Das schlaue Füchslein
On Saturday, 28 February 2026, Leoš Janáček's opera The Cunning Little Vixen will premiere at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. With this poetic and philosophical work about the cycle of becoming and passing away, the opera house continues its focus on Janáček, which is particularly influenced by the conducting of Simon Rattle. The production will be staged by the internationally acclaimed author and director Ted Huffman, who will become artistic director of the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence in 2026 and is making his debut at the Staatsoper with this production.
Janáček's opera, which premiered in 1924, tells the story of the young vixen Clever Fox, who is captured by the forester, defies the established order of humans and animals, and finally returns to the freedom of the forest. There she starts a family with the fox before being shot by the poacher. This animal fable unfolds as a multifaceted exploration of themes such as nature and civilisation, love, transience and the inexorable cycle of life. Janáček's highly individual, melodically, harmonically and rhythmically advanced music weaves together human and animal soundscapes in a dense atmosphere.
Ted Huffman understands The Cunning Little Vixen as a multi-layered parable in which the animal world and human experiences overlap. The production follows an elliptical dramaturgy and works with condensations and scenic leaps. The plot unfolds in clearly defined, deliberately concise images reminiscent of a comic strip – a design element that was also an essential starting point for Janáček's conception of the work. Instead of naturalistic scenes, abstract spaces characterise the performance, including the forester's living room, a tavern, open landscapes, ladders and steps. A green velvet curtain structures this sequence of images and marks transitions between the levels of the narrative.
Nadja Sofie Eller's stage design is conceived as a modular, white box system that deliberately does not separate interior and exterior spaces, but connects them. The animal characters appear in animal form, some of them embodied by acrobats from the State Ballet and Artistic School in Berlin. Certain props refer to the world of human order, which is contrasted with the sphere of nature. Overall, the production consistently keeps the boundaries between humans and animals, civilisation and instinct open.
The title role of the fox Schlaukopf is sung by Vera-Lotte Boecker, while Magdalena Kožená plays the fox. The forester, also a central role in the work, is sung and played by Svatopluk Sem. Other roles are taken on by ensemble members Natalia Skrycka, Florian Hoffmann, David Oštrek and Carles Pachon, among others. The Staatskapelle Berlin is conducted by Simon Rattle, a proven Janáček expert, and the singers are the Staatsoper choir and the Staatsoper children's choir.
The Cunning Little Vixen continues the Staatsoper Unter den Linden's focus on Janáček and adds an interpretation that places the work between fairy tale, parable and timeless reflection. At the same time, it concludes the cycle of Janáček's six major operas under the musical direction of Simon Rattle, which began in 2011 with From the House of the Dead.
The Staatsoper would like to express its sincere gratitude to the friends and patrons of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden and its main partners, BMW and the Hilti Foundation, for their support.