A play within a play, Ariadne auf Naxos opens backstage before a performance for the wealthiest man in Vienna. Two troupes will perform; one a classical opera by a new composer, the other an Italian buffo commedia dell’arte troupe. At the last minute, they are told the performances will happen simultaneously, and the performers scramble to attempt to fit the two completely opposite performances together. Comedically intertwined, the two performance styles are intertwined, as we watch the actors fight for the limelight.
