Die Frau ohne Schatten was Kasper Holten’s last production as Artistic Director of the Royal Danish Opera. Now this acclaimed performance returns…

The staging of Die Frau ohne Schatten won a Reumert Award following its premiere in 2011 and earned rave reviews. The opera is a tale of an Empress, who was originally a spirit but has lived as a human ever since meeting her beloved husband. However, since she is no true person she can neither cast a shadow nor bear children. Her father, the King of the Spirit Realm, has given her a stark warning. If she cannot cast a shadow before the 12th month of her marriage she must leave her husband and never again live as a human.

Elsewhere, dyer Barak’s wife leads an unhappy existence. She hates her life and is disgusted by her vulgar in-laws. Secretly, she has sworn never to grant her husband a child. The Empress promises the dyer’s wife all sorts of luxury and wealth in exchange for her shadow, and a deal starts to take shape between the two women. But is the dyer’s wife ready to part with her fertility? And can you really become a true human by possessing something that belongs to someone else?

Die Frau ohne Schatten is performed in German with Danish supertitles. Nykredit is the exclusive performance sponsor of Die Frau ohne Schatten.