Opera Festival in Munich (Opernfestspiele) – is a unique cultural event not only in Europe, but throughout the world, and the city itself in southern Germany – is considered one of the largest centers of world opera culture. Therefore, it is here that the Opera Festival is held annually for lovers of exquisite entertainment, which starts at the end of June and lasts about a month.
The main events take place at the National Theater of Bavaria. This festival is extremely popular – sells more than 80 thousand tickets to its events every year. Additionally, on the installed large screen, on the square in front of the theater, another 14 thousand spectators can see the performances for free. The artistic direction of the festival is traditionally carried out by the music director of the Bavarian State Opera.
The Munich Opera Festival is one of the oldest theater festivals in the world – first took place in 1875. The Bavarian Opera ends its season with this grandiose event every year. Using it, you can track new trends, discover singers and directors: Munich today is one of the trendsetters in opera fashion.
The festival's repertoire is extremely diverse and non-trivial. Over the course of five weeks, local audiences and tourists from all over the world have a unique opportunity to watch new productions, the best performances of the current and past seasons and festival premieres of a wide variety of opera genres, attracting the best musical forces and world-class performers.
The Munich Festival does not have much specialization. If we talk about any trends, we can name the richness and diversity of this festival. Its most important advantage is the harmonious combination of classical and modern repertoire.
But the program of each festival certainly includes works by Verdi, Bellini, Donizetti, Wagner, Mozart, Strauss, Handel, Rossini, Gluck, Cavalli and other classics. Also on the poster are always works by contemporary composers.
The composition of the festival performers is also excellent. Over the years – these are Anya Harteros, Nina Stemmi, Jonas Kaufman, Christina Opolais, Gwyneth Jones, Klaus Florian Vogt, Valery Alekseev, Anatoly Kocherga, Gabriele Schnaut, Wesselina Kazarova, Edita Gruberova, Heidi Grant Murphy, Ramon Vargas, John Tomlinson, Petr Bechala, Magdalena Kozena, Thomas Quasthoff, Dietrich Henschel, Simon Kinlisite, Maria Gulegina and many others.
In addition to the luxurious opera program, festival guests will enjoy gala concerts, solo concerts of world opera stars, and performances by chamber and symphony orchestras. Most opera performances are preceded by – introductions two hours before the start of the opera, you can listen to a lecture on the topic of the work or watch a documentary.
Since its founding, and this is more than 140 years, the Munich Opera Festival has not lost its attractiveness and is considered one of the most significant cultural events in Europe; it has a high artistic level and a brilliant performing staff.