Richard Wagner’s Rienzi returns to attention through a landmark event in 2026: its first-ever performance at the Bayreuth Festival. The occasion invites a fresh look at the composer’s early breakthrough work and its place within nineteenth-century opera.
Stefan Heucke’s Concert Variations receives its premiere in Münster, bringing a new orchestral work into the spotlight. The performance highlights a composer known for bridging tradition and contemporary language.
Gerald Barry’s The Importance of Being Earnest transforms Oscar Wilde’s comedy into a sharp, high-velocity operatic experience. Premiered at Garsington Opera with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Douglas Boyd, the work exemplifies Barry’s distinctive musical voice.
A new concerto for accordion: Fazıl Say expands the instrument’s role on the concert stage. Premiered in Elphilharmonie Hamburg with Ksenija Sidorova, the work bridges diverse traditions and contemporary sound.
Atsuhiko Gondai’s opera ZEN abandons narrative in favour of sound as experience. Premiering in Tokyo in 2026, it invites a focused and wordless mode of listening.
Harald Weiss’s Darkness Project explores darkness and silence as spaces of heightened listening. Featured for its world premiere in Bremen on 21 June 2026.
Napoli milionaria is Nino Rota’s restrained operatic portrait of post‑war Naples, centred on survival and moral uncertainty. Work of the Week for the Bologna premiere on 12 June 2026.
Huang Ruo’s City of Floating Sounds combines orchestral performance with a dedicated app to create a layered listening environment. The Flanders Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Robert Ames, presents the Dutch premiere on 3 June 2026 at the Holland Festival.
A bird who can only say “Zack bumm!” ('Bang boom!'): Elisabeth Naske’s new music theatre tells a story without words, using sound and puppetry to explore difference and connection.
Hans Werner Henze’s El Cimarrón is a powerful work of music theatre about freedom, oppression and memory. In Henze’s centenary year, this key work returns to the stage across Europe.
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