A soldier on leave is on his way home with his violin under his arm. On the way, an old man makes him a tempting offer: wealth in return for his instrument. By accepting the offer the soldier in fact enters into a pact with the Devil. He will end up by losing everything, including his soul. In this largely Faustian tale, Jean-Michel d’Hoop, far from moralizing, stirs our consciences on the question of Good and Evil. To bring this tension to life, the director has used marionettes – some of which were made by the Korean mixed media artist Xooang Choi – a technique which was used in the 2010 Liege production of The Tempest. Mixing circus music, brass bands and jazz, Stravinsky’s work is played live by seven musicians of the Belgian ensemble Quartz.