When the planned performance of his opera seria Ariadne auf Naxos in the palace of a Viennese nouveau riche is combined with the dance masquerade of an Italian comedy troupe, the young composer is initially in despair.
it is mainly thanks to the dancer Zerbinetta that he agrees. In the opera itself, we meet Ariadne, abandoned and desperate. Only the god Bacchus succeeds in bringing her back to life. In the mystical union of the two, there is still room for Zerbinetta’s mockery: »Come the new god gone, devoted we are mute!«
