Photo: © Clemens Heidrich. A parliamentary evening at the Hanover State Opera
“We are not number one — but we are number one at believing we are number one.” With this quote by Jean M. Twenge, the Lower Saxony State Opera in Hanover announces the premiere of a new production of Je suis narcissiste by Raquel García-Tomás in its German version, Ich, ich, ich!, on 22 October 2026 at Ballhof 1. It will be the second German production of the work, following its premiere in Giessen in November 2024 with the same German translation by Arno Lücker.
Premiere of Ich, ich, ich!:
22 October at 7:30 pm at Ballhof 1, Hanover State Opera.
Before each performance, there will be an introduction to the work 45 minutes prior to the start of the performance.
In German with German surtitles.
Upcoming performances:
• 25 October at 6:30 pm
• 31 October at 6:30 pm
• 3 November at 7:30 pm
• 11 November at 7:30 pm
• 18 November at 7:30 pm
• 21 November at 7:30 pm
• 25 November at 7:30 pm, final performance of the season
Ich, ich, ich! (Je suis narcissiste) by Raquel García-Tomás
- Libretto by Helena Tornero
• German translation by Arno Lücker - Musical Direction: Masaru Kumakura / N.N.
• Stage Direction: Ruben Michael
• Set and Costume Design: Lydia Peters
• Dramaturgy: Arno Lücker
• Cat / Successful Blogger / Performance Artist / Silvia / Laughing Woman / Nurse: Julia Sturzlbaum
• Klothilde: Beatriz Miranda
• Celebrity Artist / Uneducated Poser / Elevator Boy / Undertaker / Mimì / Pathological Patient / Doctor: Michał Prószyński
• Dr. Giovanni Tempesta / Zen Guru: Max Dollinger
• Lower Saxony State Orchestra of Hanover
Synopsis
A cat that dies immediately after its only appearance, a psychiatric practice, a woman in need of help, and a self-absorbed doctor: this is how the comic opera Je suis narcissiste by composer Raquel García-Tomás begins, introducing us to the desperate Klothilde. It is not only the death of the cat that troubles her, but also… Yet psychiatrist Dr. Johannes Sturm interrupts his patient once again! He reveals himself as the quintessential mansplainer, unable to let a single word or thought from his new patient stand, convinced that he knows better and always armed with textbook answers to every one of Klothilde’s questions.
Gradually, what truly happened begins to unfold: a fateful day on which not only Klothilde’s cat died tragically. We soon learn that Klothilde works as a cultural manager. And so we are plunged into the shark tanks of vanity inhabited by supposedly authentic artists, attention-seeking successful bloggers, and esoteric gurus with convoluted discourses.
At the same time, the work becomes a journey through scenic flashbacks: from the street to the hotel, from an art opening to a funeral, from a meditation group to new spaces of confrontation. Accompanied by music that at times evokes comic books and at others delights in quotations, the opera dissects with precision, bitterness, and humor the illnesses of our time: pathological narcissism, the urge for online self-exposure, materialism, toxic power dynamics, and pseudo-authenticity.
More information: Niedersächsisches Staatstheater Hannover
