The Cunning
Little Vixen

Outfoxing humans 

A cunning little fox is taken home by a forester. She is full of animal instincts, yet also surprisingly human. The fox gossips, steals and kills. She fights for her freedom, seizes the moment with passion and shows everyone around her what it means to live. 

When the magic of opera comes to life 

Now and then, it takes a fairytale to make us see reality for what it is. And sometimes it is animals who draw our attention to what it means to be human. The Cunning Little Vixen does just that – through music. 

A kaleidoscope of images, associations, and subject matter

Moore Parker, theoperacritic.com

A celebration of the power of music 

The Cunning Little Vixen was written by Czech composer Leoš Janáček, who also wrote the operas Jenufa and Katja Kabanova. It first premiered in 1924 and is adapted from a novella by Rudolf Tešnohlídek published in a Czech newspaper in 1920. With this as inspiration, Janáček created an unconventional portrayal of both humans and animals that shows that nature and culture are not opposites, but two sides of the same coin.  

The music in the opera is as playful as it is melancholic, and is a celebration of the circle of life. Director Stefan Herheim takes this as an invitation to celebrate the transcendent power of musical theatre to change – both us and the world.   

The Cunning Little Vixen is opulent, technically complex and grand both in scale and aesthetics, and also packed with meta commentary. 

Chanda Vanderhart, Bachtrack

Critically acclaimed director returns – together with a new music director 

Norwegian Stefan Herheim is respected worldwide for his clever and light-hearted opera interpretations. Here in Oslo, he has orchestrated such critically acclaimed performances as Julius Cæsar, Tannhaüser, La Bohème and La Cenerentola.  

Herheim is currently opera director at the Theater an der Wien. The Cunning Little Vixen was the first performance he personally directed from this director’s chair. It first premiered in Vienna in 2022 and was praised by critics.    

Several of our up-and-coming Norwegian opera soloists are sharing the stage, while the Oslo Opera House’s new music director Edward Gardner can be found in the orchestra pit.