Join us in Vienna to explore youth participation at NEST
RESEO is delighted to partner with Vienna State Opera for a focused training programme hosted in connection with the Wild & Schön Festival, a one-week festival for young music theatre and dance ensembles from across Austria.
Following the Opening Urban Spaces symposium in Munich, this training continues our exploration of how cultural spaces can invite participation and co-creation, focusing on NEST, a new space for young audiences, experimentation and participatory opera practice.
Participants will:
- Experience a participatory opera created in the context of Wiener Staatsoper’s Opera Lab and take part in the practical workshop “Composing a Participatory Opera” with its composer Andy Icochea Icochea
- Explore the Wild & Schön Festival as a platform for participation and co-creation at NEST and Dschungel Wien, two thriving Vienna venues
- Exchange with peers from across opera, music theatre, dance and participation.
- Connect with artists, educators and festival participants in Vienna
About Wild & Schön Festival
Wild & Schön is a one-week festival for young music theatre and dance ensembles aged 14–24 from across Austria.
Find out more
Seven self-developed productions are selected by a jury and presented to the public in June 2026 on the stages of NEST and DSCHUNGEL WIEN. Alongside the performances, the festival includes workshops, talks, open stages and shared formats. More information here
About NEST
NEST is Wiener Staatsoper’s new performance venue for children, young people, families, schools and adults.
Find out more
The space is dedicated to opening up music theatre and dance to new generations of audiences and participants. Its diverse programme includes world premieres of operas and ballets for children and young audiences, experimental and contemporary productions for adults, discussions, parties and late-night events, creative introductions to works, and a wide range of participatory workshops. At the same time, NEST serves as a platform for the young artistic ensembles of the Vienna State Opera itself, including the Vienna State Opera’s Community ensembles, the Children’s Choir, Opera Studio, Ballet Academy, and Ballet Youth Company, offering them opportunities to perform and develop their artistic voices. Throughout the season, around 110 performances take place on the NEST stage, alongside numerous workshops and interactive events.
Programme
Sunday 21 June 2026 – Pre-programme
18:30 — Welcome dinner
Welcome dinner with the festival team and RESEO staff.
An informal moment to meet other participants, connect with the local context and begin the exchange.
Monday 22 June 2026 – Practice & shared Experience
11:00 — Performance visit: Heimlich! at NEST
A participatory opera by the Opera Lab with the stage orchestra of the Vienna State Opera.
What Friedrich Schiller denounced in Kabale und Liebe and Giuseppe Verdi in his opera Luisa Miller is still relevant today. In the music theatre performance Heimlich!, young artists bring the themes of abuse of power, manipulation, and social inequality to the stage.
14:30–17:30 — Workshop: Composing a Participatory Opera
Led by Andy Icochea Icochea, composer of Heimlich!
This practical workshop will invite participants to explore approaches to composing, structuring and facilitating participatory opera. Drawing on the morning performance visit of Heimlich!, the session will open space for reflection on how artists and educators can work with communities, young people and participants as co-creators within opera and music theatre processes.
18:00 — Performance visit: Catwalk for Future at DSCHUNGEL WIEN
The participatory performance Catwalk For Future combines live art and live music on the runway. Teenagers ask: Who pays the price for the fashion runways we celebrate as catwalks? Under what conditions are the clothes on our bodies produced? What happens to them once we throw them away? What journeys have our sneakers travelled — and where are they headed next?
19:00 — Festival Opening Party at DSCHUNGEL WIEN
Join us for an informal evening to meet and mingle with festival participants, artists, and partners. The program includes an outdoor dance performance by Tanz die Toleranz, a live school band, and a dancey DJ set.
Registration
Main photo © Franz Gleiss
