Johann Strauss worked on a ballet based on the well-known fairy tale of Cinderella at the end of his life. Only a fragment of the piece survived. Axel Ranisch and Martina Eisenreich have created their own work inspired by this: In Vienna, 1899, Strauss is working on his ballet, but who is the mysterious librettist? And what does Ida Grünwald have to do with the project, when she is supposed to be merely typing the libretto? The story behind the creation of the Johann Strauss ballet, its storyline, and an unusual Cinderella narrative set in our present day – this fairy tale opera blends timelines and explores themes of self-discovery, emancipation, creativity, and the power of imagination.

Vienna, 1899: Johann Strauss is working on a new ballet. A competition is held to find a suitable libretto, but only one truly sparks the composer’s imagination...

The Cinderella Ballet: The talented seamstress Grete works in her stepmother’s fashion salon. Grete dreams of designing her own clothing, but her stepsisters, Yvette and Fanchon, mock her relentlessly. When the painter Leon enters the salon, everything changes.

Vienna, 2025: Niklas lives with his stepmother Alice. Her daughters ridicule him and teasingly call him “Cinderella.” Alice is determined to recruit the talented young footballer Danny for her club, unaware that this stirs up Niklas’s emotions. When Niklas discovers a painting of Johann Strauss in the attic, he accidentally opens a secret door—triggering a chain reaction that scrambles time itself...

Martina Eisenreich’s music captures Strauss’s artistic spirit while creating an entirely new musical world.

With the kind support of Johann Strauss 2025 Wien