donauFESTWOCHEN: Music theater at Greinburg Castle

Music theater at Greinburg Castle

Sophia or "The price of freedom"

Music by Johann Sebastian Bach
Philipp Blom Libretto

Company of music
Katharina Linhard & Barbara Achammer, soprano | Lucia Varsic & Anna Kargl, alto
Sebastian Taschner & Jakob Gerbeth, tenor | Maximilian Schnabel & Daniel Menczigar, bass

Barbara Novotny Acting

L'Orfeo Barockorchester
Johannes Hiemetsberger Musical direction

Saskia Bladt Musical arrangement

Manuela Kloibmüller Stage direction
Isabella Reder Stage & Costumes

The central baroque music theater production at Greinburg Castle is breaking new ground in 2026 and initiating a "Bach opera": "Sophia or The Price of Freedom" combines the timeless power of Johann Sebastian Bach's music with the big questions of our present day. At Schloss Greinburg, a multi-layered sound space opens up for a music theater festival in which the arcaded courtyard becomes a living stage, performed by the Company of Music and the L'Orfeo Barockorchester under the musical direction of Johannes Hiemetsberger.

Music theater along the ruptures of the present ...

Even though Johann Sebastian Bach himself did not compose an opera, his cantatas and choruses unfold an impressive dramatic power. Saskia Bladt weaves a fine musical texture from this rich diversity and shapes Sophia or "The Price of Freedom" into a music-theatrical pastiche of our time.
pasticcio of our time. With a libretto by Philipp Blom, current social issues can be experienced poetically and musically: How does artificial intelligence influence our thinking, our decisions and our understanding of humanity?

The festive launch of the omniscient AI Sophia takes center stage. Between music by Bach, champagne and visionary images of the future, the machine answers the questions of its admirers with impressive clarity. When the waitress Leila asks a very personal question, a space for reflection and dialog opens up. The work thus invites the audience to an intense thought experiment about progress, responsibility and human freedom and opens up a multi-layered, touching view of our possible future.