The German composer Helmut Oehring uses the music of Henry Purcell to create a narratively fragmented opera, with libretto and concept by Stefanie Wördemann based on texts by William Shakespeare, Heinrich Heine, Adalbert Stifter and Oehring himself.

Described by its creators as an 'ode to transience', this work has no specific argument but rather revolves around the cyclical nature of all earthly things, exploring timeless existential issues such as life and death or love and loss. Aschemond or the Fairy Queen is strongly reminiscent of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but is also has a second storyline that follows the son of the late poet Sylvia Plath, who returns to his mother's house to try to come to terms with her suicide.

Aschemond or the Fairy Queen premiered at the Berlin Staatsoper (Schiller Theatre) in 2013.