Fatima, oder von den mutigen Kindern
Opera for children in 1 act
2013-2015
Commissioned by the Wiener Staatsoper
Libretto: Rafik Schami/René Zisterer
Worldpremier 23.12.2015 Wiener Staatsoper

Content

Hassan decides to alleviate the misery and poverty of his mother and little sister and leaves home to find work and bring back home stardust. He comes to the evil lord of the castle who takes him in: from now on, every week Hassan shall receive a piece of gold as a reward for his work, but only if he does not get annoyed. Should he get annoyed, not only would he not receive his reward but also his dreams would be erased.

The lord of the castle who loves nothing more but to consume dreams and has already taken the dreams of countless children does everything to make Hassan angry as soon as possible. For some time Hassan resists but in the end demonstrates his anger. So his reward and dreams are gone. Hassan returns home sad.

When Fatima finds out about all of this she decides to make her way to defeat the lord of the castle – and finally succeeds not only in overwhelming the villain and forever destroying his kingdom but also in liberating all captured dreams, giving them back to their owners and taking home stardust.