An angry emperor, a clever woman, advanced mathematics and three beheadings in a new opera by Maarten Ornstein. Escape in Ecstasy celebrates the work of Hrotsvitha von Gandersheim, Juana Inés de la Cruz, Mechthild von Magdeburg, and other women from the Middle Ages and Renaissance who defied the patriarchy and made their voices heard. Their courage, conviction, and resistance against a male-dominated world continue to inspire the imagination. Escape in Ecstasy, composed for ensemble La Sfera Armoniosa and soloists, is an opera about the right to self-development for everyone.

Escape in Ecstasy premiers on May 18th 2027 at the O! Festival in Rotterdam. Full cast: Claron McFadden, Mattijs van de Woerd, Emilio Aguilar, Channa Malkin, Ai Horton and Jasperina Verheij. Ensemble: Mike Fentross, Evan Buttar, Kate Clark, Anna Lachegyi, Kano Imada and Maarten Ornstein.