The Staatsoper Unter den Linden Presents the 2026/27 Season

Press release of 13 March 2026

In what has so far been a highly successful second season together, Artistic Director Elisabeth Sobotka and General Music Director Christian Thielemann present the opera and concert programme for the 2026/27 season at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. With six premieres, a wide-ranging repertoire, outstanding casts and a diverse concert programme, the coming season builds on the great artistic breadth and excellence of recent years.

Numerous world-class singers will be appearing at the Staatsoper during the 2026/27 season. Sabine Devieilhe, Xabier Anduaga and Jonathan Tetelman will be making their debuts at the theatre. Important role debuts will be made by Sonya Yoncheva, Diana Damrau, Aigul Akhmetshina, Freddie De Tommaso and Benjamin Bernheim, amongst others. Further vocal highlights of the season include performances by Anna Netrebko, Lise Davidsen, Asmik Grigorian, Nadine Sierra, Cecilia Bartoli, Joyce DiDonato and Ludovic Tézier.

General Music Director Christian Thielemann will take the musical helm for the premiere of Engelbert Humperdinck’s Königskinder and will conduct Richard Wagner’s Tannhäuser during the 2027 Festival, as well as Tristan und Isolde beforehand. In Berlin alone, he will conduct a total of 14 concerts.

A special highlight of the concert season will be the performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s 9th Symphony to mark the 200th anniversary of his death. The work will be performed as part of the 2027 Festival under the baton of Christian Thielemann with the Staatskapelle Berlin, the Staatsoper Chorus and the vocal soloists Julia Kleiter, Patricia Nolz, Klaus Florian Vogt and René Pape.

After a two-year hiatus, the Baroque Days are returning to the Staatsoper. A highlight of the festival will be the new production of Francesco Cavalli’s La Calisto, 25 years after Herbert Wernicke’s legendary production. Cecilia Bartoli, together with Les Musiciens du Prince Monaco and the choir Il Canto di Orfeo under Gianluca Capuano, will present Christoph Willibald Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice. Claudio Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea and Henry Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas will both be performed by the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, which has shaped the Baroque Days for decades.

Premieres

The 2026/27 season at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden features six opera premieres.

The season opens with Gaspare Spontini’s La Vestale. The work, which premiered in Paris in 1807, and its composer are closely linked to the history of opera in Berlin: Spontini served as the first General Music Director of the Royal Opera in Berlin from 1820 to 1841. In her production, director Lydia Steier explores the mechanisms of an autocratic system. Carlo Rizzi conducts the Staatskapelle Berlin, with Sonya Yoncheva in the title role. Premiere: 26 September 2026.

As part of the Baroque Days, Francesco Cavalli’s La Calisto, a masterpiece of Venetian Baroque opera, will be performed. Christina Pluhar takes the musical helm at the podium of her ensemble L’Arpeggiata in cooperation with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin. Director Stefan Herheim brings the mythological story to the stage with a visually rich aesthetic, with Vera-Lotte Boecker as Calisto at the head of an excellent cast. Premiere: 8 November 2026.

Giacomo Puccini’s first major operatic success, Manon Lescaut, is on the programme for the 2027 festival season. Bertrand de Billy conducts the new production, directed by Johannes Erath. Asmik Grigorian takes on the title role, with Joshua Guerrero as Des Grieux. Premiere: 21 March 2027.

With Engelbert Humperdinck’s Die Königskinder, Christian Thielemann turns his attention to a rarely performed late Romantic opera of great orchestral richness. David Bösch directs. The solo roles are taken by Sebastian Kohlhepp, Diana Damrau, Evelyn Herlitzius and Christian Gerhaher. Premiere: 1 May 2027.

Giuseppe Verdi’s La forza del destino will be performed under the musical direction of Philippe Jordan. Director Vasily Barkhatov presents the traumatic event at the beginning of the opera from various perspectives. The principal roles are superbly cast with Lise Davidsen, Freddie De Tommaso, Roberto Tagliavini and Igor Golovatenko. Premiere: 22 May 2027.

Die Fledermaus für Kinder (Die Fledermaus for Children) is a special offering for young audiences. Director Giulia Giammona’s adaptation transposes the plot of Johann Strauss’s operetta to a boarding school and actively involves the young audience in the action through an ‘interactive operetta’ format. Premiere: 21 January 2027.

Repertoire

During the 2026/27 season, a total of 23 repertoire productions will be staged in the Main Hall of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, presenting a broad spectrum of musical styles and directorial approaches.

The programme includes, among others, Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos (directed by Hans Neuenfels), Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail (directed by Andrea Moses) and Die Zauberflöte (directed by August Everding), Puccini’s La Bohème (directed by Lindy Hume) and Madama Butterfly (directed by Eike Gramss), as well as Verdi’s La traviata (directed by Dieter Dorn), Nabucco (Emma Dante) and Rigoletto (Bartlett Sher).

