#BSO2526
Before we embark on the year 2026, we invite you to join us in looking back on the past months and the highlights of the Bayerische Staatsoper, the Bayerische Staatsballett and the Bayerische Staatsorchester. Join us in remembering the most beautiful and memorable moments of the past year and let these special moments come alive again.
We hope you enjoy discovering our review of the year!
#BSOako
The young conductor Thomas Guggeis, who has since become General Music Director of the Frankfurt Opera after sensationally stepping in for his mentor Daniel Barenboim in Berlin, made his “academic” debut with the Bayerische Staatsorchester, presenting a symphonic rarity: Alexander Zemlinsky's fantasy for orchestra Die Seejungfrau. The soloist for the evening was mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina.
To the concert
#BSOdanae
With a large orchestra and grand sounds, Richard Strauss looks back on motifs from his own operas and music history in his late work. He did not live to see the premiere in 1952. After the work was last restaged at the Bayerische Staatsoper in 1988, it has now been interpreted by a team led by Strauss experts Claus Guth (director) and Sebastian Weigle (conductor).
To the opera
#BSOako
Vladimir Jurowski devoted himself to Frank Martin's Six Monologues from Jedermann and Anton Bruckner, whose Sixth Symphony was performed for only the fourth time in the history of the Musical Academy.
To the concert
#BSOkabanova
In Leoš Janáček's opera Káťa Kabanová, the title character is caught in the midst of an ominous web of relationships: her domineering mother-in-law Kabanicha oppresses and controls her son Tichon, whose marriage to Káťa suffers greatly from this external control. Director Krzysztof Warlikowski sees Káťa as an outsider who is denied a life in harmony with her desires and who ultimately prefers death to lies. Corinne Winters made her debut at the Bayerische Staatsoper in the title role.
To the opera
#BSOthemedconcerts
The evenings are dialogues between two expressions of the human thirst for knowledge: on the one hand, in the form of reports from basic research and applied science; on the other, with music at the pulse of its time for chamber ensembles and similar formations. In the 2024–25 season, the themed concerts – based on the two opera premieres at Ja, Mai and the overarching theme of “Illusions” – will focus on the phenomenon of perception and memory.
To the concerts:
1. Theme Concert
2. Theme Concert
3. Theme Concert
#BSBtriplebill
The three-part evening Wings of Memory with works by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Jiří Kylián and Pina Bausch was the focus point of the 2025 Ballet Festival Week with a one-off series of performances over six days. Bausch's epoch-making interpretation of Igor Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps takes centre stage. First performed at the Wuppertal Opera House in 1975, the 35-minute work is now one of the signature pieces of the dance theatre legend, who died in 2009. Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's version of Claude Debussy's instrumental work Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune and Bella Figura by Jiří Kylián can also be seen as part of this three-part programme.
#BSOako
The program for the 5th Academy Concert 2024–25 combined two composers from the German-Austrian late Romantic period—both known for their sumptuous, mellifluous, and at the same time contrapuntally dense orchestral language—with two from the far north of Finland. Richard Strauss' Don Juan, Erich Wolfgang Korngold's late Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major, Op. 35, Kaija Saariaho's Ciel d'hiver (Winter Sky), and Jean Sibelius' Symphony No. 7. Daniel Lozakovich thrilled the audience with his violin playing.
To the concert
#BSOjagdgewehr #BSOmatsukaze
The core idea behind the third edition of the festival was to position musical theater in the present day. In addition to focusing on contemporary musical theater, the festival also explored the beginnings of musical theater in the early 17th century. The aim was to create a link between yesterday, today, and tomorrow, which was also reflected in the subject matter of the operas performed. In addition to the UTOPIA and the Cuvilliés Theater as the main venues, new locations for the supporting program were developed in cooperation with other institutions in the city.
