Based on Peter Tchaikovsky’s world-famous music, such as the Waltz of the Flowers or the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, John Neumeier’s The Nutcracker invites you to dream. The ballet tells the story of 12-year-old Marie, who receives a nutcracker and a pair of shiny, pink ballet shoes as a birthday present. In her dreams, she meets the eccentric ballet master Drosselmeier, who guides her in discovering the fascination of the theatre world, until she starts dancing herself, experiences her first love and becomes a young woman. Paying homage to Marius Petipa and his legendary choreographies, John Neumeier presents his unique version of this classic is a coming-of-age story, presented in colourful costumes and an opulent set design by Jürgen Rose.
Julia Fischer at Neuschwanstein Castle
In 2026, the Neuschwanstein Castle Concerts opened with a world-class orchestra: The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, conducted by Omer Meir Wellber and featuring violin soloist Julia Fischer, transported the audience to emotional, musical dream worlds with romantic masterpieces. A masterful performance that moved and inspired the audience. PROGRAM Schumann: Manfred Overture, Symphony No. 4; Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35
RCO: Kerstmatinee 2026 with Klaus Mäkelä
For over fifty years, the Concertgebouw Orchestra’s Christmas Matinee has been televised live from the Main Hall every Christmas Day. n a concert brimming with musical homages, Klaus Mäkelä links Mozart’s Symphony No. 39 to works by Tchaikovsky and Arensky, with a starring role for cellist Sol Gabetta. PROGRAM Arensky: Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky; Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme; Mozart: Symphony No. 39, K543
Anna Karenina – A ballet by John Neumeier
Thomas Mann once named Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina “the greatest social novel of world literature.” When reading the novel, John Neumeier was deeply fascinated by Tolstoy’s work: not only by the main characters and the plot, but also by the extraordinary variety of thematic connections. It is a story of three families. John Neumeier states: “Tolstoy himself wrote and published ‘Anna Karenina’ as a serial story over a number of years. The feeling in the novel of a developing contemporary narrative – similar to a television series of today – is underlined by the fact that the novel does not end with the death of the title character. My challenge was therefore to give true life and relevance to the story by selecting key emotional situations and essential characters to fit within the framework of an evening-long ballet.“