Alumni Spotlight: Daniel Tenné

We’re proud to feature producer and alumnus Daniel Tenné, whose latest documentary PRIMADONNA OR NOTHING premiered at DOK.fest Munich on May 10, 2025.

Produced alongside Junus Baker and directed by Juliane Sauter, the 95-minute documentary follows three sopranos at different stages of life and career: Valerie Eickhoff, navigating the uncertainties of a young singer’s path; Angel Blue, an acclaimed soprano balancing global recognition with personal cost; and Renata Scotto, one of opera’s great legends, seen here during the final months of her life.

Shot across seven countries and in three languages, the film brings viewers into rehearsal rooms, dressing rooms, concert halls, and quiet personal moments, offering a rare look at what lies behind the glamour of opera.

“Primadonna or Nothing is an intimate look behind the glittering façade of the opera world,” says director Juliane Sauter. “A film about passion, pressure, and the question of what it means to give everything for your art.”

Throughout the film, the camera lingers not just on performance, but on moments of vulnerability. Moments of striving, exhaustion, doubt. As Sauter explains, the women at the center of the film allowed themselves to be seen as more than voices:

“They show themselves not just as performers, but as people. That honesty shaped every frame.”

The documentary traces a line between ambition and identity. What happens when the drive to be ‘number one’ becomes a way of life? What’s left when the voice, the self, falters?

PRIMADONNA OR NOTHING is distributed by Camino Filmverleih and will screen in selected cinemas across the DACH region this summer.