Teatro Real
With open arms
Teatro Real is opening for a new season, the 28th since it reopened, and invites everyone to enjoy opera, dance and classical music. Its programme looks back, revisiting classics or recovering forgotten titles, but also to the present by hosting new proposals or bringing Spanish talent to others places. Do you want to find out about the main events on its programme?
The 2024-2025 season at Teatro Real will offer a sublimely diverse programme over the coming months, offering operas that span from the Baroque era to the modern day. Händel will be the most represented composer with four pieces (Tamerlano, Theodora, Alcina and Jephtha), but other classics will also be present, like Mozart (Mitridate, re di Ponto or Idomeneo, re di Cresta), Donizetti (Maria Stuarda), Verdi (I lombardi alla prima crociata or Attila), Chaikovski (Eugenio Oneguin) or Falla (La vida breve). Dance will also be the star, with popular titles like Swan Lake or Don Quixote, as well as concerts through the Voces del Real series: Ludovic Tézier, Asmik Grigorian, Michael Volle and Gabriela Scherer, among others. There will also be room for flamenco dancers and singer-songwriters. Additionally, Teatro Real —which Iberia supports through the Amigos del Real Foundation— continues its quest to attract younger audiences with a specific programme. Below are some of the highlight events on its new programme.
Adriana Lecouvreur
Teatro Real will host the opera Adriana Lecouvreur for the first time in its history to pay homage to the prestigious tenor José Carreras, who in 1974 sang it alongside Montserrat Caballé in the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid. With a stellar cast of voices —Ermonela Jaho, Brian Jagde or Elīna Garanča— and captivating staging by David McVicar, it promises to be one of the highlights of the autumn.
From the 23rd of September to the 11th of October.
Songs to go round the world
There’s also room for the youngest members of the family on the programme. Teatro Real broadens its horizons through the Real Teatro de Retiro, a space offering operas, concerts, musical films and workshops for children. The season will start with Canciones para dar la vuelta al mundo, a musical journey through the most exciting popular songs from all five continents.
5th and 6th of October.
El lago de los cisnes (Black Swan)
The dancer and choreographer Tamara Rojo, who has led the prestigious San Franisco Ballet since 2022 as the artistic director, returns to Teatro Real with a new captivating version of Swan Lake. Heigl Tomasson’s choreography, inspired by the original by Marius Petipa y Lev Ivanov, sheds new light on the iconic character of Odette. A unique opportunity (just eight performances) to enjoy the best dance.
From the 15th to the 22nd of October.
Authentic Flamenco: El Yiyo
Spanish talent, which includes flamenco as one of its standard bearers, knows no bounds. As part of its commitment to sharing this art internationally, Teatro Real supports the Authentic Flamenco tour. After touring with Amador Rojas between June and October, El Yiyo will take over and offer recitals in Canada (Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto) and the United States (Pittsburgh, Chicago and Houston).
From the 6th of September to the 3rd of November.
The new season of the Teatro Real in Madrid opened with the opera ‘Adriana Lecouvreur’. © Javier del Real
The San Francisco Ballet, led by Tamara Rojo, will present ‘Swan Lake’. © Erik Tomasson
‘La Traviata’ will return to the Madrid auditorium in mid-2025 with a amazing cast. © Hans van den Bogaard
Víctor Manuel Symphonic*
Solo pienso en Ti, Asturias or El Abuelo Víctor are just some of the great songs that Víctor Manuel will play at Teatro Real accompanied by an orchestra and choir in symphonic format, as well as his own band. His repertoire, which is part of the collective memory of an entire nation, will reach new heights in a performance full of strength, feeling, and sensibility.
16th of November.
*Concert not included in the Teatro Real's program (external promoter).
La vida breve (Life is Short) / Tejas verdes (Green Tiles)
The past and the present of Spanish opera come together at this musical event. La vida breve, by Manuel de Falla, will be the prologue to the première of a new opera, Tejas verdes, with music by Jesús Torres and libretto by Fermín Cabal inspired by The Prison Poems by Miguel Hernández. The stage director, Rafael R. Villalobos, will tie both scores together through the stage design and characters.
From the 13th to the 22nd of February.
La Merope
The historic restoration of the Spanish operatic heritage is a priority at Teatro Real. This season, alongside the Akademie für Alte Musik from Berlin, it will rescue one of the titles by Catalan author Domingo Terradellas, La Merope, from oblivion. Based on Cresphontes by Euripides and premiered to huge success in Rome in 1743, it tells the tragic story of Merope, queen of Epirus, and her son Epitide.
21st of February.
La Traviata
One of the main events of the season will come towards the end with the première of La Traviata. The version by the German opera producer Willy Decker could not be performed in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but now it is back with a cast of stars including Nadine Sierra, Xabier Anduaga, Karina Demurova, Gemma Coma-Alabert, Juan Diego Flórez or Adela Zaharia, among others.
From the 24th of June to the 23rd of July.
Check the rest of the 2024-2025 programme at Teatro Real here.
