European Projects

B.U.T.T.E.R.F.L.Y. PROJECT

The Butterfly Project, winner of the Creative Europe call, was created with the aim of retracing every stage of opera creation and production in order to experiment and test good practices of sustainability and international cooperation in the theater system which, thanks in part to the Opera Europa network, involves over two hundred theaters across the continent. Led by the Teatro Comunale di Modena, the project won the 2023 Creative Europe call for proposals for international cooperation with a partnership formed by the Opera Box theater in Helsinki, Opera Baltica in Gdańsk, the AESS environmental agency in Modena, the German agency Heimspiel, which specializes in virtual reality and artificial intelligence, and the European communications agency GOPAcom, based in Brussels.

The core of the initiative was the creation of a new work consisting of three acts, each lasting thirty minutes, one for each of the partner theaters, dedicated to environmental themes: water, earth, and air. The three short works were commissioned from three composers and librettists from Italy, Poland, and Finland. Starting from the principle that sustainability means first and foremost preserving resources for future generations, encouraged also by the Fridays for Future phenomenon.

The conception of the subjects actively involved students from the “Otaniemen Lukio” high school in Helsinki, “Numero 6” in Gdansk, and “Francesco Selmi” in Modena, who were called upon to contribute to the creative development of the work, the selection of authors, and dialogue with partner theaters. This co-creation process transformed the project into an educational and collaborative experience, combining environmental reflection and artistic production.

Butterfly experimented with sustainable practices at all stages of production: sets made from recycled materials and designed to avoid transport, use of digital content generated by artificial intelligence, remote musical rehearsals thanks to low-latency connection technologies, and monitoring tools to measure the environmental impact of activities. The audience was also involved through initiatives dedicated to sustainable mobility and digital interaction, reinforcing the participatory dimension of the project.

After its debut in Modena (April 11 and 13, 2025), the opera continued with performances in Helsinki on May 2 and 3, and in Gdańsk on May 31 and June 1. The project was exhibited with a dedicated stand at the Ars Electronica festival in Linz, the most important media art festival, from September 3 to 7, 2025.

Photo © Rolando Paolo Guerzoni

EUMUT: BACH

Funded by the European Union as part of the Creative Europe program, European Music Trails is an international cooperation project dedicated to promoting classical music through innovative, participatory, and accessible methods. Developed over three years, the project involves three European partners: the Notenspur Leipzig music association (lead partner), the Le Concert de l’Hostel Dieu baroque orchestra in Lyon, and the Fondazione Teatro Comunale di Modena, which are engaged in joint activities between Germany, France, and Italy.

The central theme of the initiative is ‘Bach – The Art of Movement’, a research and dissemination project dedicated to the European legacy of Johann Sebastian Bach, with a particular focus on the relationship between music and dance. Based on the assumption that many Baroque instrumental forms derive from dance movements, the project has promoted immersive exhibitions, workshops, concerts, multidisciplinary performances, and educational activities for students, artists, and the public. Among these, the traveling exhibition Bach and the Art of Movement, hosted in Modena in 2024, offered an exhibition spread across the city, helping to bring new audiences closer to Baroque music.

The Teatro Comunale di Modena actively participated with original productions and initiatives, including the show Babel Bach, presented as part of the Altro Suono Festival, which combined performance poetry and Baroque music, and the choreographic show Movimento, which blended hip-hop and Baroque dance in a contemporary reinterpretation of Bach’s music. The project also promoted listening experiences in unconventional settings, such as outdoor concerts and musical treks in the Modena Apennines, designed to connect natural heritage and cultural enjoyment.

Of particular importance was the educational and international dimension: artist residencies, seminars, and the Bach Academy brought together young musicians from different European and non-European countries in a program of study, rehearsals, and shared concerts, culminating in performances in Modena, France, and Leipzig. The activities also included educational moments, performances in schools, and domestic concerts, strengthening cultural exchange and artistic mobility.

Photo © Rolando Paolo Guerzoni

CROSSOPERA

CROSSOPERA – Otherness: fear and discovery is an international cooperation project funded by the Creative Europe program (2017 call for proposals), born from the collaboration between the Teatro Comunale di Modena (Italy), the Landestheater Linz (Austria), and the Serbian National Theater in Novi Sad (Serbia). The main objective of the initiative was the co-production of a new opera in three acts, each entrusted to a composer from one of the countries involved, and developed around the common theme of otherness – understood as fear of the other but also as an opportunity for discovery and dialogue – with particular attention to intercultural dynamics and contemporary migration to Europe.

The project involved an international cast of singers and musicians engaged in a series of traveling rehearsals in the three partner theaters, promoting artistic mobility, professional exchange, and the growth of cultural operators’ skills in international contexts. The opera, performed in Serbian, German, and Italian with surtitles in the language of the host country, debuted in Modena and was then presented in Linz and Novi Sad, contributing to the transnational circulation of cultural productions.

Alongside its artistic production, CrossOpera has promoted training activities, meetings with local communities, and initiatives aimed at new audiences, strengthening the role of theater as a space for inclusion, participation, and intercultural dialogue. The project is fully in line with the objectives of Creative Europe, promoting cultural and religious diversity and supporting social inclusion through the performing arts.

The three acts of the opera address the theme of otherness through different narrative perspectives. Dream – Serbia recounts the symbolic encounter between people fleeing war and poverty who, in a shared dream, overcome language barriers and prejudices to rediscover hope and harmony. The Flight to Egypt – Germany offers a contemporary reinterpretation of the Holy Family’s flight, intertwining spiritual and social dimensions through experimental and multicultural musical writing. What do you know about the future? – Italy proposes a reflection on universal solidarity and shared responsibility, mixing different expressive registers and theatrical languages to imagine a possible brotherhood beyond borders.

Foto © Rolando Paolo Guerzoni, Srdjan Doroski