Name: 3rd Music Association Concert
Start: 2026-03-24T19:30:00
Location: Stefaniensaal

Graz is set to be a vibrant hub of orchestral and operatic performances in 2026 with a series of concerts and operas showcasing a plethora of creative works and artists. From the grand ensembles in the '3rd Music Association Concert' to the cinematic storytelling of 'Hoffmann's Tales', each event promises a unique artistic experience. As the Graz Philharmonic and renowned artists take center stage, they breathe life into compositions by Janáček, Chopin, Strauss, and more, enriching Graz's cultural landscape.

A Musical Odyssey: Celebrating Diverse Concerts and Operas in Graz

Step into Graz's vibrant world of music and performance with a lineup of captivating events from Oper Graz. From orchestral virtuosity in Music Association Concerts to operatic adventures with 'The Three Musketeers' and 'Hoffmann's Tales', this season offers a rich tapestry of artistic expression. Join renowned conductors, talented musicians, and innovative directors as they bring both classical and contemporary works to life, creating unforgettable experiences in iconic venues like Stefaniensaal and Oper Graz.

A Symphony of Sounds: Exploring Graz's Dynamic Musical Landscape

Graz is set to resonate with a series of captivating musical events that promise to enthrall both classical music aficionados and opera enthusiasts. From the harmonious resonance of Janáček's Sinfonietta and Chopin's timeless piano concerto to the vibrant theatrical rendition of 'The Three Musketeers,' Graz's upcoming cultural calendar offers a rich tapestry of sound and story. Conductors Ben Glassberg and Stefan Birnhuber, alongside distinguished performers like Ilya Shmukler and Xavier De Maistre, are ready to guide audiences through these evocative artistic landscapes. Let's dive into what awaits music lovers in Graz.

Exploring Graz's Diverse Musical Tapestry: An Insight into Upcoming Operatic and Orchestral Events

Ilya Shmukler

Ben Glassberg

Graz Philharmonic Orchestra

Oper Graz

Whether singing, dancing, or instrumental music – you can expect a diverse program in an intimate setting, performed by ensemble members, dancers from the Graz Ballet, members of the Graz Philharmonic, and guests. Admission is free!

Espresso concert

Giuseppe Verdi sends his protagonist Rigoletto on an emotional rollercoaster ride between feigned hilarity, honest paternal love and human abysses. Director Ute M. Engelhardt takes a look behind the facade of the joker and into the maw of the brutalised society in which the title hero finds himself. On the podium: chief conductor Vassilis Christopoulos, who once again devotes himself to a Verdi opera after his gripping interpretation of Macbeth.

Rigoletto

The Divine Comedy, Divina Commedia, is the main work of the Italian poet Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) and is considered the most important work of Italian literature and the basis for the modern Italian language. In it, Dante describes the stages of a journey through an otherworldly world. The Roman poet Virgil leads the author, who is also his own main character, through hell and purgatory. On their way, Dante and Virgil encounter the countless souls of the deceased, who tell of their respective fates. In paradise, Dante finally meets his childhood sweetheart Beatrice. In his reunion with her, the poet discovers the power of love and finds inner peace and tranquillity.

Choreographer Estefania Miranda uses the literary model for an “expansive” choreography. She asks about people’s greatest fears and desires and what might await our souls after death. She transfers the biblical deadly sins into a contemporary context. In the first part of the evening, we experience various choreographic installations on a journey of discovery through the opera house, which translate torments and sins into a contemporary dance language. In the second part of this sensual Gesamtkunstwerk, the audience follows Dante’s path to paradise from the auditorium as usual.

La Divina Comedia

Alban Berg revolutionised the opera tradition in 1925 with a gripping story that combines drama, murder and social study. The folk opera stars Daniel Schmutzhard (Wozzeck) and Annette Dasch (Marie), together with chief conductor Vassilis Christopoulos on the podium of the Graz Philharmonic Orchestra, explore the expressive sound world of Berg’s masterpiece. After his successful Austrian debut in Graz with Richard Wagner’s Tannhäuser and stints in Vienna and Salzburg, director Evgeny Titov returns to Graz Opera with one of the most important operas of the 20th century.

Wozzeck

Cowboys, horse racing and the really big emotions! Emmerich Kálmán’s last operetta, premiered posthumously, brings all this and more to the stage of Graz Opera. Kálmán’s western operetta can be experienced for the first time in Austria in an exciting and emotional production.

Sunshine Ranch, Wild West: For Lona Farrell, ranch owner and horse breeder with Hungarian roots, work comes first. She takes a rather critical view of potential love adventures, although the world of men would love to fall at her feet. When the mysterious cowboy Roy Dexter takes over the vacant position of the overbearing foreman Jim Slaughter and the racehorse Arizona Lady seems to break new records under his care, Lona and Roy find it difficult to hide their romantic feelings for each other. A happy ending is already within reach, if it weren’t for Jim Slaughter and his new dubious boss McDumb ...

Arizona Lady

The debut novel by Styrian Ingeborg Bachmann Prize winner Ferdinand Schmalz, set to music by Carinthian musician and composer Lukas Kranzelbinder, directed by Viennese Alexander Charim, and brought to life by singers from the Graz Opera and figureheads of the "New Viennese Song" such as Klemens Lendl ( Die Strottern ) and Wolfgang Vincenz Wizlsperger ( Kollegium Kalksburg ). An operetta series in five parts, each episode of which "eats" its way into the opera through different performance venues: Voilà, the operetta of the 21st century!

My favorite animal is called Winter/Episode 4

My favorite animal is called Winter/Episode 5

The exceptionally large brass ensemble (25 players!) in Leoš Janáček's Sinfonietta is just one of the special features of this concert. Perhaps this is why the five movements sound like film music and have been "sampled" in several television series and films—although not intended as such by the composer. The four-movement Les Eaux célestes (2023) by the French composer Camille Pépin also leaves a special aural impression with its open, enchanting form and colorful instrumentation. Under the direction of Ben Glassberg, the Graz Philharmonic will accompany pianist Ilya Shmukler, who was awarded first prize at the 2024 Concours Géza Anda, in Frédéric Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1.

3rd Music Association Concert

Stefaniensaal

Four people going through the hell of their own emotions are at the centre of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s masterpiece Castor et Pollux. Choreographer and director Nanine Linning, already known to audiences in Graz as the director of the Giulietta act of The Tales of Hoffmann in the 2023/24 season, once again merges the intrinsic elements of dance and music theatre in the French baroque opera. Her artistic partner on this journey into the human abyss is Bernhard Forck, a specialist in early music.

Castor and Pollux

Chamber Concert 7 »Of Bohemia and Bohème«

A mixed ensemble of actors from the LebensGroß Theatre Academy and singers from Graz Opera embark on a fight for freedom and justice for all. The specially created adaptation of Ralph Benatzky’s revue operetta offers snappy sounds for gruelling battles and exciting emotions.

The Three Musketeers

This concert program features three masterpieces that impressively reflect the diversity of the Romantic era. The program opens with Carl Maria von Weber's Symphony No. 1, which combines both vitality and melodic beauty. Richard Strauss's symphonic poem "Don Juan" transports the audience into a passionate world of heroic myth. The concert concludes with Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 7, an emotionally intense work that impressively reflects the expressive power of the Romantic era. Sebastian Weigle, General Music Director of the Frankfurt Opera from 2008 to 2023, leads the Graz Philharmonic through this fascinating program.

3rd Music Association Concert

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