Opera kicks off new season: opening concert and *The Ugly Duckling* to mark the start

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The summer of 2026 is drawing to a close. Now the major theatres are resuming their programmes. At the Opera House, the start of the season will be celebrated with an open day on Saturday 5 September. Guided tours of the building, technical demonstrations, dance workshops and numerous other activities offer visitors the chance to discover theatre life from new perspectives. As the musical finale to the day, the 2026/27 opening concert will offer a preview of the coming season.

The concert will feature excerpts from new productions and revivals, performed by the Gewandhaus Orchestra under the baton of General Music Director Ivan Repušić, alongside guests such as Elbenita Kajtazi, Martin Muehle and Lucio Gallo, members of the ensemble and the opera choir.

The season’s first premiere on 15 September is presented by the Junge Oper Leipzig: ‘The Ugly Duckling’ retells the famous fairy tale – in the Venussaal of the Musikalische Komödie. For this, Marko Drechsel, a clarinettist in the Musikalische Komödie orchestra, has created a fresh arrangement for string quartet, narrator and dancer.

The story goes like this: no sooner has it hatched from its egg than a duckling is teased by everyone: they say it is a very ugly duckling. Convinced of this, it finds little joy in life and sets off into the wide world, until it seems almost lost. But as it grows up, it suddenly rediscovers itself.

Pre-programme

But there’s actually a programme even before that. In fact, things kick off on Saturday, 29 August, with a guided tour of the opera house – a lovely opportunity to take a peek behind the scenes. The tour begins at 2 pm.

And on Thursday 3 September, the Concert Foyer will host the revival of ‘Hexe Hillary geht in die Oper’ (Hillary the Witch Goes to the Opera), a project by the Junge Oper. Start: 11.00 am.

Friday 4 September offers a full programme.

10.00 am: ‘The Little Mermaid’ at the Musikalische Komödie.
11.00 am: ‘Hexe Hillary geht in die Oper’ in the concert foyer of the Opera House

And the Leipzig Opera’s Children’s and Youth Choir also has a highlight on the calendar for 4 September: at St Peter’s Church, ‘Together! Leipzig – Madrid. Two Choirs. One Sound.’ – a joint concert with the Madrid Opera’s Children’s Choir – will take place.

Revivals of popular productions

With the revival of ‘Eurydice’ from 19 September, there will once again be an opportunity to descend into the underworld alongside the Leipzig Ballet and experience limbo as an airport terminal. The modern ballet by Spanish choreographer Fran Díaz, set to music by 20th-century Polish avant-garde composers, left hardly anyone unmoved before the summer break.

And four of the opera’s audience favourites are returning to the programme to kick off the season: Wagner’s *The Flying Dutchman* on 12 September, Mozart’s *The Magic Flute* on 13 September, Puccini’s *Tosca* on 20 September and Verdi’s *La Traviata* on 25 September.