HOLLE!

Libretto by Kai Weßler and Suse Frei (G)

S; cl(=bcl)–pft; cl and pft also speaking/acting

Frau Holle, administrator of weather and nature, is at her wits’ end: day in, day out, she does what everyone wants her to do, and yet she can’t please anyone. In spring, she provides sunshine, but the farmers want rain; and when she brings thunderstorms, letters of complaint pour in about soggy shoes and cancelled flights. And yet it is the people themselves who make her work so difficult. After all, what good is shaking out the bedding in winter when all the exhaust fumes are accelerating global warming so much. Frau Holle has had enough. She leaves and retires.

How will the weather and seasons come about now? Initially, Holle’s assistants Gold Andy and Bad Luck Andy are at a loss, but then they see their big chance. They take control of Holle’s machines and actually manage to produce sun, clouds and wind all by themselves.

But this new task soon becomes too much for the clumsy, moody Andys, and the weather gets out of control. Everything burns to a cinder on Earth during summer, and there is nothing to harvest in autumn. Holle has no choice but to return and restore order. One last time, she lets it snow in winter so that nature and the weather makers can take a breather. She turns to the young audience: will the world be given another chance?

Comic