Snow Queen (Lumekuninganna)

A ballet based on the fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen

The fairytale of the Snow Queen has had many interpretations. This time we see the difference between the world of grown-ups and children. The young have sincere emotions, full of faith in which true feelings conquer all.

Andersen’s fairytale is charming for its colourful nuances in describing different characters – he has snowflakes as big as chickens, ‘snow bees’ flying around, roses cropping up out of tears and angels being born from the air that Gerda breathes…
A little boy called Kaj grows up in an orphanage under strict discipline.
At a charity garden party a great number of important people are invited. Among the guests is a little girl who is not short of material things. She feels lonely in the company of those her age. The children from the orphanage are putting on a performance for their guests when Uncle Eskimo arrives. There is excitement amongst young and old alike – dozens of hands reach out for ice-cream. Kaj cannot get enough ice-cream. He forces his way to the front and grabs an ice-cream cone… and suddenly it is not the kind-looking old man standing in front of him, but the Snow Queen with her icy gaze… Cold air mists up the window panes, the people freeze and the woman with her icy heart takes the boy away with her. It is only around Gerda that the earth does not freeze – each step she takes melts a path so that she can find Kaj.
If one truly wishes, then life can be like a fairytale – and fairytales are not as out-of-this-world as grown-ups may think!

Premiere 12.03.2016, the Vanemuine Grand Building