The fairy tale of Cinderella is well known. Less well known, however, is that Johann Strauss worked on a ballet based on this fairy tale at the end of his life. Only a fragment of it has survived. The mysteries surrounding this fragment inspired Axel Ranisch and Martina Eisenreich to create their own piece about the creation of the ballet, its storyline, as well as an unusual Cinderella story set in our present day. This fairy-tale operetta presents a Cinderella unlike any other Cinderella in the world!
Vienna, 2025: The young Cinderella moves into a house at Glasergasse 7 in Vienna with her stepmother Alice and stepsisters Dorothee and BirdyLove. Alice wants to recruit the talented young footballer Danny for her football club, FC Wien, and in doing so, she disrupts not only Cinderella’s emotional world. While exploring the house, Cinderella discovers in the attic the libretto for a ballet by Johann Strauss, written by a certain Ida Grünwald. This sets off a chain reaction that twists time itself…
Vienna, 1899: Johann Strauss wishes to compose a ballet. A competition is held to find a suitable libretto, and indeed, one of them manages to inspire the composer’s imagination. But it does not come from the official submissions—it comes from the copyist Ida Grünwald. She was supposed to merely type out the competition entries but secretly smuggled in her own Cinderella.
The Cinderella Ballet: The talented seamstress Grete works in her stepmother’s fashion salon. Grete dreams of designing her own fashions, but her stepsisters Yvette and Fanchon make fun of her. When the painter Leon enters the salon, everything changes.
Aschenbrödels Traum (Cinderella’s Dream) takes the audience on a fantastic journey, telling a story of self-discovery and emancipation as much as of creativity and the power of imagination. Martina Eisenreich’s music traces the artistic spirit of Johann Strauss, plays with quotations, and yet creates an entirely new musical world.
With the kind support of Johann Strauss 2025 Wien
Cast
- Komponistin
- Martina Eisenreich
- Regie & Libretto
- Axel Ranisch
- Choreography
- Alex Frei
- Bühnenbild & Videodesign
- Falko Herold
- Costume design
- Alfred Mayerhofer
- Lighting design
- Alex Brok
- Dramaturgy
- Thomas Höft
- Dramaturgy
- Peter te Nuyl
- Sounddesign
- Martin Lukesch
Photos and Videos
For all those who use a screen reader, a description of the visual aspects of the performance (set design, costumes...) follows here instead of the photo gallery.
The play is set in an abandoned, dilapidated apartment at Glasergasse 7, where Ida Grünwald used to live. Now Cinderella and her family are moving in. On stage is a large room with old walls, peeling plaster, graffiti on the walls, doors to the right and left leading into the room. Everything looks dilapidated and abandoned, the light is gloomy, the floor is dirty. Cinderella's stepmother wants to renovate the apartment. When Ida Grünwald later appears as a ghost, her writing room floats down through the ceiling of the apartment on strings as a small, lovingly furnished box reminiscent of an attic. The back wall of the apartment can lift up and the side walls can move to the left and right, then - for example in the ballet scenes set in the fashion salon - many sewing machines come onto the stage with the revolving stage. Some scenes take place at the Vienna Opera Ball, then the back wall also disappears and a large prospectus shows the interior of the Vienna State Opera. It is as if all the scenes are created from the interior of the old apartment in Glasergasse 7. Some scenes also play with projections, such as when Cinderella sings in front of a lowered curtain - and drawn ghostly figures are projected onto this curtain, dancing with Cinderella. Another element is the large, inflatable soccer mascots that Cinderella's stepmother gets for her soccer club. They are several meters tall, pink bunny figures with moustaches, reminiscent of exaggerated, comical sports mascots. Cinderella can also slip into a costume representing this mascot. The costumes are colorful and opulent. Johann Strauss is dressed and painted entirely in gold, like his statue in the city park. The present-day figures wear colorful, exaggerated costumes. The ballet figures also wear opulent, somewhat more historical costumes. The ball scenes are adorned with countless imaginative gowns and dresses.
.jpg "© Marco Sommer/Volksoper Wien")
-kl.jpg "© Marco Sommer/Volksoper Wien")
.jpg "© Marco Sommer/Volksoper Wien")
.jpg "© Marco Sommer/Volksoper Wien")
Podcasts
Articles from our Weborello
"Celebrated by the audience with a standing ovation": Press reviews of Aschenbrödels Traum (Cinderella’s Dream)
"A motley ride through the history of music and fairy tales", read one review of the premiere of Aschenbrödels Traum (Cinderella’s Dream), which was celebrated with standing ovations.
Fairy tales stand for miracles
A Cinderella unlike any other Cinderella in the world! What awaits you at our premiere of Aschenbrödels Traum (Cinderella’s Dream) is what dramaturge Thomas Höft asked the librettist and director Axel Ranisch.
.jpg)
A first look at the costumes from Aschenbrödels Traum
Take a look at the imaginatively designed costume sketches by Alfred Mayerhofer, which give you a glimpse of the magical world awaiting you in our fairy-tale operetta Aschenbrödels Traum (Cinderella’s Dream). We can’t get enough of these charming characters and their costumes—don’t miss this production!
Composer Martina Eisenreich awarded the German Television Award
We congratulate the composer of our new fairy-tale operetta Aschenbrödels Traum (Aschenbrödel's Dream), which will premiere at the Volksoper in November, on receiving this prestigious award!
-Christoph-Bombart.jpg)
Press comments
On Saturday, the world premiere – celebrated by the audience with a standing ovation – took place. Conclusion: A motley ride through societal shallows, and through the history of music and fairy tales.
Oberösterreichische Nachrichten
01. December 2025
Lots of applause for everyone involved.
Kurier
01. December 2025
And all of this within the framework of a visual firework display, accomplished by geniuses of stage design (Falko Herold), costume design (Alfred Mayerhofer), and lighting (Alex Brok).
Der Standard
01. December 2025
Composer Eisenreich quotes Strauss’s hits; she juggles genres and eras, from shakily rhymed hip-hop to operetta grandeur. Leslie Suganandarajah, Kapellmeister of the Linz State Theatre until 2019, guides the Volksoper orchestra with secure tempos and energy through this fun.
Oberösterreichische Nachrichten
01. December 2025
In the pit, Leslie Suganandarajah made a confident debut; the orchestra mastered the leaps between genres in Eisenreich’s score, which elegantly combined Strauss, feel-good film music, and hints of twelve-tone technique.
Die Presse
01. December 2025
Ranisch’s libretto is consistently witty (…). Martina Eisenreich repeatedly quotes music by Strauss, picks up on it, and distorts it in surreal ways; (…). In any case, the two collaborators have created a production that, in the Strauss Year 2025 (and beyond), offers a low-threshold, entertaining, contemporary approach to the Waltz King’s cosmos.
Der Standard
01. December 2025
.jpg "Florian Carove (Solor, Hund)")
_hoch.jpeg)