“The secret of the bears of Uri”
CHF
45 (adults) / 20 (children)
About The Programme
The story begins thus: Grandfather Ueli has two grandchildren, Jakob and Anna, who often visit him. They find this incredibly exciting because he lives right on the edge of a forest, where adventures await and where there are so many exciting things to see and discover. One day, just behind the house, the kids find a strange, large, brownish-grey object that looks very old indeed. They’ve never seen anything like it, so they rush over to their grandfather to ask him about it. Flustered, he says: “Oh, where did you find that? It’s a horn! I’ve not seen one in ages”. He tells them that it used to belong to a very brave boy. “Do you want to hear an exciting story about him?” he asks.
Of course they do! So Grandfather tells them how long, long ago, many bears used to live in the valley in Uri. They were big and strong and ruled over the forests and the valley itself. And because the forest was home to so many animals, they all had to help look after it. One day, people also came to the valley. And as is the way of things, those people were thoughtless in what they did. They used the wood of the forest to build their houses, to light their fires, to heat their homes and cook their food – and so the forest got smaller and smaller. The animals that lived in it had to move farther and farther away. Soon they were at a loss as to what to do, and they were sad because they had no more room to live. So the animals all got together and decided to save the forest. They made a plan …
If you want to find out what this plan involved, what the men of the forest had to do with it – the “Woldmanndli” – and what the secret was of the bears of the valley: then you’ll have to come to our Family Concert on Easter Sunday. Bernhard Russi and young actors from the region will be performing the dialect tale “Z’Gheimnis vu dä Urschner Bärrä” (“The secret of the bears of Uri”). The story is from the Association for Stories of Canton Uri and has been published as an illustrated book. Janine Zopp has adapted the text of her children’s book for this Family Concert, and Jenny Russi’s illustrations will bring the story to life in the Andermatt Concert Hall. The music will be provided by the Swiss Orchestra, conducted by Lena-Lisa Wüstendörfer.
Told for everyone big and small (recommended from 5 years upwards).
Lineup
BERNHARD RUSSI, narrator
SWISS ORCHESTRA
LENA-LISA WÜSTENDÖRFER, conductor
YOUNG LOCAL ACTORS
JANINE ZOPP, story & text
JENNY RUSSI, illustrations and production
ALIN RIABOUCHKIN, story & production
programme
- 15:30Doors open
- 16:00Concert begins
- 17:00Approx. end time
concert hall
Andermatt
How to get there
Details on how to get there can be found on the ANDERMATT MUSIC website.
barrier-free access
The Andermatt concert hall is barrier-free. Wheelchair tickets are available via email at info@andermattmusic.ch or at Andermatt Alpine Apartments at +41 41 888 78 00.
Seating on the balcony is recommended for people with reduced mobility. Chamber music concerts and New Folk Music concerts usually do not have grandstand seating: Here, all seats are accessible without steps.
The Andermatt concert hall has an inductive listening system.
Garderobe
evening ticket office
The box office opens 1 hour before the start of the concert.
Doors open / late entry
Admission to the concert hall is 30 minutes before the start of the concert. Late admission is only possible during applause between plays and on the guidance of the hall staff.
Discount
Discounts are available for children, students and members of the Gotthard MemberClub. Details about the benefits can be found here.
Bernhard Russi was born in Andermatt. He is a former ski racer and was one of the top downhill athletes during his heyday in the 1970s. He won an Olympic gold medal and two world championships and was several times named Swiss Sportsman of the Year. In 1969, when he was largely unknown, he worked as a stuntman during the filming of the James Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
After his career in skiing, Bernhard Russi was active as a commentator and race analyst for Swiss TV. He also worked in advertising and as a technical advisor to the International Ski Federation (FSI). He had originally trained as a structural draughtsman, and now helped to plan numerous new downhill slopes, from the Calgary Olympics in 1988 to the Beijing Olympics in 2022. He also helped to design the World Championship courses in Sestriere, Åre, Beavercreek and St. Moritz, thereby making a significant contribution to the further development of alpine skiing. His manifold commitments and many public appearances mean he remains one of the most prominent personalities in Switzerland. This most famous son of Andermatt is now entering new territory by narrating Sergei Prokofiev’s symphonic fairy tale Peter and the wolf for the first time in the Concert Hall.
After his celebrated debut, Bernhard Russi returns to the Andermatt Concert Hall with ”Carnival of the Animals”.
Jenny Russi and Janine Zopp are both active in the Association for Stories of Canton Uri (“Urschner Gschichtä”) that preserves and promotes new versions of stories from the Urnertal. Since 2020, when they published their Secret of the Bears of Uri (“Z’Gheimnis vu dä Urschner Bärrä”), they’ve been collaborating on book projects to bring traditions and Nature to life in a way that children can relate to. Their other children’s books, The invisible treasure (“Dr unsichtbori Schatz”) and The little white goat (“Z’chlynä wyssä Geissli”) uphold similar principles. Together with Mari Russi and Alin Riabouchkin, they create atmospheric narrative worlds full of respect and solidarity.
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