The festival was titled “Illusions,” referring to the ambiguous perception of reality. The focus was on two operas, Das Jagdgewehr (The Hunting Rifle) by Thomas Larcher (2018) and Matsukaze by Toshio Hosokawa, who was inspired by Nō theater when composing it in 2011. The directing duo Lotte van den Berg and Tobias Staab moved between dance, theater, and film, and worked with internationally active visual artist Alicja Kwade for the first time on Matsukaze. While here a Japanese monk takes care of two restless spirits of a deceased pair of sisters, Das Jagdgewehr is based on a novella by the Japanese poet Yasushi Inoue and describes different perspectives on an extramarital affair and the price of a life lived in lies. Director Ulrike Schwab developed Das Jagdgewehr in a stage design by Jule Saworski. Both productions featured young soloists from the Bayerische Staatsoper's opera studio.
To the festival
#BSOcavalleria, #BSOCAVPAG, #BSOpagliacci
For the first time in 46 years at the Bayerische Staatsoper: Cavalleria rusticana by Pietro Mascagni and Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo are considered perfect examples of verismo. The basic constellation: a relationship is shattered by social constraints and private entanglements; betrayal is suspected and revealed; and the supposedly betrayed, incited by the betrayer, takes bloody revenge. The directing team led by Francesco Micheli, who made his debut at the Bayerische Staatsoper, found a common thread for the two operas, which are often performed together: “We want to construct a single story: the story of a man who has lost his roots in Cavalleria rusticana and tries in Pagliacci to reestablish his original ties in a new community, but fails miserably in the process.” The new production premiered under the musical direction of Daniele Rustioni with fantastic singers such as Jonas Kaufmann, Ailyn Pérez, Yulia Matochkina, Ivan Gyngazov, and many more.
To the opera
#BSOako
Two major orchestral works from two very different eras: Joseph Haydn's Farewell Symphony and Dmitri Shostakovich's Eighth Symphony were the focus of the evening. Both are characterized by a dichotomy of sorrow and rebellion.
#apollonstufenbar #apollon #BSOapollon #BSOstufenbar
Summer in Munich once again had an oasis. This year, the Apollon Stufenbar opened with a bang on June 24. Until July 31, many enthusiasts came to end the evening on the steps of the Nationaltheater. The Bayerische Staatsoper's opera studio was not the only source of entertainment. Every weekend, various musicians and DJs thrilled the crowds on the steps of the Nationaltheater.
To the Stufenbar
#BSOfestspiele
The tradition of the Munich Opera Festival hails back to 1875 when a “Festive Summer” was organised for the first time, a tradition which will also continue under General Manager Serge Dorny. All of the season’s new productions will then be united with the 2025 Munich Opera Festival. The two opera premieres of the Munich Opera Festival, Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Pénélope by Gabriel Fauré, presented a reinterpreted classic of the repertoire and a French opera not yet performed at the Bayerische Staatsoper. One of the focus points of the 2025 Munich Opera Festival was on myths and how they change over the centuries. Don Giovanni could also be enjoyed as an audio-visual live broadcast on Marstallplatz with Opera for All during the 2025 Munich Opera Festival. Numerous chamber concerts, lieder recitals and baroque concerts complement the programme. With contemporary ballets from our younger generation of choreographers, the SPHÄREN.03 | León & Lightfoot ballet evening also celebrated a premiere during the Munich Opera Festival. The festival began with a Festakt and a speech by Christine Lagarde.
As a new streaming platform, Staatsoper.tv has been bringing the artistic diversity and excellence of the Nationaltheater directly to screens around the globe since June 26, 2025. Staatsoper.tv thus brings together all audiovisual and audio productions of the Bayerische Staatsoper, the Bayerische Staatsballett, and the Bayerische Staatsorchester on a central platform for the first time. New formats also provide authentic insights behind the scenes of Germany's largest opera house and reveal the artistic cosmos beyond the stage. For example, gain in-depth insights into our new productions with CLOSE UPs from the Bayerische Staatsoper, or take a peek behind the curtain in the series of the same name, which presents the individual departments of the Bayerischen Staatsoper, the Bayerischen Staatsorchesters and the Bayerische Staatsballetts.
