How many moments of happiness does a life hold? And how many go unnoticed? Can it be permanent, or does it remain a moment of brilliance?

Perhaps it is a decision. Perhaps it is an illusion.

Between pressure to perform and self-doubt, closeness and loneliness, “happiness hormones” and disillusionment, the perspective shifts: perhaps happiness is not a climax, but a moment of clarity. Not a possession, but an attitude. Not a goal, but a state that must be renegotiated again and again.

Inspired by George Benjamin's opera “Picture a day like this,” seventeen young adults between the ages of 16 and 35 have been exploring the tension between happiness and unhappiness at the Cologne Opera's play club since November 2025.

Music, singing, performance, and dance combine to create a collective musical theater performance that may or may not provide the audience with answers, but invites them to reflect on their own happiness.