Overview
- The Cologne episode aired on Sunday, January 11, 2026 at 20:15 on Das Erste and is now available in the ARD Mediathek.
- Ballauf and Schenk investigate staged killings discovered during rehearsals for Haydn’s The Creation, with a draped victim and a missing prop firearm setting the case in motion.
- Production shot in the still‑renovating Opernhaus am Offenbachplatz and the interim venue in Deutz, repeatedly nodding to the protracted reconstruction that has defined the city’s cultural news.
- Critics highlight strong visuals, the Haydn framing and craft behind the scenes, while noting reservations about a thin or clichéd core mystery.
- Katja Bürkle’s insider Eva Krüger is widely singled out as a pivotal guide to the opera’s machinery, with credits to writer Wolfgang Stauch and director Torsten C. Fischer.