The U.S. Forces show their presence world-wide: American Lieutenant Pinkerton has an affair in Nagasaki with Cio-Cio San, "Madame Butterfly". He sails away. She then has his child. Three years later he returns to Japan – accompanied by his American wife and wants to take the child with him. Butterfly commits suicide.

Madama Butterfly

Max-Joseph-Platz

Whether the word “wave” reminds us of a beach by the sea, the radio or a football stadium – the idea of ​​energy is always in there somewhere. An energy that looks for its path and awakens the impression of liveliness. Waves often spread in circles, going out in all directions from a center point. Waves and circles play a role in a different way in the triple bill ballet program, Waves and Circles – they are extolled, are visible or are tangible.

Waves And Circles

Hans Werner Henze was not an ivory tower composer: uncompromising as well as politically committed, he viewed composing not in terms of style but rather as a means of exploring consciousness. Das Floß der Medusa (The Raft of the Medusa), dedicated to revolutionary leader Che Guevara, caused a scandal in the heated atmosphere of the 1960s. It tells the story of the frigate Méduse, which sank in 1816, and whose passengers, abandoned by its officers, drifted on a raft in the Atlantic Ocean for four weeks – an allegory of the abuse of power by those in authority. Sir Simon Rattle has immersed himself in this music, whose dark power and impulsive despair are impossible to ignore. Jörg Widmann will also be the featured soloist in the world premiere of Zones of Blue by Siemens Prize winner Olga Neuwirth.

Sir Simon Rattle | Das Floß der Medusa

Gasteig HP8

Seeing his love succeed against the will of the parents is pretty difficult in a rural setting. Especially when he is also considered an outsider, things do not look good with the parents-in-law, and there's a lot of money in the mix as well. But what Hans negotiates with Kezal the marriage broker, without discussing it with his beloved Marie, certainly requires a very special kind of chutzpah, and it very nearly goes all wrong – bartering his loved one to a certain person, which turns out through rhetorical trickery to be himself, only becomes evident as a good idea at the end. Which once again proves: The comedy is only a tragedy avoided at the very last minute.

The Bartered Bride

Podcast link: https://youtu.be/4hagYvrYbuM

The Artelize Podcast and Kasper Holten - Pedefining Opera for the modern world

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The Artelize Podcast - A legacy of innovation in Opera: Celebrating Marc A. Scorca

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The Artelize Podcast: A love letter that was never sent

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The Artelize Podcast and Adolfo Corrado: Mediterranean flavors, opera and social media

Experience Rapunzel's story in a completely new and refreshingly funny way that turns the classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale completely on its head.

Rapunzel

King Albert Theater

Haimhausen Raiffeisen Hall

Waitzinger Keller Cultural Center

CULTURE + CONGRESS CENTER Rosenheim

Cultural Office at KUBIZ

British countertenor Tim Mead is highly acclaimed not only for his elegant, warm tone and rich, mellifluous sound but also for his exceptionally alluring and stylish interpretations of a wide range of repertoire. He specialises in Baroque music – which is why Sir Simon Rattle has built the program for the next BRSO Baroque Matinee around Tim Mead, featuring wonderful cantatas and arias by Bach and Handel. The baroque ensemble consisting of BRSO musicians will also be in the spotlight performing two of Handel’s Concerti grossi, originally written as accompaniments and interludes for operas and oratorios. Their magnificent and festive character makes them instantly enchanting.

EPSG:4326

BRSO baroque · Sir Simon Rattle

Munich Residence

On his futile search for the meaning of life, the ageing scholar Faust makes a pact with the Devil. Méphistophélès buys his soul and promises him eternal youth and love. Faust falls in love with Marguerite, however she soon leaves him. After she has killed their child, Marguerite succumbs to madness, but emerges morally superior from the encounter with Faust.

Faust

His only violin concerto was the first large-scale piece that Pyotr Tchaikovsky began to compose anew after the catastrophe of his misguided marriage. But unlike his Fourth Symphony, also completed during this period (which is on the program of the second Academy Concert of the 2025–26 season), this work contains neither disastrous falls nor motifs of fate, and there is no plot that could be subsumed into the music. Nevertheless, it perhaps subliminally tells of the search for the right place in life, of the relationship of the individual to society. The very choice of the key of D major—the same as in Ludwig van Beethoven's Violin Concerto—signifies a connection to history, and his individual approach to symphonic form testifies to the composer's self-confidence. Leonidas Kavakos, who made his debut with the Bavarian State Orchestra a good ten years ago with Johannes Brahms's Violin Concerto, takes on the solo part. The musical director—for the first time ever at the Bavarian State Opera—is Markus Poschner, one of the most stylistically versatile and curious conductors of our time. With Beethoven's Eroica , he makes a debut that reassesses the work's political message for our times: a debut that raises high expectations.

4th Academy Concert: Markus Poschner

Whether Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, or Romeo and Juliet – many of the most beautiful and well-known melodies were written for ballet. The grace and elegance of the dancers inspired the composers to achieve peak creative achievements – time to devote a detailed attention to the resulting music. This evening, it's not just the bows that dance on the strings; some animals are also said to be doing a few pirouettes...

