Original and arrangement: The French baroque opera ‘Castor et Pollux’ by Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) in dialogue with viola da gamba literature by Ludwig Christian Hesse. A piece of Berlin music history is revived in an unconventional, colourful and entertaining way in a relaxed atmosphere.

As a ‘tragédie lyrique’, the French baroque opera ‘Castor et Pollux’ is completely orientated towards the French language, its flow and its melody. The Berlin Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm was a great lover of French opera. He commissioned Ludwig Christian Hesse (1716-1772) to "translate" Rameau's fantastic French opera into absolutely idiomatic viola da gamba literature. In the performance at the Theater im Delphi, the original enters into dialogue with the adaptations: The original opera ‘Castor et Pollux’ unfolds on the screen. The film screening is interrupted by Ludwig Christian Hesse's historical transcriptions as live interludes for three bass viols at the places provided for them in the opera.
In this unconventional way, a piece of Berlin music history is revived and made tangible in a relaxed atmosphere. The entire music world of that time envied Berlin because of Ludwig Christian Hesse, because the viola da gamba was nowhere as popular as it was here.

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Ensemble Art d'Echo was founded in 2010 by Juliane Laake. She realises her own musical projects with selected musicians in changing line-ups. The focus is on the diverse literature for viola da gamba, which is staged with profound practical performance knowledge through ambitious programme constellations. Numerous CD recordings, radio recordings, concert and festival appearances as well as prize nominations document the ensemble's successful work.