Le Cinesi is the premiere of Theatrocracy. Catherine II and Opera project, dedicated to the emergence of musical theatre in the 18th century. This rare chamber opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck, which was often performed at the court of the empress, will be staged at the festival for the first time. It will later become a kind of dynamic "exhibit" at Tsaritsyno Museum-Reserve.

In the story, young noble Chinese women get bored at the tea ceremony. To entertain each other, they start performing sketches in popular genres. This one-act opera turns out to be a mix of Greek tragedy, pastorale, and comedy. Peter Aidu, the musical director of the production, and Vyacheslav Ignatov and Maria Litvinova, the actors of Trickster Theatre, combine the style and manners of the 18-century salon with futuristic decorations. The authors create an artificial and fully sterile world of the future with no room for human emotions and passion. Its inhabitants can feel things like that only in virtual reality. Therefore, there are two contrasting worlds on stage — the perfect world of the future and the colorful and diverse world of the game. The special thing about the production of this opera is that the viewer will see neither singers nor musicians on stage. The 3D-printed tablet puppets will take on the role of the performers while the orchestra will be replaced by a multitrack audio record — the moving mechanism creates a 3D sound effect inside the black box. The puppet opera of the future will have small performances staged in baroque decorations. Le Cinesi opera is coproduced by Tsaritsyno Museum-Reserve, Trickster Theatre, Peter Aidu, Persimfans orchestra musicians, and INTRADA Vocal Ensemble.