News

The new theatre season at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb is strongly defined by international collaboration, the exchange of artists and productions, and the Theatre’s continued positioning on the European theatre scene.

The new HNK2EU – European Theatre Cycle in Zagreb brings outstanding European drama productions and creates opportunities for ongoing artistic exchange, while the CNT Drama, Opera and Ballet Companies will be presenting their productions to audiences across Europe throughout the season.

The fourth edition of the Zagreb Opera Festival also holds an important place in the Theatre’s international programme, bringing European opera companies, ensembles and artists to Zagreb over ten days in September. With around thirty events in its main and additional programmes, the Festival continues to establish Zagreb as a meeting point for the Croatian and international opera scenes.

"International collaboration is one of the key directions in the development of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb. We want to bring leading European artists, theatres and productions closer to our audiences, while at the same time presenting our own productions and artists on stages across Europe. In this context, we are developing HNK2EU – European Theatre Cycle in Zagreb, an important part of our long-term strategy of international engagement, alongside the Zagreb Opera Festival, international co-productions, and guest performances by the Drama, Opera and Ballet Companies in Croatia and across Europe. Our intention is to make the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb a meeting place for different artistic poetics and to give our audiences the opportunity to experience recent European theatre productions, and at the same time present our productions to international audiences,” Dr Iva Hraste-Sočo, General Manager and Artistic Director of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb explained.

HNK2EU – A New European Theatre Cycle in Zagreb

HNK2EU – European Theatre Cycle in Zagreb will feature guest performances by renowned European theatres and artists during the first part of the new season

The cycle opens on 4 September with The Ivan Vazov National Theatre of Sofia, presenting Arms and the Man, based on the play by George Bernard Shaw and directed by the world-renowned actor and director John Malkovich. Strong interest of the audience is reflected in the fact that tickets for the performance at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb have already sold out.

This will be followed by a guest appearance by Berliner Ensemble, one of Europe’s most renowned theatres, which will perform on the HNK2 stage on 2 and 3 October with a production based on the award-winning play The Scattered by Tena Štivičić, Director of Drama at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb. This marks the first time this renowned ensemble has performed on a Croatian stage in a guest appearance organised by the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb.

The programme will continue on 20 October, when the Slovene National Theatre Ljubljana – Mladinsko Theatre will have a guest performance at HNK2 with Not Carmen, a production inspired by Bizet’s Carmen and directed by Zana Hoxha.

The cycle continues on 3 and 5 November, when the Slovene National Theatre Nova Gorica comes to HNK2 with Tomi Janežič’s original projects 1973 and 1982, created as part of the official programme of GO! 2025 – European Capital of Culture.

The Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, Prešernovo Theatre Kranj, Slovene National Theatre Ljubljana – Mladinsko Theatre, and Ptuj City Theatre are preparing a major international co-production inspired by Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s television series Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day, with its Zagreb premiere scheduled for 19 February 2027.

The programme will carry on in the second half of the season, with the programme for the first two quarters of 2027 to be announced in November.

Fourth Edition of the International Zagreb Opera Festival

The fourth Zagreb Opera Festival holds a special place in the Theatre’s international programme and will take place from 11 to 20 September 2026 across three stages of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb.

The Festival brings together renowned European opera companies, ensembles and artists, including the Polish Royal Opera, Slovene National Theatre Maribor, Spain’s Cantoría performing with the Croatian Baroque Ensemble, and France’s Compagnie Minute Papillon, which will present a children’s production created in co-production with the Aix-en-Provence Festival.

The Festival will open on 11 September with Verdi’s Aida, an international co-production by the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, Teatro Massimo in Palermo and the Csokonai National Theatre in Debrecen, reaffirming the Theatre’s commitment to major European co-production projects.

The ten-day Festival will culminate on 20 September with a grand gala concert featuring international opera stars Piotr Beczała and Marigona Qerkezi, alongside soloists and the Opera Orchestra of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb. The concert will round off a programme that once again turns Zagreb into a meeting point for the European opera scene during this month of September. Aida and the Gala Concert will be conducted by Pier Giorgio Morandi, Chief Conductor of the Zagreb Opera.

HNK Productions and Artists on European Stages

Alongside bringing European theatres and artists to Zagreb, an important part of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb’s international strategy is presenting its own productions abroad.

As early as 26 September, Miroslav Krleža’s Flags, directed by Ivan Planinić, will be presented in Budapest, where the Zagreb production of one of the key works of Croatian literature will be introduced to Hungarian audiences.

The CNT Opera will have a guest performance at the Slovene National Theatre Maribor on 1 October with Ero the Joker, and on 20 October, the CNT Drama will perform Espi Tomičić’s Always Be Like a Dragon at the Slovene National Theatre Ljubljana – Mladinsko Theatre. On the same day, the Ljubljana theatre will have its guest performance in Zagreb with Not Carmen, establishing a direct exchange of programmes between the two theatre companies in Zagreb and Ljubljana.

In December, the CNT Drama will travel to Nova Gorica with two productions: Bobo Jelčić’s original project Sorry on 13 December, followed by Mary Stuart, directed and choreographed by Matija Ferlin, on 15 December.

The CNT Ballet is also expanding its international presence. On 25 October, it will perform Bigonzetti’s diptych Kazimir’s Colours / Rossini Cards at the Slovene National Theatre Ljubljana – Mladinsko Theatre. Throughout the season, the Ballet will also appear at other stages in Croatia and abroad. Among the international projects that have already been confirmed is a guest performance in Lugano in January 2027 with The Firebird / Petrushka, set to music by Igor Stravinsky and choreographed by Maša Kolar / Edward Clug.

The new season thus exemplifies the implementation of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb’s strategic development of a two-way model of international collaboration: bringing relevant European productions and artists to Zagreb audiences while increasingly presenting the Theatre’s own productions and artists on European stages. From HNK2EU and the Zagreb Opera Festival to co-productions and exchanges involving the Drama, Opera and Ballet Companies, the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb is building a lasting network of partnerships and further strengthening its position on the European theatre scene.