Teatro Real
Past, present and future
A new light, that of the present, shines on the past to illuminate the future in the new Teatro Real programme. So, this auditorium in Madrid will host from updated opera classics—like 'Carmen' or ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’—to more contemporary adaptations—‘An Enemy of the People’—or more radical proposals—‘The Stuntmen’—. Let’s not forget about classical music, dance or flamenco.
“Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,” says Helena’s character in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. Teatro Real in Madrid—which Iberia supports through the Amigos del Real Foundation—invites us to fall in love with opera again through its 2025/2026 programme. This English playwright will be one of the stars of the show, since, as well as the aforementioned play which we will delve into later, Charles Gounod’s adaptation, Roméo et Juliette, will also be presented on-stage. Teatro Real also presents the adaptation of the famous story Ariane et Barbe-Bleue by French writer Charles Perrault. This auditorium in Madrid neither forgot about its roots and will bring back classics like Carmen, by George Bizet, or Il trovatore, by Giuseppe Verdi. It also does not forget to give Spanish creators wings, like Fernando Velázquez, who will premiere his first opera—The Stuntmen—, or Francisco Coll, who will adapt An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen. In turn, the Ballet Nacional de España, the Royal Swedish Ballet and Swan Lake: The Next Generation, a performance created by British choreographer Mattew Bourne, promise an exciting dance season. Next, let’s dive into some of the highlights.
OPERA
Carmen
Gergoes Bizet’s masterpiece lands at Teatro Real. Based on the novel by Prosper Mérimée, it was the last opera written by this French composer. Since premiering on 3 March 1875 in Paris, it has become a timeless classic. On this occasion, it comes to the Real in a production by Damiano Michieletto, which sheds new light on the lust, violence, and passion of this popular opera. The production features great voices: Aigul Akhmethsina, Michael Fabiano, Charles Castronovo and J’Nai Bridges. Along with the Orchestra of Teatro Real under the baton of Eun Sun Kim, the current music director of the San Francisco Opera.
Date: from 10 December to 4 January.
Ariane et Barbe-Bleue
From one of the most widely performed operas in the world, we move onto another which makes its debut at Teatro Real. Created 113 years ago by the Impressionist composer Paul Dukas based on a story by Charles Perrault—indeed, the same author as Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, or Sleeping Beauty—, this opera tells the story of Bluebeard’s sixth wife, the strong and independent Ariane, while meeting her predecessors who have been kidnapped at the castle. Will she manage to liberate them? To find out, don’t miss this captivating production with stage direction by Àlex Ollé (La Fura dels Baus) and performances by Paula Murrihy and Gianluca Buratto.
Date: from 26 January to 20 February.
An Enemy of the People
An honest doctor confronts the authorities when he discovers deadly bacteria in the water at the local spa. They decide to ignore the problem, putting financial gain before the health of the town’s neighbours. A surprisingly relevant story created by the father of modern theatre, Henrik Ibsen, in 1882 which has now been turned into an opera thanks to the work of Francisco Coll, as composer and conductor of the orchestra, and Àlex Rigola, as librettist and stage director. If the plot sounds familiar, but swap the bacteria for a shark, you would be right: it inspired Jaws by Steven Spielberg.
Date: from 12 to 18 February.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
One of the greatest opera composers of the 20th century, Benjamin Britten, adapted William Shakespeare’s comedy under the same name in 1960. This piece, which has already become a classic, returns to Teatro Real two decades after its premiere in a production by Deborah Warner, whose recent successes include Billy Budd or Peter Grimes. Singers like Iestyn Davies, Liv Redpath and Simon Keenlyside—specialists in this repertoire—make up this dream cast. In the light of the moon, among magic elixirs, entangled love and surprising spells, a different social order is possible… That is, at least until dawn breaks.
Date: from 10 to 22 March.
Lust, violence and passion return to the Teatro Real with Bizet's classic, 'Carmen'. © Camilla Greenwell
The cruel Barbe-Bleue arrives at the Teatro Real with 'Ariane et Barbe-Bleue', an opera making its debut. © Alfons Flores
Teatro Real presents a version of 'Swan Lake' that challenges the norms of classical ballet. © Johan Persson
The Stuntmen
Nao Albet and Marcel Borràs. Marcel Borràs and Nao Albet. It doesn't matter one way or the other. An artistic duo that has been revolutionizing Spanish theatre for almost 20 years. The authors of the acclaimed Mammón (2015), among other plays, land in the world of opera and make their debut at Teatro Real with Los Estunmen [The Stuntmen]. With the collaboration of composer Fernando Velázquez—winner of the Goya Award for Best Original Score for A Monster Calls—, they have created a story full of vengeance, violence and pain that remains faithful to their usual theatrical style filled with humour and irony. Starring brilliant specialists, it seeks to unpack one of the core figures in our tradition, the hero.
Date: from 2 to 14 June.
DANCE
Swan Lake: The Next Generation
Last season, the Teatro Real presented Helgi Tomasson’s iconic version of Swan Lake, performed by the San Francisco Ballet. This season, Piotr Ilich Tchaikovsky’s classic seeks to connect with a new generation of dancers and audiences through this radical version by Matthew Bourne. Challenging the rules of classical ballet by representing the swans with the male dancers’ bodies and their bare torsos, this bold British choreographer not only subverts the icons of ballet blanc, but also rewrites the classical myth with a focus on desire and liberation. A classic that looks to the future instead of the past.
Date: from 19 to 22 November.
FLAMENCO
Salomé Ramírez & Miguel Ángel Heredia
With deep roots and an international profile, flamenco dancer Salomé Ramírez and flamenco singer Miguel Ángel Heredia star in one of the highlights of the Flamenco Real cycle. They will be followed by duos like those made up of José Maya and Alejandra Hernández, Mónica Iglesias and Luis Mariano or Alba Heredia and Ricardo Fernández del Moral, among others. This year, Ramírez received the prestigious Desplante Award—one of the biggest prizes for flamenco dancing—at Las Minas International Singing Festival, as well as performing on guitarist Yerai Cortés’s tour. Heredia will accompany her with his singing, characterized by authenticity, rhythm and commitment, and deeply rooted in the Jerez tradition.
Date: from 19 to 21 November.
CLASSICAL MUSIC
Javier Perianes & Gustavo Gimeno
On the piano, playing pieces by Manuel de Falla and Maurice Ravel, Javier Perianes. Conducting the Orchestra of Teatro Real, Gustavo Gimeno. Perianes, winner of the Premio Nacional de Música in 2012, is one of the most critically acclaimed pianists in the world and has worked under the baton of conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Gustavo Dudamel or Zubin Mehta. Gimeno, new music director at the Teatro Real, has done so with composers such as Pierre Boulez, George Benjamin or Magnus Lindberg. This meeting between these two masters, which will reveal signs of their complicity, is a gift for fans of classical music. The concert will be offered by the Amigos del Teatro Real Foundation.
Date: 26 April.
Check out the entire 2025-2026 programme at Teatro Real here.
