The Teatro di San Carlo in Naples has announced its 2025–26 season under the theme Be Luminous, unveiling a vibrant programme of 13 operas and 18 symphonic concerts. The season brings together landmark repertoire, contemporary works, and major international artists, consolidating San Carlo’s position as one of Italy’s most dynamic opera houses.
The season opens on 3 December 2025 with Luigi Cherubini’s Medea, staged for the first time at the theatre, featuring Sondra Radvanovsky and Francesco Meli under the baton of Riccardo Frizza. It is followed by the world premiere of Partenope, the only opera composed by Ennio Morricone, presented in semi-staged form and directed by Vanessa Beecroft.
Two operas will be performed for the first time in San Carlo’s history: Mozart’s Mitridate, re di Ponto in a production by Claus Guth (shared with Madrid, Frankfurt, and Barcelona), and Handel’s Alcina, in concert form, featuring Lisette Oropesa and Franco Fagioli.
The new season embraces a wide chronological and stylistic range
The bel canto tradition is represented by Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor (Rosa Feola, René Barbera) and Rossini’s La Cenerentola (Aigul Akhmetshina, directed by Damiano Michieletto). Three key Verdi works span different eras: Nabucco (Ludovic Tézier, Marina Rebeka), Falstaff (Luca Salsi, Maria Agresta), and Aida in concert version, starring Anna Netrebko and Jonas Kaufmann. French and verismo opera appear through Werther (with Kaufmann and Francesco Demuro alternating) and Adriana Lecouvreur (Aleksandra Kurzak, Elīna Garanča). Puccini is featured twice: La bohème with Pretty Yende and Marina Monzó, and Turandot with Anna Pirozzi, Brian Jagde, and Yende as Liù.
A wide-ranging concert season brings international collaborations
Among the season’s 18 concerts, several stand out for their star power and artistic ambition. Gustavo Dudamel returns for a staged double bill co-conceived with Marina Abramović, featuring Stravinsky’s Histoire du soldat and de Falla’s El amor brujo, in a co-production with the New York Philharmonic. Sondra Radvanovsky and Freddie De Tommaso perform arias by Verdi, Puccini, and Giordano in a gala concert. Jonas Kaufmann and Ludovic Tézier reunite for a Verdi and Puccini programme under Jochen Rieder. Aigul Akhmetshina and Anita Rachvelishvili offer solo recitals, while pianists like Beatrice Rana, Seong-Jin Cho, Hélène Grimaud, and Yunchan Lim headline the Piano Festival.
A season of names and voices
Alongside the stars above, the season also features appearances by Jessica Pratt, Franco Fagioli, Marina Rebeka, Rosa Feola, Maria Agresta, Michele Pertusi, Francesco Demuro, Aleksandra Kurzak, Brian Jagde, and Anita Rachvelishvili, among many others. On the podium, besides Frizza and Dudamel, the season welcomes Marco Armiliato, Fabio Luisi, Michele Mariotti, Lorenzo Passerini, Francesco Lanzillotta, Iván López-Reynoso, and Speranza Scappucci.
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