Deutsche Oper Berlin - Hamed & Sherifa

What would it be like if there were no more injustice in the world? If we were to overcome the power structures that suppress people? If nobody were to destroy the Earth, and if peace finally prevailed? If everybody could live and love as they wished?

The fairytale of King Hamed and Princess Sherifa tells of another time. Men and women were usually placed in strict boxes, where they were to remain, thank you very much. Most people thought that all women loved pink and soft fabrics and gossiped all day, while men liked war and strong spices and never bathed. Only when Princess Sherifa disguised herself as a man and visited King Hamed, who had banned all women from his kingdom out of rage, did these certainties suddenly come undone. King Hamed began to wonder: Are all men truly strong and love football? Could bravery and honour also be women’s virtues? Could men, too, have soft skin and lips? Can love truly be placed in a neat box? Are there more than two genders? Why do we have to package everything in two categories, and who even decided all of this anyway? Exceptional artist Heinrich Horwitz narrates the family opera Hamed & Sherifa by Lebanese composer Zad Moultaka as a look back from a utopian future – a time when all forms of life and love are possible and accepted. It is also a time when all barriers have been overcome, including those between the audience and the stage: When the performance is over, audience members big and small become part of one vibrant community.

age recommendation: recommended from age 7

duration: approx. 1 hour / no interval

program

Hamed und Sherifa

Musiktheater für Kinder von Zad Moultaka für drei Solisten und Instrumentalensemble.

Text von Ina Karr und Anselm Dalferth nach einem Schauspiel von Andrea Gronemeyer

In deutscher Sprache

Place

On September 24, 1961 the Opernhaus that had been inaugurated in 1912 and destroyed during the War was reopened as Deutsche Oper Berlin. Ever since it has been Berlin´s largest and Germany´s second largest music theatre, featuring among the most modern institutions in Europe. The straightforward and elegant building that was realized by architect Fritz Bornemann (he also conceived the America Memorial Library and the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, a. o.) seats 1.859 and guarantees a maximum viewing and hearing experience for every visitor.