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This year’s Festival features more than thirty events across several stages and venues in Zagreb – from major European opera productions and concerts to chamber programmes, educational activities and professional gatherings.

“The Zagreb Opera Festival is one of the projects that best reflects the direction in which the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb has been developing over the past four years. We want Zagreb to be a meeting place for great artists, opera houses and diverse artistic traditions, while also ensuring that our artists and productions have an increasingly strong presence on the international stage. The fourth edition of the Festival confirms that we have taken an important step forward on this path,” said Dr Iva Hraste Sočo, General Manager and Artistic Director of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb.

The fourth edition of the Festival officially opens this evening with Verdi’s Aida, an international co-production with Teatro Massimo in Palermo and the Csokonai National Theatre in Debrecen, directed by Mario Pontiggia, whose premiere in February was met with great acclaim from critics and audiences alike. The performance will be conducted by Pier Giorgio Morandi, Chief Conductor of the Opera of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, with internationally acclaimed tenor Stefano La Colla appearing as Radamès.

Over the course of the ten festival days, audiences can look forward to, among other events, Rossini’s L’italiana in Algeri, performed by the Polish Royal Opera under the baton of Dawid Runtz; Blow’s Venus and Adonis, performed by the Spanish vocal ensemble Cantoría, the Croatian Baroque Ensemble and a chamber choir under the baton of Jorge Losana; a guest performance by the Slovene National Theatre Maribor with Delibes’s Lakmé, conducted by Mojca Lavrenčič; the children’s production The Cook Opera!, performed by the French Compagnie Minute Papillon; and the inaugural concert of the Dunja Vejzović Music Centre with the Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra conducted by Valentin Egel.

The Festival also offers a rich accompanying programme – from book and recording presentations to the international Audience Development Forum and the Green Culture conference, organised in cooperation with the Creative Europe Desk at the Ministry of Culture and Media, as well as the Opera 65+ programme, in which members of the Opera Studio and scholarship recipients perform at homes for older people across Zagreb. There are also programmes for children and young people, including a postcard-writing workshop organised in cooperation with Croatian Post, as well as other accompanying activities designed to bring the Festival closer to diverse audiences.

The Festival’s grand finale will take place on 20 September with a Gala Concert featuring one of the world’s leading tenors, Piotr Beczała, soprano Marigona Qerkezi, and soloists Sofija Petrović, Luciano Batinić and Ljubomir Puškarić, accompanied by the Opera Orchestra of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb under the baton of Pier Giorgio Morandi.

Pier Giorgio Morandi to Remain in Zagreb until 2030

One of the key announcements of the Festival Morning was the continuation of the collaboration with Maestro Pier Giorgio Morandi, who will remain Chief Conductor of the Opera of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb until September 2030. During his collaboration with the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb to date, Morandi has conducted a number of major opera productions, while his artistic work has contributed to the development of the ensemble and strengthened the international profile of the Zagreb Opera.

“Following his successful work with the ensemble, which also gained international recognition during my first term, Pier Giorgio Morandi has agreed to remain Chief Conductor until the end of my second term,” said Dr Iva Hraste Sočo, General Manager and Artistic Director, on the occasion.

“I am delighted that we are continuing our collaboration with Maestro Pier Giorgio Morandi until 2030. Over the past seasons, we have built a strong artistic partnership, and the continuity of his work is important for the development of the ensemble, artistic quality and the long-term vision of our Opera,” added Željka Barišić Pulig, Artistic Director of the Opera.

It is also important to highlight the international engagements of Pier Giorgio Morandi, Chief Conductor of the Opera of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, who has been entrusted with opening two major opera seasons. On 4 September, he conducted Verdi’s Don Carlo at the opening of the Vienna State Opera’s 2026/2027 season, and just one week later, today, he will conduct Verdi’s Aida to open both the opera season of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb and the fourth Zagreb Opera Festival.

A New Generation of Opera Principal Artists

The Festival Morning also introduced a new generation of Opera principal artists at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb – Darija Auguštan, Filip Filipović, Sofija Petrović and Emilia Rukavina.

These artists joined the Opera of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb as soloists at the beginning of General Manager and Artistic Director Iva Hraste Sočo’s first term. Over the past seasons, they have developed continuously, taken on increasingly demanding roles and established their place within the Opera ensemble. Their artistic development and achievements have now been recognised with their appointment as Opera principal artists.

“I am particularly pleased that today we are presenting a new generation of principal artists of the Opera of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb. When they joined the ensemble at the beginning of my first term, it was important to us to give them room to develop. Today, we can see the results of that process and confirmation of just how important it is to invest in our own artists,” concluded Dr Hraste Sočo.