Ticket Sales Begin for the Jubilee Janáček Brno 2026 Festival
Brno, 30 October 2025
The Janáček Brno 2026 Festival enters its jubilee 10th edition with an exceptionally ambitious dramaturgy. Its centerpiece is the complete presentation of Leoš Janáček’s operatic works – from his early compositions to his mature masterpieces. Such a comprehensive presentation of the composer’s legacy is unique on a global scale and underscores the festival’s exceptional position among international music events.
The dramaturgy of the jubilee edition bears the motto “Roots”, reflecting the sources of inspiration in Janáček’s work – folk and spiritual music – and their overlap with contemporary creation as well as a dialogue with works by other composers.
Among the festival’s brightest stars are Corinne Winters, Kateřina Kněžíková, Adam Plachetka, Bella Adamova, Ivo Kahánek, and many other top performers. After many years, the Czech Philharmonic will perform in Brno (for the first time within the Janáček Brno Festival program), the Bamberg Symphony (Bamberger Symphoniker) will return, and for the first time the festival will welcome the Bavarian State Opera (Bayerische Staatsoper), which will present Janáček’s Káťa Kabanová directed by Krzysztof Warlikowski.
Within the festival, the National Theatre Brno will offer complete stagings of all Janáček’s operas that the Janáček Opera of the NdB ensemble has produced since 2014. The productions were created by directors Robert Carsen, David Radok, Jiří Heřman, and Martin Glaser. Renowned orchestras and leading conductors will join the Brno productions, including Jakub Hrůša, Tomáš Hanus, Tomáš Netopil, Marko Ivanović, and the new chief conductor of the Janáček Opera NdB Robert Kružík.
The festival will also feature two unique site-specific premieres of Janáček’s operas – The Beginning of a Romance (Počátek románu, directed by Marek Řihák, at the Brno University of Technology Rectorate Hall) and Šárka (directed by Jiří Heřman, at Besední dům). In the latter case, it will be a concert version from 1888, featuring the star pianist Julius Drake and one of today’s finest tenors – Nicky Spence – in the title role of Ctirad.
The festival will also present a special dance performance by NdB3 Ballet, which was part of the Czech Pavilion program at Expo 2025 in Japan. As is tradition, the young generation of artists will also perform – students of the Faculty of Music at JAMU and the Brno Conservatory – along with the winner of the 31st Leoš Janáček International Competition in the string quartet category, the Swiss ensemble Arola Quartet. The festival will once again bring music to Brno’s remarkable villa spaces and, for the first time, to the water reservoirs at Žlutý kopec, where two unique performances will take place, inspired by the genius loci of the site.
For eager fans, an extensive series of preview events has also been prepared, offering a taste of the program before the official start of the festival. A complete overview can be found here: janacek-brno.cz/preview2026.
Ticket sales for the most extensive edition of the Janáček Brno Festival to date – featuring 56 performances for over 30,000 spectators – are now open. The full program and more information are available at www.janacek-brno.com. Details about the accompanying program and updates will be added continuously.
Opera Awards
In conclusion, we would like to remind you that the 9th edition of the Janáček Brno Festival has been nominated for the prestigious International Opera Awards 2025 in the category Best Festival of the Year. The winners will be announced on 13 November 2025 in Athens at the Greek National Opera – Stavros Niarchos Hall.
Meinhard Rüdenauer