Studio Dan

With what is already its fifth musical theater project for young audiences, the collective centered around Studio Dan is focusing on the notoriously “complicated” target group of 14- to 16+-year-olds. The project was able to secure a collaboration with Barbi Marković, winner of the Leipzig Book Fair award. With their self-chosen motto, “In the end, everyone should cry!” the team not only explores a constant of classical opera—grand emotions—but also opens up narrative, dramaturgical, and musical possibilities on stage.

The dramatic framework is the cancellation of Taylor Swift’s concerts in Vienna in August 2024. Within this context, the author weaves a dense tapestry of themes: criticism of capitalism, unrequited love, migrant identity, and feminist perspectives. Gender stereotypes are both celebrated and subverted, while youthful world-weariness is taken seriously and commented upon. A mosaic of intense emotions is laid out; pain is omnipresent and is always perceived as equally real. The target audience—who are in a pivotal phase of life—is taken seriously without pandering.

When it comes to the music, Daniel Riegler remains true to the collective approach of the Studio Dan ensemble. The interpretation does not begin with a finished score; rather, diverse, open-ended modules, compositional sketches, and even meticulously crafted sections are collectively shaped into their final form. As with the musical ensemble, the vocal qualities of the cast lead actors and actresses and the chorus members shape the music. The deliberately overused motif of crying offers a wide range of possibilities for an unusual and innovative treatment and use of the voice. Taylor Swift’s music is never directly quoted; a shadowy sonic layer in the background emerges wherever the piece calls for recollection and foreshadowing.

Text: Barbi Marković

Music: Daniel Riegler & Studio Dan

Directed by: Manfred Weissensteiner, David Valentek

Dramaturgy: Anna Horn (Dschungel Wien)

Set Design & Stage: Milena Czernovsky