About
The Heidenheim Opera Festival 2026 (Opernfestspiele Heidenheim) returns from 6 June to 26 July with a season that explores the theme "MachtMenschen!" ("Power and Humanity"). Set around the impressive Hellenstein Castle in southern Germany, the festival combines the unique atmosphere of open-air opera with the musical excellence that has established Heidenheim as one of Europe's most respected summer opera festivals.
The 2026 programme is dedicated to Giuseppe Verdi and his Shakespeare-inspired masterpieces. The festival presents a new production of Otello, staged by Rosetta Cucchi and conducted by Festival Artistic Director Marcus Bosch. Performances feature a distinguished cast including Gregory Kunde in the title role, Eleonora Buratto as Desdemona, and Claudio Sgura as Iago, bringing together three internationally acclaimed Verdi interpreters for one of opera's greatest psychological dramas.
Verdi's Macbeth forms the second operatic highlight of the season. Conducted by Marcus Bosch, the production continues the festival's exploration of Shakespeare's influence on Verdi, revealing the composer's extraordinary ability to transform ambition, power, and guilt into compelling musical theatre.
Alongside its staged operas, the festival presents a carefully selected programme of symphonic and vocal concerts. The opening concert welcomes the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern under Pietari Inkinen, with Finnish soprano Tuuli Takala performing orchestral songs by Sibelius alongside Mahler's Fourth Symphony. Additional highlights include Rossini's Petite Messe solennelle, performed by VOKALWERK OH! and vocapella, as well as the popular "Symphonic Grooves" gala, where Marcus Bosch, the Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, and the Thilo Wolf Quartet unite classical and jazz influences in an energetic finale.
A defining feature of the festival is its setting. Evening performances in the historic courtyard of Hellenstein Castle create an unforgettable atmosphere, while indoor productions at the Congress Centrum Heidenheim ensure artistic excellence regardless of the weather. Together, these venues give the festival a distinctive character that blends history, architecture, and music.
The Heidenheim Opera Festival 2026 offers far more than outstanding performances. It is an opportunity to experience Verdi's masterpieces in exceptional surroundings, interpreted by internationally renowned artists under the direction of Marcus Bosch, in a festival celebrated for its musical quality, thoughtful programming, and welcoming atmosphere.
About the Heidenheim Opera Festival
The Heidenheim Opera Festival (founded in 1964) is a major summer classical festival with its annual program of opera , concerts and many extras . The romantic Knights' Hall at Hellenstein Castle, one of "the most beautiful open-air stages in Europe" (Die Welt). An acoustically excellent Festspielhaus CCH . Opera and symphony unplugged and in an intimate chamber music setting. " World class" (opera glass) in the natural landscape of the eastern Swabian Jura The OH! is a festival of fascinating contrasts.
Since August 2009 the conductor has been Marcus Bosch artistic director of the Heidenheim Opera Festival. Within a short time, Bosch took the festival of his childhood town to national and international renown. The founding of the Cappella Aquileia - Orchestra of the OH! in 2011, the invitation of internationally renowned singers and directors, the collaboration with the Stuttgart Philharmonic and the Czech Philharmonic Choir in Brno, live recordings and radio broadcasts (SWR, DLF Kultur), guest performances in Switzerland, France and Italy CD releases (cpo, Coviello Classics), the master concerts "Festspiele over the year" - the OH! are today as diverse as they are unmistakably profiled. The festival combines the appeal of a special event with an uncompromising desire for artistic quality.
And with a passion for discovery . The series with the early operas of Giuseppe Verdi, which started in 2016, fascinates experts and audiences alike. The fresh and unbiased view of the hand-picked Cappella Aquileia on the orchestral music of the 19th century opens up new approaches to the great repertoire. The Beethoven series "Music for the Theater" by the OH! celebrates great success.
Today the OH! supported on a broad basis by the festival city of Heidenheim, by cosmopolitan Swabian companies such as Voith GmbH & Co.KGaA, Paul Hartmann AG, Carl Zeiss AG or Stadtwerke Heidenheim, as well as by a broad civic commitment that is second to none. And from a great tradition .
As early as the Middle Ages, Minnesang was verifiably cultivated at the Staufer castle, Schloss Hellenstein. In 1964, the conductor Helmut Weigel laid the modern foundation for the Heidenheim Opera Festival with a first castle serenade. After years of concerts and operas, in 1977 visitors experienced a major opera production for the first time with Mozart's "Abduction from the Seraglio".
Marco Maria Canonica - artistic director of the festival from 1985 - dedicated the growing festival entirely to opera: exclusively in-house productions, multi-year cycles with operas by Verdi or Mozart or the founding of the Junge Oper Heidenheim with an annually produced opera for children and families - the Heidenheim Opera Festival achieved high popularity and the nationwide charisma of a "hidden champion". Today, Heidenheim is considered the "Glyndebourne of Germany" (...) and enjoys a high reputation among international festival destinations.
