"Stabat Mater" is the artistic result of a participatory music theatre project by the Junge Deutsche Oper Berlin in collaboration with the Young RambaZamba Theatre. 25 young people with and without disabilities and from different backgrounds have been rehearsing together since September 2023, exploring the emotions of grief, anger, fear, hope and joy, among others, through music and choreography. In the Tischlerei, they will come together with singers and musicians from the Deutsche Oper Berlin for "Stabat Mater".

The first part is a sound collage of individual stories that find expression in dance, movement, vocal and percussive soundscapes, songs and spoken texts, which the young ensemble developed together with composer Misha Cvijović and percussionist Antonio Rivero, among others.

In the second part, the composition "Stabat Mater" by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt takes centre stage, played and sung by three string players from the Deutsche Oper Berlin orchestra and three singers from the Deutsche Oper Berlin ensemble. The text is one of the central religious texts of the West and has been the basis of many musical settings. It tells of Mary's mourning for her crucified son Jesus. The young ensemble's choreography, created in collaboration with choreographer Fernando Balsera Pita, revolves around this musical centre.

Based on music-theatrical research into emotions and the dramatic expression of feelings on the opera and theatre stage, the young performers will examine the feelings of sadness, anger and fear in particular, as well as how they deal with these emotions individually and collectively.

In addition, the theatre also deals with war - which some of the participating young people have experienced themselves - and the longing for peace. What do faith and spirituality mean when all peace seems unattainable?
Musically, Pärt's piece is juxtaposed with the work "Iktsuarpok" by composer Misha Cvijović, in which she sets the frustration of waiting in vain to music.

The young people who developed "Stabat Mater" together are Aila Wittig, Anastasiia Hryshchenko, Alya Share, Bohdan Pyliavskyi, Charlotte Ausan, Csilla Feher, Daniel Beesk, Denise Soliva, Felix Hasselbach, Ivan Rabosh, Leander Helm, Lotte Latscha, Louise Dessau, Malina Höfflin, Milica Milic, Niklas Ufer, Niklas Weise, Nuria Kovacs, Leif Lapuks, Parastu Ghashghaie, Paulina Schulz, Setareh Hashemi, Tony Plate, Valeriia Beketova.