Thomas Nutzenberger / Sigrid Liebenspacher-Helm (Text) / Wilhelm Hauff (Text) Zwerg Nase

This is the bizarre and fantastic story of the boy Jacob who is transformed into a dwarf with a huge nose by an mysterious fairy. He spends seven years in the fairy’s palace, and during this time becomes a marvellous cook. The years go by as in a dream, and he does not imagine that he is in truth in the body of a loathsome dwarf. When he sees his parents again, they do not recognize him. He is mocked and rejected by everyone. But Jakob is not disheartened! He has to protect himself and survive setbacks and tests until at the end of the story he regains his true form.

Zwerg Nase, based on the fairy tale of the same name by Wilhelm Hauff, is a story which gives courage and hope. It is a story which tells of self-confidence and friendship. There are the animals in the fairy’s palace, who stand alongside Zwerg Nase, and above all his girlfriend the goose Mimi who is herself an enchanted maiden and is saved from the oven by Zwerg Nase. Mimi knows which magic herb can give him back his true form. And everything turns out well in the end.

The text and music convey the magical content of the fairy tale in a playful, yet convincing way. The libretto is catchy in its verse and rhyme, comic ideas alternate with touching and atmospheric passages.
Classic and contemporary elements mix together in the setting, oriental borrowings stand alongside rhythmic pieces such as boogie-woogie, tango, and waltz.

Written for chorus and solo voices, the Singspiel is suitable for children and young people from 6 to 14 years. It is about an hour in length.

A piano version is also available (Carus 12.448/03). The choral score is identical for both versions.