Last Sunday, the family opera Ich bin Vincent! Und ich habe keine Angst (I am Vincent! I am not afraid) celebrated its premiere.

Vincent is eleven years old and has a special hobby: he knows everything about nature and survival in the wild. However, 'daily survival' at school is not so easy for him, as he is bullied by his classmates. The jokes and tips from his four imaginary friends – a squirrel, a beetle, a foal and a worm – are no longer helping. One ray of hope is "The Jacket", the cool new classmate with whom Vincent is slowly becoming friends. Who knows, maybe they'll even start a band! But just then, a school trip is coming up, where the situation gets out of control. Vincent must finally face his fears. And he succeeds with the last bars of the work.

The young audience thanked everyone involved with long applause: director Johannes Schmid and musical director Michael Balke, who conducted the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. There was particular cheering for the performer of the title role, Austrian countertenor Alois Mühlbacher, and all his colleagues on stage: Georgine Fürstenberg, Johannes Bamberger, Lavinia Dames, Matthias Hoffmann, Tatjana Kuyatnikova, Mara Guseynova, Martin Summer, Natalie Weinberg, Birgit Völker and David Neumann, as well as the Arnold Schoenberg Choir.

Ich bin Vincent! Und ich habe keine Angst can be seen until 28 December.