The world premiere of composer Kaija Saariaho's opera, "Innocence", at the 2021 Aix-en-Provence Festival. Finland is the setting but the protagonists come from the four corners of Europe: a Finnish groom and his Romanian bride, a French mother-in-law and a Czech maid. Around them memories unravel in a contemporary tragedy of guilt and lost innocence.

Kaija Saariaho: Innocence

A whole year went by before musician Juliane Hansen was able to put her running shoes back on — a year after her partner, Johann König, took his own life. Although her friend Rieke offers all the support she can, Juliane feels lonely and listless. Now, running and panting, she begins to confront her thoughts, which constantly revolve around Johann, and to allow new vitality to enter her life.

Running

When Lalo is thrown off course by the sudden death of his father, he suppresses his loss with impulsive actions that disrupt his life. While he and his best friend Karla, both in their mid-twenties, queer and Black in Germany, try to shape who they want to become, they are forced to grapple with the limits of their flexibility.

Black Fruit

Elena Wolff submerges into the turbulent world of the young, up-and-coming art scene of Linz. In a series of episodes, Asche tells of three couples and an outsider, of alpha males and muses, of loneliness, and the urge for self-realization. In doing so, this pop satire of the art world exercises a high-volume criticism of both patriarchy and the cultural scene—including unexpected vendettas and bizarre encounters.