Lene fliegt ins Zirkusland

Fairy-tale circus opera · World premiere

Philharmonie Luxembourg2025Creative Director & Stage Director

DirectChildren’s operaCircusWorld premiere

Circus opera on stage: a performer in a red feathered bird costume on stilts above the children’s choir, then acrobats doing the splits.

Lene fliegt ins Zirkusland

Fairy-tale circus opera · World premiere

Philharmonie Luxembourg2025Creative Director & Stage Director

DirectChildren’s operaCircusWorld premiere

Lene dreams of the circus – and one day she simply flies there. Elena Kats-Chernin’s new children’s opera, with a libretto by Susanne Felicitas Wolf, brings singers, orchestra and circus artists onto one stage: a witty, poetic tribute to creativity, artistic freedom, courage and friendship.

Commissioned by the Philharmonie Luxembourg and premiered there in April 2025, the production was nominated for the YAMawards 2026 in the category “Best Opera”.

Role

Creative Director & Stage Director

Dates

World premiere 25 April 2025, Philharmonie Luxembourg
Family performance 26 April 2025

Credits

Music — Elena Kats-Chernin
Libretto — Susanne Felicitas Wolf
Creative Director & Stage Director — Anisha Bondy
Musical Director — James Hendry
Circus — Zaltimbanq' Zirkus · Irina Chechulina
Choreography — Mariana Souza
Set — Julia Hansen
Costumes — Uta Jäger
Lighting — Michael Morgan
Orchestra — Luxembourg Philharmonic
Children’s choir — Kinderchor Forte (Conservatoire de la Ville de Luxembourg) · Sylvie Serra-Jacobs
Cast — Danae Kontora, Susan Zarrabi, Peter Kirk, Hélène Gustin, Andrii Zubchevskyi and the artists of Zaltimbanq’ Zirkus