The Werkstattbühne theatre space was the venue for three music theatre works as enthralling as they were different: Borrowed Light, Study for Life, and Emily – No Prisoner Be, which put the focus on devotion and community, spiritual freedom, and powerful sensory experience.
Study for Life, Tero Saarinen's latest immersive and multidisciplinary work, was performed on 30 July 2025. It was a homage to the music of Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, who until her death had been a close friend and artistic collaborator. Four of Saariaho’s compositions were heard, including the one that gave the piece its title, the Miniature for Soprano, Electronics and Light, based on a passage from T. S. Eliot’s famous poem The Hollow Men. Study for Life was a co-production with the Holland Festival and received its Austrian premiere at the Werkstattbühne theatre. Kaija Saariaho (1952–2023) was one of the most significant composers of the present day. Known for her dense, colourful musical idiom, she combined electronics and orchestra in an innovative manner. Study for Life, Saariaho’s first piece conceived for the stage, formed the starting point for a multi-artistic arc that initially led the audience through an empty, lonely landscape before immersing them in a rich synaesthetic experience.
