THE 2026/27 BALLET SEASON

The Bayerisches Staatsballett opens the 2026/27 season with a classic of the history of ballet. John Neumeier’s The Lady of the Camellias  celebrates a season premiere on Sunday, 20 September 2026. With its traditional UniCredit opening festival, on the day before, the Bayerische Staatsoper invites one and all to start into the new season together and sneak a peek behind the scenes.

In October, the Bayerisches Staatsballett will perform John Neumeier’s Illusions-like Swan Lake at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden. The classic ballet will return to the stage of the Münchner Nationaltheater in May 2027. 

Humour meets aesthetics with the return of Common Ground, the previous season’s Ballet Festival Week premiere, in October. With choreographies from Alexander Ekman, Johan Inger and Jiří Kylián, the performance combines wit, aesthetics and contemporary dance art at the highest level.

In November, the curtain rises for a world premiere: Ballet Director Laurent Hilaire has entrusted internationally celebrated choreographer Edward Clug with a commissioned work. C A R P A T H I A – The Myth of the Undead pays homage to the whole Dracula story – whether dark, eerie or surprisingly poetic. Do blood and mythology belong with ballet? Find out yourself!

A timeless classic invites us all to dream in the pre-Christmas period. John Neumeier’s The Nutcracker whisks us away to the fantasy world of the little Marie, who dreams of becoming a great ballerina. Neumeier intentionally dispenses with battles at the witching hour and a fairytale sugary sweet kingdom. Instead, he leads Marie into the magical world of ballet halls and theatre stages. 

A special highlight follows in the new year: Laurent Hilaire presents himself as a choreographer for the first time since becoming our Ballet Director. With his interpretation of Giselle based on Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot and Marius Petipa, he adds new depth to the piece through contemporary choreography, mimic art and gestures. Classic elements such as stage design and set decoration are very deliberately maintained.

Ear worm alert is sounded once again on Saturday, 6 February 2027, when a celebrated triple bill returns with further performances of Waves and Circles. The ballet evening features Blake Works I by William Forsythe, Megahertz by Emma Portner, and Maurice Béjart’s iconic Boléro.

The 2027 Ballet Festival Week links up with some major successes. Following The Rite of Spring in 2025, another masterpiece by the legendary choreographer Pina Bausch will be staged in Munich, from 9 to 16 April 2027. The production is Orpheus und Eurydike by Christoph Willibald Gluck, which Pina Bausch adapted into a dance opera in 1975.  In the portrayal of the three roles of Orpheus, Eurydike and Amor, singers and dancers are treated as equals. The Bayerische Staatsorchester and a guest choir will perform in the orchestra pit of the Nationaltheater.

In May, alarm bells again ring for evil stepmothers and glass slippers. Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella, one of the most elaborate and most beautiful ballets of the modern day, returns to the Bayerisches Staatsballett repertoire.

And a simply superb highlight awaits audiences in June 2027. As the Munich Opera Festival commences, the Bayerisches Staatsballett presents Glanzlichter – A Ballet Gala in the Prinzregententheater. The high points of the history of ballet, a number of magnificent pas de deux and selected ballet excerpts are presented in three performances. Audiences can look forward to both the Bayerisches Staatsballett ensemble and international guests.  

And our younger guests can look forward to interesting performances as well. The programme once again features The Fish who founds the Sea mobile production. In addition, Eliana Stragapede & Borna Babić duo, renowned for their work with Spheres.03, will also choreograph a new children’s dance piece for Munich audiences entitled Das Vier-Farben-Land.

The season is rounded off with a Ballet extra series with rehearsal visits, lecture evenings, talks in the Café Luitpold, and film screenings in cooperation with the cinema "Theatiner Filmkunst".

The 2027 Ballet Festival Week builds on previous successes. Following Wings of Memory  in 2025, the creative team behind dance theatre legend Pina Bausch will return to the Nationaltheater from 9 to 16 April 2027. The programme will feature Orpheus und Eurydike  by Christoph W. Gluck. Dance-opera by Pina Bausch. The production can only be seen during this season as part of the Ballet Festival Week and will be performed eight times. The roles of Orpheus, Eurydike and Amor will not only be danced but also sung, thus combining dance and opera in a special way. The evening will be complemented by a choir curated in collaboration with the Bayerische Staatsoper. The result is a festival week that brings ballet and opera together in a unique way and invites the audience to an intense overall experience.

sponsored by Alexander und Julie Schemann

At the UniCredit Opening Festival 2026, you can once again experience a wide range of insights into the world of dance. The audience can look forward to a varied ballet programme with short excerpts from the repertoire, exhibitions with ballet barres and pointe shoes to try out, and exclusive guided tours of the ballet rehearsal building at Platzl.

_{Fotografie und Art Direction © Martina Borsche, Treatment © Serifa}