The Trip to Panama at Deutsche Oper Berlin

"We're alright!" chime the tiger and bear in self-satisfied unison. After all, they have everything they need to get by. Except that one day everything is turned on its head. The bear pulls a crate marked "Panama" out of the river, a box smelling pungently of bananas, and from that moment on they have only one idea in their heads - to get to "Panama - the land of my dreams". Off they go on their quest for the country of their yearnings. Janosch's 1976 children's classic OH, WIE SCHÖN IST PANAMA tells a poetic tale of dreams, travelling, exotic exploration and self-discovery. The material caught the attention of Chinese composer Lin Wang, who was commissioned by the Deutsche Oper Berlin to create a light-hearted piece of children's musical theatre that brings a musical approach to the issues of homeland, foreignness and cultural identity.

Lin Wang divides her time between China and Europe and first came to attention with the premiere of THE SOURCE at the Munich Biennale für Neues Musiktheater in 2010. Her current production is a collaboration between the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the China Children's Art Center Beijing and represents an intercontinental experiment in musical theatre education, with teachers working with children in Berlin and Beijing and exploring questions such as 'What does 'home' mean to you?', 'What do people dream of?' and 'What is your personal "Panama"?' The work is being captured on film and will be shown to audiences in Beijing and Berlin.

A collaboration between the China Children's Art Center Beijing and the Chinese Ministry of Culture as part of the Sino-German Year of Culture 2012.