In addition, the programme features productions of Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore (directed by Percy Adlon), Bizet’s Les pêcheurs de perles (directed by Wim Wenders), Saint-Saëns’ Samson et Dalila (directed by Damián Szifron), Wagner’s Tannhäuser (Sasha Waltz) and Tristan und Isolde (Harry Kupfer), as well as Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tsar’s Bride (Dmitri Tcherniakov) and Mozart’s Idomeneo (David McVicar).

The musical direction is in the hands of Christian Thielemann, Simon Rattle, Marc Minkowski, Alexander Soddy, Domingo Hindoyan, Simone Young, Keri-Lynn Wilson, Giedrė Šlekytė, Axel Kober, Giuseppe Mentuccia, Tim Fluch and others.

Baroque Days 2026 (7 to 27 November 2026)

After a two-year hiatus, the Baroque Days at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden will, in 2026, be dedicated to the rich diversity of 17th- and 18th-century opera. The focus will be on Francesco Cavalli’s La Calisto, which will premiere in a new production by Stefan Herheim under the musical direction of Christina Pluhar.

Cecilia Bartoli returns to the Staatsoper as Orfeo in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice, in a guest performance by the Opéra de Monte-Carlo. Revivals of Claudio Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea and Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas complete the opera programme. In addition, several concerts in the Großer Saal and the Apollosaal will highlight the musical diversity of the era – for example, with Rolando Villazón in Combattimento – Liebe, die in den Tod führt, Raffaele Pe in a Monteverdi programme, and performances with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and the Ensemble L’Arpeggiata.

Festival 2027 (20 to 29 March 2027)

The 2027 Festival programme features two major opera productions: the premiere of Giacomo Puccini’s Manon Lescaut, conducted by Bertrand de Billy and directed by Johannes Erath, and Richard Wagner’s Tannhäuser, directed by Sasha Waltz and conducted by Christian Thielemann.

The programme is rounded off by a concert featuring Joyce DiDonato in the Great Hall, as well as the Staatskapelle Berlin’s festival concert, conducted by its General Music Director Christian Thielemann, featuring Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 to mark the 200th anniversary of the Viennese Classical composer’s death.

Symphony Concerts

The great tradition of the Staatskapelle Berlin’s symphony concerts enters its 185th season in the 2026/27 season. In eight double concerts at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden and the Philharmonie, the orchestra will present key works from the repertoire together with Christian Thielemann, renowned guest conductors and international soloists. Alongside General Music Director Christian Thielemann, Philippe Jordan and Petr Popelka will once again take the podium with the Staatskapelle; Marie Jacquot and Jakub Hrůša will conduct symphony concerts for the first time. Soloists include Rudolf Buchbinder, María Dueñas, Sol Gabetta, Antoine Tamestit and Kian Soltani, as well as the singers Diana Damrau, Camilla Nylund, Piotr Beczała and Christian Gerhaher.

The programme ranges from Mozart and Beethoven through Romantic works to 20th-century music. Christian Thielemann continues his cycles, spanning several seasons, of Franz Liszt’s symphonic poems and all of Richard Strauss’s orchestral songs. In addition to further works by Strauss, he will conduct the Staatskapelle Berlin in works by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and a symphony by Anton Bruckner.

New Year’s Eve Concert

This year’s traditional New Year’s concert is dedicated to film music from Europe and America – from Babelsberg to Hollywood. Under the baton of Christian Thielemann, the Staatskapelle Berlin will tackle a repertoire that is rather unusual for them. The concerts will take place on 31 December 2026 and 1 January 2027 in the Grand Hall of the Staatsoper.

Further special concerts

With the concert ‘Music from Distant Radio Days’, Christian Thielemann and the Staatskapelle Berlin continue their exploration of high-quality light music – this time with a programme centred on dance and variety.

In addition, concerts will once again take place in the Pierre Boulez Saal, where Gemma New and Andreas Ottensamer will conduct the Staatskapelle Berlin for the first time. On 4 June, Cecilia Bartoli will celebrate her 40th anniversary on stage with a concert performance of Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia.

Opera guest performances and concert tours by the Staatskapelle

In the 2026/27 season, the Staatsoper will undertake an opera tour to Shanghai with Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier under the baton of Christian Thielemann. The Staatskapelle Berlin and its General Music Director will then embark on an Asian tour with concerts in Kawasaki, Tokyo and Taipei, featuring works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Anton Bruckner and Richard Strauss.

Further guest performances will take the orchestra and Christian Thielemann to Frankfurt am Main, Dresden and Vienna. The guest performance season concludes with a concert at the Litomyšl Festival conducted by Jakub Hrůša.

