For the documentary series "The Big Opera" Florian Gebauer followed the preparations for the children's opera "Pünktchen und Anton" (Anna Louise and Anton, based on Erich Kaestner's novel) for ten months. Up until opening night, more than 400 people are involved in the process. The composer Ivan Eröd has to get the last notes approved by the director, the singers have to be casted, the set design must be built and the costumes tailored.

At the same time, on the roof of the opera, a fairy-tale-like ballet is being choreographed by the Finnish choreograph Jorma Elo for the big stage: A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare to Felix Mendelsohn-Bartholdy's music.

"The Big Opera" provides fascinating insights into the inner workings of the Vienna Staatsoper. "This is the closest a TV team has been to the making of of such major opera productions", says producer Kurt Langbein and promises a "multi-faceted, colorful and exciting insight into the world of the first house of the Vienna Ringstraße".