Janáček Brno Festival

Janáček Brno 2026: A Monumental Celebration of a Musical Visionary

From October 13 to November 17, 2026, Brno—the second-largest city in the Czech Republic—will become the global epicenter of opera. The Janáček Brno International Festival enters its jubilee 10th edition as the longest-running and most extensive in its history, featuring 56 productions for more than 30,000 spectators. This event highlights the festival's prestige, recently reaffirmed by winning the "Best Festival" and "Best New Production" awards at the 2025 International Opera Awards.

In the Authentic Footsteps of the Master

The festival offers an unparalleled opportunity to experience Janáček’s music in the very places where he lived, walked, and created for over 50 years. The festival program brings these historical threads to life on many levels. Audiences can attend chamber concerts directly in the house where the composer lived and hear music performed on the piano he used for composing. The main opera line naturally returns to the historic Mahen Theatre, which witnessed the world premieres of most of his operas. This deep personal contact with history, where the boundaries between past and present dissolve, gives the festival an atmosphere that cannot be experienced anywhere else in the world.

Complete Janáček under the Motto "Roots"

The 10th edition is guided by the motto "Roots", reflecting the connection of Janáček’s music to folk traditions and spiritual sources. Following the massive success of the 2018 edition, the festival returns to its unique concept of presenting Janáček’s complete operatic works within a single festival cycle. This comprehensive series of all nine operas, from the early Šárka to his final masterpieces, will be performed by the Janáček Opera of the National Theatre Brno alongside world-class guest ensembles. The main programming will be complemented by a rich fringe program, including exhibitions, thematic walks, and events in public spaces.

Stars and Orchestral Jewels

In 2026, Brno will welcome the absolute global elite. The Czech Philharmonic will make its historic festival debut under Vasily Petrenko. Other orchestral pillars include the Bamberg Symphony with Jakub Hrůša, the Bavarian State Opera with Krzysztof Warlikowski’s production of Káťa Kabanová, and the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra (ORF). Stages will feature international stars such as Corinne Winters, Štefan Margita, Adam Plachetka, Kateřina Kněžíková, Bella Adamova, and pianist Julius Drake. Diverse Venues: From Opera Houses to Underground Cathedrals In addition to historic buildings, the festival is renowned for using unconventional spaces throughout the city. The 2026 edition will offer unique site-specific premieres: the early opera The Beginning of a Romance will come to life in the grand hall of the BUT Rectory, and the original 1888 concert version of Šárka will be performed in the elegant Besední dům. A truly unique highlight will be productions in the monumental underground Water Reservoirs on Žlutý kopec, where cathedral-like acoustics merge with Janáček’s genius loci.