Last Tuesday, “Medea,” an unconventional musical theater project, premiered at the Kammeroper. Director Corinna von Rad and conductor Benjamin Bayl embarked on a literary and musical exploration, offering fresh perspectives on this fascinating woman. In Baroque operas, she was usually portrayed as a raging fury, but around 1820, Franz Grillparzer took her side in his trilogy The Golden Fleece, and by the mid-20th century at the latest, cultural history had begun to take a different look at the figure who had been vilified until then: For instance, it was criticized that her story was always told from a male perspective, in which a figure who unsettled the masculine world was naturally portrayed not without prejudice. An evening that also takes current social developments into focus and encourages reflection.

The audience rewarded the production with enthusiastic applause and cheered for actress Lisa-Katrina Mayer as Medea, alongside singers Johannes Bamberger, Johanna Rosa Falkinger, Alois Mühlbacher, and Felix Pacher. There was also unanimous applause for the direction, conducting, and the Bach Consort Wien.