To kick things off, the Bayerische Staatsoper also presented Gustl und die Spürnasen, a new podcast for children that takes young listeners on exciting adventures behind the scenes at the Nationaltheater every two weeks. Gustl is voiced by actress and cabaret artist Luise Kinseher, while Nico Brugger lends his voice to Julius von der Schranke, the gatekeeper.
#BSOdongiovanni
This Don Giovanni completed the new Da Ponte cycle. Faust Prize winner David Hermann directed at the Bayerische Staatsoper for the first time. General Music Director Vladimir Jurowski conducted the work in which Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart opened the doors to a new world from which there is no turning back. “Chi è morto, voi o il vecchio?” jokes the servant Leporello cryptically after his master Don Giovanni has murdered the Commendatore. The story of the punished libertine has long since become a myth. Don Giovanni plays out in the tension between above and below. As in this dramma giocoso, opposites collide between the longing for love and the fall into hell. Ensemble member Konstantin Krimmel took on the title role.
To the opra
#BSBsphären
In the third edition of the Sphären series, ballet director Laurent Hilaire once again sought to identify connections within a choreographic “sphere” and derive elements of a possible dance language of the future from them. Following the two evenings curated by Marco Goecke and Angelin Preljocaj, the choreographer duo Sol León & Paul Lightfoot were entrusted with the curatorial task for the third edition.
To the ballet
#BSOofa
The Bayerische Staatsoper and its global partner BMW extended an invitation: Opera for All took place as part of the Munich Opera Festival on July 6, 2025, at Marstallplatz in the heart of Munich. The performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Nationaltheater was broadcast live to the square and into the living rooms of opera lovers worldwide. Vladimir Jurowski conducted the new production. Konstantin Krimmel, Christof Fischesser, and Vera-Lotte Boecker shone in the roles of Don Giovanni, the Komtur, and Donna Anna.
#BSOpenelope
2024 marks the 100th anniversary of Gabriel Fauré's death. During his lifetime, he was a highly regarded composer of art songs and chamber music, as well as director of the Paris Conservatory. Today, his works for larger ensembles, particularly his Requiem, feature prominently on international concert programs. His only opera, Pénélope, has now been performed for the first time at the Bayerische Staatsoper.
To the opera
To ensure that the theater could reopen without any problems in the 2025–2026 season, the Nationaltheater was refurbished during the summer break. In addition to installing a new ventilation system, the walls in the auditorium were also redesigned, for example. As the Nationaltheater could not be used as a venue during this time, the Bayerische Staatsoper and the Bayerische Staatsorchester went on tour in Japan and China in September and October. The stops included, in chronological order, Beijing, Kawasaki, Tokyo, and Shanghai. The Bayerische Staatsballett brought its production of Giselle to the stage of the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. See impressions of the fantastic tour through Asia here.
#BSOfigaro #BSOariadne
While the renovation of the Nationaltheater was still in full swing, the Herkulessaal served as the venue for two well-established but no less impressive plays—Le nozze di Figaro and Ariadne auf Naxos. The soloists shone in the concert performances and made the evenings something very special.
To the operas:
Le nozze di Figaro
Ariadne auf Naxos
The new season began with Opera for all: BMW Classics Concert. The very special venue made the concert a truly memorable experience for everyone involved and for the audience. In the BMW Park, the Bayerische Staatsorchester, with soloists Ailyn Pérez and Jonathan Tetelman, enchanted the audience on site and those watching the live broadcast.
To the concert
#BSOako
Music Director Vladimir Jurowski began the new concert season of the Musical Academy with enchantingly beautiful music from times of turmoil—music full of longing and desire, evoking memories of better days and hopes for happier times. With works by Modest Mussorgsky, Dmitri Shostakovich, Hans Zender, and solo cellist Yves Savary of the Bavarian State Orchestra.
