A production by Christof Loy with Olga Kulchynska (Gänsemagd) and Daniel Behle (Königssohn), conducted by Marc Albrecht, was performed in October 2022 at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam. It has also been frequently recorded. Roles Synopsis Act 1 The scene plays in a sunny meadow outside a rustic little hut, in the hills above a town called Hellabrunn. In the distance we can see a mountain, the Hellagebirge. Twelve geese are milling around, splashing in the pond, nibbling at grass; the Goose-Girl is lying face down and aimlessly kicking the earth. The Witch calls from the hut to scold the Goose-Girl. The Witch lives here in this remote location because she hates human society; through magic she keeps the Girl here as her slave, although the Goose-Girl longs for sunshine and human contact. The Witch compels her, very much against her will, to bake a magic loaf of bread. It will not grow hard or stale, but it will kill anyone who eats just half of it. The Witch then takes her basket and heads off for the swamp, to gather more poisonous snakes, worms, and creepy-crawlies. The Goose-Girl is staring at her reflection in the stream when a young man enters from the direction of the mountains. This character, the King's Son, has left his father's castle and is travelling incognito, disguised as a simple huntsman, in search of adventure. In an extended scene he falls in love with the Goose-Girl; they kiss, and her wreath of flowers blows away. He offers her a crown instead. But she says it's too much for her, so he throws it down on the grass and begs her to run off with him. She says she will go; but she cannot break the spell which keeps her prisoner in the Witch's domain, and does not know how to explain her situation to the King's Son. Finally he grows angry and storms off, vowing that she will not see him again—not until a star has fallen into a lily growing on her lawn. Hearing the Witch returning, the Goose-Girl hides the crown left behind by the King's Son. But the Witch figures out what has happened, and casts another magic spell to prevent the Goose-Girl's escape. They hear the offstage voice of the Fiddler, and the Witch drags the Goose-Girl inside. Enter the Fiddler, followed by the Woodcutter and the Broom-maker, emissaries