The annual youth opera by Muziektheater Transparant is an internationally renowned project. Young singers, instrumentalists and dancers experience the full creation of an opera production from A to Z. During a well-filled ten-day period in deSingel, an enthusiastic multidisciplinary team coaches the youngsters towards a performance. The musical director is Nicolas Achten, who is assisted by baroque violinist Marcin Lasia. Wouter Van Looy is responsible for the stage setting, along with choreographer Itamar Serussi of Danshuis Station Zuid in Tilburg.
In 2012, the programme is Henry Purcell's 'Dido and Aeneas'. This is one of Purcell's baroque opera masterpieces and is based on a powerful story drawn from Virgil's 'Aeneas'. This work is interwoven with dance, choral pieces and arias, and describes the tragic love story of Dido, Queen of Carthage and the Trojan hero Aeneas.