Recitals

The 2026/27 season will also feature five recitals by internationally renowned singers in the Great Hall. Guests include Ludovic Tézier, Rachel Willis-Sørensen, Joyce DiDonato, Xabier Anduaga and Nadine Sierra.

Chamber music

The Staatskapelle Berlin’s long-standing chamber music series continue to enrich the Staatsoper’s programme this season. The Apollosaal will host chamber concerts featuring musicians from the Staatskapelle, with this season’s programme thematically centred on the concept of ‘freedom’ – inspired by the Beethoven bicentenary in 2027. The programme is complemented by the ‘Preußens Hofmusik’ concert series, which focuses on Baroque and early Classical music, as well as by the museum concerts at the Bode Museum, where chamber music is combined with the unique atmosphere of Museum Island.

In addition, a new format is being created in the form of the “Apollo Salon”, comprising ten Sunday matinees spread throughout the season in the Apollo Hall of the Staatsoper.

State Opera for All

As part of the 20th anniversary of ‘Staatsoper für alle’, the Staatskapelle Berlin will once again perform a major open-air concert on Bebelplatz. Under the baton of its General Music Director Christian Thielemann, the programme will feature works by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Franz Liszt. The day before, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera The Tsar’s Bride, directed by Dmitri Tcherniakov and conducted by Keri-Lynn Wilson, will be broadcast live from the Staatsoper to Bebelplatz. We would like to thank BMW for making it possible for all Berliners to enjoy free access to opera and concerts.

Young State Opera

With a diverse programme, the Young State Opera continues its commitment to young audiences in the 2026/27 season. After several thousand children were enchanted by Der Freischütz for children over the past two seasons, Die Fledermaus – an interactive operetta for children – is coming to the main stage of the State Opera. In Giulia Giammona’s production, Johann Strauss’s famous operetta is retold for children aged eight and above, inviting the young audience in the auditorium to become part of the action themselves.

The Berlin Children’s Opera House also remains a central pillar of the Staatsoper’s educational work. The three-stage project enables children aged 8 to 13 to develop and perform their own musical theatre productions in children’s opera clubs at 16 Berlin primary schools, as well as in regional children’s opera houses across several districts. The highlight is the production by the Children’s Opera House at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, where this season a project entitled Irrlichter – Das Geheimnis der Villi (Will-o’-the-wisps – The Secret of the Villi) with music by Giacomo Puccini is being created. The Children’s Opera Orchestra, conducted by Giuseppe Mentuccia, will also perform  again in the coming season in the Grand Hall of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden and, as part of ‘Staatsoper für alle’, on the large open-air stage at Bebelplatz. 

The Staatsoper in cooperation with the independent theatre scene

The musical theatre production Frei geartete Kunst is a musical and performative exploration of artistic freedom 90 years after the defamation of ‘degenerate art’ – in the very place where this authoritarian act of power began: Berlin’s Kronprinzenpalais. In June 2027, Nico and the Navigators and the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, in collaboration with the Gorki Theater, will transform the historic building into a resonant time capsule. To this end, the two distinct artistic systems – the independent scene and the state institution – will come together in an equal co-production under the artistic direction of Nicola Hümpel, featuring musicians fr , and singers from the Staatsoper Unter den Linden and Nico and the Navigators. Featuring works by defamed composers, visual references to confiscated paintings, AI-generated videos and walk-in installations, a musical theatre piece emerges that bridges the past and the present, the original and the projection, dream and trauma.

House debuts

• Sabine Devieilhe – Ilia (Idomeneo)
• Xabier Anduaga – Recital
• Jonathan Tetelman – Samson (Samson et Dalila)

Selected role debuts

• Sonya Yoncheva – Julia (La Vestale)
• Diana Damrau – The Goose Girl (The King’s Children)
• Aigul Akhmetshina – Lyubasha (The Tsar’s Bride)
• Freddie De Tommaso – Don Alvaro (La forza del destino)
• Benjamin Bernheim – Cavaradossi (Tosca)

Conductors of the symphony concerts

• Christian Thielemann
• Marie Jacquot
• Philippe Jordan
• Jakub Hrůša
• Petr Popelka

Main Partner

The State Opera would like to express its sincere thanks to the Friends and Patrons of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, BMW and the Board of Trustees for their support.

Board of Trustees

In order to successfully meet the challenges of the future and strengthen the work of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Foundation, the Staatsoper has established a Board of Trustees comprising high-profile, internationally active figures. The Board of Trustees is formally affiliated with the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Foundation and thus works in direct consultation with the theatre’s management. The Chairman of the Board is Alexander Doll.

The full programme and further information

You can find the full programme for the 2026/27 season and further information here.

Photos from the season presentation will be available here shortly.

Regular advance ticket sales begin on 18 April and for the festive season on 28 March 2026, in each case at 12 noon.