Pirouettes and pliés

Prinzregententheater

Otherworldly and infinitely fragile: this is how one might describe the atmosphere of Gabriel Fauré’s Prélude from his symbolist suite Pelléas et Mélisande that sets the tone at the beginning of this concert. It tells the tragic story of two lovers, which, similarly to Sergei Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, does not end happily – but contains breathtaking emotion. It is a work for which conductor Tugan Sokhiev has a particular fondness. Camille Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto offers a double premiere since, oddly enough, it has never been performed before on the BRSO stage. French pianist Alexandre Kantorow, who in just a few years has managed to play his way around the world on 88 keys and achieve international fame, will also be making his BRSO debut.

Tugan Sokhiev & Alexandre Kantorow

Reich Knussen Adams

Kian Soltani : Chamber orchestra

Northwest Wind

Künstlerhaus am Lenbachplatz

Two chairs, two guitars, and two microphones – that's all guitarists Jan Pascal and Alexander Kilian need to touch hearts, enchant them, sweep them off their feet, and, transcending all boundaries, unleash a diverse range of emotions. Café del Mundo plays a unique sound. From the very first note, their finely tuned guitars exude that southern joie de vivre that celebrates life while simultaneously mo

Café del Mundo GuitaRevolution Symphonic feat. Neue Philharmonie Frankfurt

Admiralspalast

Metropol Theater Bremen

Palace of Culture

Theater am Marientor

Tonhalle Düsseldorf

Alte Oper

Congress Center Hamburg

Festhalle Harmonie, Theodor Heuss Hall

Haus Auensee

EmslandArena, Lingen

Meistersingerhalle

Beethoven Hall (Beethovensaal)

"Katja and Ivan" – that's Ivan Repušić, Chief Conductor of the Munich Radio Orchestra, and his wife Katja, a pianist and professor in Split. Together with string players from the radio orchestra, they open the doors of their very own salon. Brahms' almost symphonic piano quintet will be accompanied by, among other things, five cheerful and charming miniatures by Shostakovich, based on film and stage music. Katja and Ivan's compatriot Boris Papandopulo sends greetings from their shared homeland of Croatia in the form of his "Papandopulijada."

Salon Katja and Ivan

"How beautiful Princess Salome is tonight!". Oscar Wilde's French drama, arranged as opera text by the composer himself, was a stroke of genius of the fin de siècle, a scandal on one hand and an absolute hit on the other, both an artistic and a financial success which allowed Richard Strauss to buy his villa in Garmisch. Salome demands the head of the prophet, John the Baptist, who has rejected her, from her lustful stepfather – and bound by an oath, he cannot deny her. And so the zealous admonisher dies, and with him the princess is undone – "Kill this woman!". Krzysztof Warlikowski is convinced that Salome recounts many of the contradictions of the period of origin, that in this piece, however, much is also dismissed of that which at the time was still the future: "It's not just what's in the work of art itself that is important, whether it be Oscar Wilde or Richard Strauss, but rather the whole context, which Christianity and the history of the 20th century add to this piece."

Salome

Clemens loves music – but how do you dance to it? Luckily, there are the amazing dancers from the Ottobrunn Ballet School! Together, they discover how sounds transform into movement. Whether elegant, wild, or fun – the dance floor comes alive to the music of string instruments and piano. Join in, let yourself be swept away – and you'll surely find yourself dancing along by the end!

Dance with me!

Hosokawa Beethoven Brahms

Hungarian maestro Iván Fischer has been a lifelong advocate for Hungarian music. His fascination with Béla Bartók’s connection to both tradition as well as modernity is a heartfelt conviction that can now be fully savoured in his interpretation of Bartók’s Three Village Scenes, which will be performed for the first time by the BRSO. The same applies to Bartók’s Second Violin Concerto, featuring Vilde Frang as soloist. Listening to the Norwegian violinist is a wonderful experience, because she plays every nuance – from the most delicate whisper to the most powerful bow stroke – with absolute conviction. A work that has not been performed by the BRSO for some time is Mendelssohn’s Third Symphony, known as the Scottish: it is the composer’s epic, sublime, and distinctly lyrical declaration of love to the land of the legendary Highlands.

Iván Fischer & Vilde Frang

The music encompasses various styles, from classical to jazz and modern, while always remaining child-friendly.

Events in Munich

Madama Butterfly

Bayerische Staatsoper

Waves And Circles

Bayerische Staatsoper

Sir Simon Rattle | Das Fl...

Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra

The Bartered Bride

Bayerische Staatsoper

The Artelize Podcast and ...

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Rapunzel

Freies Landestheater Bayern

BRSO baroque · Sir Simon ...

Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra

Faust

Bayerische Staatsoper

4th Academy Concert: Mark...

Bayerisches Staatsorchester

Pirouettes and pliés

Münchner Rundfunkorchester

Tugan Sokhiev & Alexandre...

Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra

Reich Knussen Adams

Munich Philharmonic

Kian Soltani : Chamber or...

Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra

Northwest Wind

Munich Philharmonic

Café del Mundo GuitaRevol...

Neue Philharmonie Frankfurt

Salon Katja and Ivan

Münchner Rundfunkorchester

Salome

Bayerische Staatsoper

Dance with me!

Münchner Rundfunkorchester

Hosokawa Beethoven Brahms...

Munich Philharmonic

Iván Fischer & Vilde Fran...

Herkulessaal

Puss in Boots

Freies Landestheater Bayern