On October 30, 2025, the new movie Pumuckl und das große Missverständnis, which was partly filmed at the Bayerische Staatsoper, celebrated its theatrical premiere. Filming took place in June 2024 at the Nationaltheater. Here you can get an exclusive look behind the scenes.
#BSOenglischekatze
The first new production of the 2025/26 season premiered at the Cuvilliés Theater. Hans Werner Henze's Die englische Katze (The English Cat), a production by the Bayerische Staatsoper's opera studio. This premiere also marked the start of the composer's 100th birthday celebrations in the anniversary year 2026. Hans Werner Henze based his opera The English Cat (1983) on a story by Honoré de Balzac from the early 1840s, illustrated by the famous artist Grandville. The libretto for The English Cat was written by the English author Edward Bond, with whom Henze had already collaborated successfully on his previous opera, We Come to the River.
Zum Stück
#unicredit4culture
On Saturday, November 8, 2025, we celebrated the start of the new season at the Nationaltheater. It opened its doors in the afternoon and evening and had numerous surprises in store for everyone. Small and large formats, participatory offerings, guided tours, and surprising activities for young and old showcased the diversity of the Bayerische Staatsoper, the Bayerische Staatsballett, and the Bayerische Staatsorchester. Music, dance, and theater invited visitors to participate, linger, and watch. After the ballet performance of The Nutcracker, choreographed by John Neumeier, guests were invited to a jazz night.
To the festival
#BSOkindco
Benno Heisel's musical theater piece Just Listen, based on a libretto by Rinus Silzle, explores different ways of listening. It shows the audience everyday school life in the classroom, on the playground, and in the teachers' lounge, and makes details audible that would be lost in an analog theater setting: The students are equipped with headphones through which they can experience a 3D soundscape that opens up completely new narrative perspectives and keeps them listening. So-called “binaural” microphones are used for this purpose, recording the performers' perceptions in real time and transmitting them to the headphones.
#BSOnacht
On Saturday, November 29, 2025, the curtain rose on the first premiere of this season at the Nationaltheater: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Die Nacht vor Weihnachten, directed by Barrie Kosky. Under the musical direction of General Music Director Vladimir Jurowski, the Bayerische Staatsorchester and the Bayerische Staatsopernchor filled the Nationaltheater with Rimsky-Korsakov's imaginative music, interspersed with Ukrainian folk songs, magical soundscapes, and satirical wit. Rimsky-Korsakov skillfully combines elements of Slavic fairy tales and folklore, satirical village comedies, and surreal dream worlds, contrasting Christian Christmas traditions with pagan figures and rituals.
To the opera
#BSOako
Under the musical direction of Kirill Petrenko, it was clear from the opening chords that Johannes Brahms was describing his most personal fears and hopes in his first piano concerto. With this monumental work in D minor, he had broken down all the barriers that an audience devoted to classical balance could imagine at its premiere in 1859. Pianist Daniil Trifonov is currently the ideal interpreter of this work; he is making his debut with the Bayerische Staatsorchester with this concerto. Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony was conducted by the former chief conductor of the Bayerische Staatsorchester for the first time in Munich.
With the 30th BMW Advent Benefit Concert, the Bayerische Staatsorchester offered an unforgettable musical experience both on site and via livestream on Staatsoper.tv in a unique location, the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz. The audience was treated to an atmospheric program under the musical direction of General Music Director Vladimir Jurowski with outstanding singers such as Diana Damrau, Jonas Kaufmann, and José Carreras.
#BSOtriplebill
In the three-part ballet evening Waves and Circles, waves and circles played a role in different ways—they were sung about, visible, or tangible. With works by William Forsythe, Emma Portner, and Maurice Ravel, this three-part series offered an evening full of dance artistry and emotion.
Orchestra of the year – Critics' survey by magazine Opernwelt
Glanzlicht 2025 – Critics' survey by magazine tanz
