Giacomo Puccini provides a musical rollercoaster of emotions – from Tosca’s poignant ‘Vissi d’arte’ to Cavaradossi’s powerful ‘Recondita armonia’ and Scarpia’s sombre aria ‘Ha più forte sapore’. A firework display of emotions with captivating melodies that find the perfect echo in the rocky landscape of the St. Margarethen quarry. The production, led by director and set designer Thaddeus Strassberger and costume designer Giuseppe Palella, will take us to the heart of Enlightenment Rome with its Baroque traces. The musical direction of the Tosca production in the St. Margarethen quarry will once again be taken on by Italian conductor Valerio Galli.
Arena di Verona Festival 2026: Aida
Aida, the Arena di Verona’s flagship opera, comes back in Franco Zeffirelli’s famous production, which transforms the stage into a magnificent Ancient Egypt. A great pyramid, monumental settings, multicoloured stones and precious fabrics provide the backdrop for a production featuring hundreds of mimes, extras, dancers and singers from the chorus.
Maria José Siri takes on the role of Aida, the Ethiopian princess, a slave at the court of the pharaohs. At her side, in the role of Radames, is Jonas Kaufmann, for the only performance scheduled at the Arena di Verona Festival in 2026. Rounding out the love triangle is Clémentine Margaine, as the Egyptian princess Amneris. The production also features the Étoile and Principal Dancer of La Scala, Nicoletta Manni and Timofej Andrijashenko, who perform in choreographies by Vladimir Vasiliev.
The Excursions of Mr Broucek
Staged at the Festspielhaus in Bregenz, the rarely performed satiric opera The Excursions of Mr Broucek tells the story of Matej Broucek, a man who finds the world outside too loud, too complicated, too exhausting. He seeks peace, but life has other plans: Broucek is first catapulted to the moon, then into 15th-century Prague: an odyssey with grotesque societies, bizarre trials, and a past that feels strangely unfamiliar. At a time when societies are increasingly closing themselves off from one another, Broucek’s journey feels more relevant than ever. Inspired by Dadaism and the Theater of the Absurd, US-American director Yuval Sharon brings Janácek’s rarely performed opera to the stage, in a production as bold as it is visually striking. Aesthetically compelling, musically vibrant, and theatrically daring, Janácek’s original opera stands as a satirical masterpiece of existential depth.
Vienna Prater Picnic 2026
The Wiener Symphoniker give an open-air concert in front of the spectacular backdrop of the Wiener Riesenrad! Around 5,000 visitors joined the concert and took a seat on their picnic blankets in front of the stage. Under the musical direction of Holly Hyun Choe, soprano Ilia Staple, tenor Rolando Villazón and Austrian singer-songwriter Teya take the audience on an extremely special musical journey!
Bregenz Festival 2026: La traviata
With its spectacular Lake Stage, the Bregenz Festival celebrates its 80th anniversary with a series of sold-out performances, each offering breathtaking visual experiences before nearly 7,000 spectators. Damiano Michieletto’s staging of Verdi’s La traviata, set in the Roaring Twenties, captures a broken woman’s shattered life through a mirror tilted towards the sky. Marjukka Tepponen’s outstanding Violetta showed “intimate heart through sheer force of personality, expressive intelligence and vocal beauty” (OperaWire). By her side, Julien Behr interprets Alfredo “with lyrical warmth and palpable passion” (Orpheus Magazine), whilst Vladimir Stoyanov performs the role of Giorgio Germont with such “naturalness, elegance, grace and vocal expressiveness that he can be regarded as the baritone of choice for this role” (OperaTeatro). Conducting the excellent Wiener Symphoniker, Kirill Karabits proves to be a very sophisticated Verdian conductor, “bringing extraordinary dynamic and tonal subtlety to the score” (InterClassical). A production that was “visually ambitious, theatrically sophisticated and, at its best, genuinely poetic” (OperaWire).
Münchner Philharmoniker, Shani and Seong-Jin Cho in Tokyo
Filmed in Tokyo’s legendary Suntory Hall in April 2026, Lahav Shani and the Munich Philharmonic are joined by the brilliant Seong-Jin Cho in a programme focusing on two groundbreaking firsts: Beethoven’s exuberant, expansive First Piano Concerto and Mahler’s vividly pictorial First Symphony – a work that redefined what the symphony could be as the 19th century approached its end. With Mozart’s Overture to Die Entführung aus dem Serail as an arresting curtain-raiser, this concert presents more than a century of music central to the Austro-German tradition, performed at the very highest level. PROGRAMME: Mozart – Overture to Die Entführung aus dem Serail K.384; Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15; Mahler: Symphony No. 1 in D major “Titan”
Yulianna Avdeeva, Petr Popelka & Wiener Symphoniker
Two key works of the Romantic era are performed at the Vienna Konzerthaus: Johannes Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1 and Franz Schubert’s ‘Great’ Symphony in C major. On stage are the Vienna Symphony Orchestra with their principal conductor, Petr Popelka. Both works combine grand forms, inner dignity and musical expressiveness. Johannes Brahms, who made Vienna his home, also engaged deeply with the musical legacy of Franz Schubert. Brahms spent the last 25 years of his life in Vienna, living on Karlsgasse, not far from the Vienna Konzerthaus. It is here that Yulianna Avdeeva, winner of the 2010 International Chopin Competition, now shines in Brahms’s First Piano Concerto in D minor.
Grafenegg: Midsummer Night’s Gala 2026
The Midsummer Night’s Gala at Grafenegg is one of Austria’s most beautiful musical traditions. Opening the season, the Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich and chief conductor Fabien Gabel present a magnificent, varied programme. Two opera stars make their Grafenegg debuts: US soprano Angel Blue, whose voice fills the world’s great stages, and Ukrainian-born lyric tenor Bogdan Volkov, nominated for the 2025 Austrian Music Theater Prize. Salzburg cellist Julia Hagen adds virtuoso brilliance and a refined ear for timbre. Orchestral splendour, arias, duets and concertante works—delivered with humour and enthusiasm—provide a fitting prelude to the anniversary summer at the Wolkenturm.
Les Pêcheurs de perles
In his new production of Bizet’s early opera Les Pêcheurs de perles, Ersan Mondtag brings the pearl fishers’ working world to the forefront, transposing it into a contemporary setting governed by the logic of fashion. The distinguished cast featured several opera stars. Juan Diego Flórez brought elegance and musicality to the role of Nadir, with OperaWire praising his ‘brilliant and secure high notes’ and ‘excellent phrasing’. As Zurga, Ludovic Tézier displayed both the beauty of his voice and his innate nobility, while the remarkable bass Ivo Stanchev completed the cast as Nourabad, the high priest of Brahma. Daniele Rustioni led the Orchestra of the Wiener Staatsoper in a thoughtful and finely detailed interpretation of the score. He brought out the music’s sensuality through a transparent, mellow sound that acknowledged its Orientalist colouring without overemphasising it.
Martha Argerich, Silvain Cambreling & Symphoniker Hamburg
She is a legendary pianist, a ‘lioness at the piano’, renowned for her spirited playing: Martha Argerich is the protagonist of the ‘Martha Argerich Festival’, named after her, which will took place for the eighth time in 2026. Alongside conductor Sylvain Cambreling and the Symphoniker Hamburg, Argerich presents a programme focused on dialogue. The first part highlights one of the most beloved piano concertos of all time, the Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major by Beethoven. In the second, the orchestra showcases the full range of its sound with the Concerto for Orchestra by Bartók, a work where each instrumental section has the chance to show its virtuosity.