Purcell's masterpiece in a gripping new interpretation with world premieres by Ukrainian composer Adrian Mocanu. Director Oleg Sokolov stages the symbiosis of baroque opera and subtle contemporary sounds at the Schaubühne Lindenfels theatre in images that are as delicate as they are dramatic. An integral part of the performance is the combination of early music with hip-hop and urban dance, performed by the students of the Gerda-Taro School dance company.

The staging focuses on the connection between myth and our present. We tell the story of ambitious young women who, in different eras, attempted to take places reserved for men and paid a high price for doing so.

Young dancers embody the movement against patriarchal norms and prescribed gender roles. They struggle to find their place in the world and in a society in upheaval.

The central female character represents both Dido and Sylvia Plath. What these women have in common is that they had more than one reason for committing suicide. But we are talking about life, not death. About the quest to be oneself and the traces that their actions leave behind over the times.

"Transconfessionel", "opus summum", "the greatest work in western musical history" – the superlatives used to describe Bach's only complete setting of the Mass ordinary are as boundless as its inherent magic. In a unique performance with the sonorous Trost Organ of the Altenburg Castle Church, an original Baroque instrument on which Bach himself played, this music can be experienced in a completely new and authentic way.

A celebration of music – to mark the ensemble's fifth anniversary, timpani and trumpets, choral singing and string playing will resound. Early and new music, French splendour and modern, international sounds combine to create the typical "Lachrymae sound", filled with joy, elegance and emotional depth. In addition to Charpentier's famous Te Deum, a special highlight will be the reinterpretation of a Baroque suite, in which Bach's ‘Vocal Overture’, the opening movement of Cantata BWV 110, is combined with contemporary dance movements by various composers to create a completely new work.