Name: The 12 Cellists of the Berliner Philharmoniker
Start: 2026-12-06T16:00:00
Location: Festspielhaus Baden-Baden

Festspielhaus Baden-Baden

From the very start of Puccini's wintry La Bohème, the orchestra is transformed into an oversized fireplace: a flickering fiery scherzo full of orchestral colors that warms the freezing bohemians. We’ll be hearing the latter in a top-class cast – including Carolina López Moreno as Mimì and star tenor Benjamin Bernheim as Rodolfo. The production will feature music director Marco Armiliato, a globally sought-after maestro who is engaged at the Met, La Scala, and the Wiener Staatsoper.

Giacomo Puccini: La Bohème

What does choreographic storytelling mean? How does an idea become a ballet? In the Ballet Workshop, John Neumeier is joined by dancers from the guest performance in order to show how artistic visions are translated into movement. The workshop combines conversation, reflection, and dance demonstrations – a format that makes the creative process visible on stage.

Ballet Workshop

John Neumeier's Illusions – like Swan Lake combines motifs from Tchaikovsky's ballet with the biography of the Bavarian "Fairy Tale King" Ludwig II. In a mixture of classical reconstruction and psychological drama, Swan Lake becomes a canvas for inner conflicts. Neumeier addresses loneliness, longing, and the border between reality and illusion – integrating parts of the original choreography by Lev Ivanov and Marius Petipa.

Illusions – like Swan Lake

Year after year, John Neumeier invites exciting companies and dancers to his festival – this time around, it’s WINNDance. WINNDance – When, If Not Now? – sees artistic maturity and depth of life experience as a creative resource that can be used and further developed. The internationally active formation brings together outstanding artists such as Diana Vishneva, Mara Galeazzi, Silas Henriksen, Gil Roman, Silvia Azzoni and works with renowned choreographers like John Neumeier, Imre and Marne van Opstal, and Omar Román de Jesús. Founders and artistic directors Marijn Rademaker and Slava Tutukin take an interdisciplinary approach, cooperating with cultural institutions, other fields of art, the fashion industry, and businesses.

Winndance

Theater Baden-Baden

Classical technique, contemporary movement language, and artistic development of the personality – the School of the Hamburg Ballet, founded by John Neumeier in 1978, takes into account the whole person. Numerous solos created and presented by students have won international awards. In the Absprung format, they also reach for the stars: we will be seeing choreographic works developed for the Young Creation Award of the Prix de Lausanne.

Absprung

Kongresshaus Baden-Baden Betriebsgesellschaft mbH

Even after his departure from the Hamburg Ballet, John Neumeier remains artistic director of the Bundesjugendballett, which was founded on his initiative. He brings together young dancers who devote themselves to contemporary dance with dedication and breathtaking skill. A company without a permanent stage, the ensemble regularly performs in schools, hospitals, retirement homes, and even prisons in order to bring dance to people who otherwise rarely have access to it. In Baden-Baden, too, the Bundesjugendballett will be bursting out of the Festspielhaus and dance in the Bénazetsaal of the Kurhaus.

Bundesjugendballett

The Baden-Baden Casino

John Neumeier's version of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker presents the ballet as a coming-of-age story. The focus is on Marie, who is introduced by ballet master Drosselmeier to the world of theater. Neumeier combines classic Petipa quotations with autobiographical elements, creating a poetic work about artistic awakening – a modern classic since its premiere in 1971.

The Nutcracker

In Berta, the Egg is Hard, Christine Sommer and Martin Brambach present a literary-musical homage to the great humorist Loriot. With a keen sense of timing and characters, they bring his unforgettable sketches to the stage, from marriage crises at the breakfast table to absurd TV discussions. They will be accompanied by Dietmar Löffler, a pianist, author, and director and one of the most versatile artists in the German theater scene.

Berta, the egg is hard.

Áron Horváth is a virtuoso on the cimbalom, an instrument belonging to the zither family with roots in Hungarian and Roma musical culture. He began his training in traditional Hungarian folk music at the age of seven. After winning a Hungarian TV talent contest, he turned increasingly to classical music and today combines world music with classical, jazz, and new music.

Sunday Matinee

Club sound meets the power of an orchestra: in their new Techno Symphony project, Munich-based Jazzrausch Bigband fuses electronic dance music with symphonic force and daring improvisation. The formation led by trombonist and founder Roman Sladek is one of Europe’s most successful big bands. Together with the Bergson Philharmonic Orchestra, Sladek has formed a new ensemble that simply plays everything:  techno, jazz, and classical.

Jazzrausch Bigband

Here is something for every piano lover: Sebastian Knauer brings classical virtuosity, Martin Tingvall moves us with melancholy jazz, Joja Wendt thrills as a charismatic entertainer, and Axel Zwingenberger unleashes the boogie-woogie. One evening, four masters – and lots of unforgettable moments.

“Four Pianists – One Concert”

Theater is magic – and listening makes you want to cluck your throat and flutter your tongue. Lydia Mahnkopf and Jonathan Ware introduce children and their adult companions to songs that invite them to use their own voice. If you’ve seen how much the little ones delight in imitation, you know how joyfully babies and toddlers react to sounds. This musical adventure is integrated into a story about the finest singers around us: the birds in the forest and garden. Join us for an experience that gives wings to the imagination.

The Birds

An unforgettable performance in Tokyo: Rudolf Weinsheimer, founding member of the ensemble, addresses Emperor Akihito, himself a cellist and regular concertgoer, in Japanese. When he speaks to him directly, the entire audience rises. Since their founding in 1972, the 12 Cellists of the Berliner Philharmoniker have been sought after worldwide. With a repertoire ranging from classical music to jazz, tango, and even the Beatles, they inspire their fans – from children to emperors.