Whimsical Wonders

“Whimsical Wonders: A Toy Store’s Timeless Tales” - the story of a children's opera, written and composed by Hannah Lena Rebel, illustrated by Petra Štefanková.

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A small girl on her 8th birthday, entering a nostalgic toy store, takes a look at all of the teddy bears, dolls, fairies and a jumping jack. As she wonders what the best decision for her birthday present would be, her mother turns away for a second, talking to the salesperson about some books which were recently published.

Suddenly, the girl has some kind of awakening as she realizes that all the toys have souls and are independent beings. She starts talking to them and delves into a new world, not being able to differ between reality and fiction anymore. Within the next hours, she experiences various adventures which often have a symbolic background and bigger meaning in people’s lifes.

“Whimsical Wonders: A Toy Store’s Timeless Tales” is about one hour long in total and was written and composed by Hannah Lena Rebel in 2020 and performed as a german version called “Im Spielzeugladen” in 2021/22 in a primary school in Vienna, Austria. The opera is technically easy to sing and perform and included children playing xylophone, piano and ORFF instruments as well as produced orchestral music. The book is illustrated by Petra Štefanková.

If you want to perform this children’s opera with your school or academy and get access to the opera’s material, dialogue textbooks and music, contact Hannah Lena Rebel through the following address: lilith_composition@gmx.at