with a large nose. After this transformation, no one recognizes him, not even his mother Hanne. And so he has no choice but to put his newfound cooking skills to good use with Duke Kunz the Gourmand.

After her father’s death, Snow White is at the mercy of her self-loving stepmother. Locked in a tower by the evil queen, Snow White repeatedly escapes and secretly helps the old blacksmith. There she meets Prince Kilian, who immediately falls in love with her. When the queen’s plan to marry Snow White to a rich noble backfires, she plots to kill her but Snow White is rescued by seven dwarfs, while Prince Kilian searches for her throughout the kingdom. An action-packed retelling of the famous fairytale, with a nod to Game of Thrones.

Based on Oscar Wildes story The Birthday of the Infanta, Zemlinskys single-act opera Der Zwerg is the tragic tale of a dwarf who is presented at court, falls in love with the beautiful Donna Clara, but is ultimately forced to see himself as others see him and to die of a broken heart. Preceded by Schoenbergs Accompaniment to a Cinematographic Scene, Op. 34, Zemlinskys Romantic score is full of psychological intrigue. Is Der Zwerg a critique of societys superficiality? Is it the composers self-portrait in his doomed affair with Alma Schindler? Director Tobias Kratzers stunning, transparent production creates a space in which each character is thrown into sharp relief in this fine, noble and melancholy work.