The Mus-e project, coordinated by Paola Monaci in Torino since 2001, focuses on synergies among various artistic disciplines and educational systems. The project puts art at the center of the learning experience in schools that are increasingly multiethnic. Based on a Hans Christian Andersen story, the performance stars a nightingale and its mechanical replica. The emperor thinks he can imprison the bird in a gilded cage, but winds up appreciating the value of friendship and the warmth of a free bird’s song, as opposed to the cold perfection of a robot.