Overview
- Detectives Max Ballauf and Freddy Schenk probe a death during rehearsals inside the Cologne Opera, with suspicion falling on people within the production.
- The episode incorporates live performances by the Cologne Opera Chorus, using Haydn’s oratorio as a thematic backbone.
- Shooting took place in the opera house and interim sites in Deutz after renovation delays, prompting late rewrites by screenwriter Wolfgang Stauch.
- Coverage notes operatic imagery including a masked presence and multiple fatalities without revealing key twists.
- Reviews emphasize atmosphere and character focus over fast pacing, with praise for the authentic milieu and some criticism of narrative energy.