The circle was complete: almost a year after the first meeting in October 2009, the time had come on 23 September this year: 23 students from the Institute of Music, 5 textile students and the lecturers Petra Eller (Seminar for Material and Visual Culture), Ljuba Markova and Peter Vollhardt (both from the Institute of Music) travelled to Towson (Baltimore, Maryland) to pay a long-awaited return visit to the friendly Department of Music at Towson University and complete the unique project "The Threepenny Opera". Students from Towson and their lecturers Leneida Crawford and Phillip Collister had already travelled to Oldenburg in May to perform a bilingual version of Bertolt Brecht's "The Threepenny Opera " with music by Kurt Weill over three evenings together with the German students. The partnership between the Department of Music at Towson University and the Institute of Music at the University of Oldenburg has existed for over 20 yearsen. This production was something completely new in terms of effort and organisation. As both student groups were only due to meet for the first time for joint rehearsals a week before the premiere in Oldenburg, the rehearsal work had to be planned precisely in advance so that a standardised version of the piece could be created. In order to be able to exchange ideas "across the pond", modern means of communication such as video live connections or chat rooms were used, which also helped the students to "get to know" each other and exchange ideas on the dramaturgical realisation of the play. This type of collaboration was new and exciting for everyone involved. At the beginning, there was some uncertainty as to whether it would work in the end. In addition, the play was to be performed with English dialogue and German song lyrics, a challenge for both groups. Three sold-out evenings in the auditorium of Carl von Ossietzky University in front of an enthusiastic audience proved that the risk of performing "Die Dreigroschenoper" in this unique form was a success! In Towson, "Die Dreigroschenoper" was also performed on three evenings as part of a Kurt Weill Festival organised by the Department of Music. For the duration of a week, there were various events centred around Kurt Weill and his music, including a song recital with teachers from both universities, lectures on Kurt Weill's influence on musical theatre culture in Germany and the USA, as well as a Weill violin concerto from 1924 with a well-known violinist from the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. The highlight of the festival was the performance of "The Threepenny Opera" in the venerable Stephen's Hall, Towson University's large theatre, whose seats were filled to capacity for every show. Many enthusiastic visitors attended all three evenings, as they were treated to a different stage ensemble each time due to the double casts. During their stay in Towson, the Oldenburg students and lecturers stayed with students and friends of Towson University. Outside of the theatre rehearsals, there was the opportunity to attend seminars and choir rehearsals in the Department of Music. Here, the students became aware of the difference between the German and American university systems, both in terms of structure and organisation. The project came to a successful conclusion with a joint day trip to Washington D.C. and a farewell party. The Oldenburg students left Towson with one crying and one laughing eye, because their departure from Baltimore did not mean the end of their great American adventure. They spent a few more exciting days in New York! Rieke Buse and Stephanie Kelle