With Au cœur de l'orchestre , the audience is invited to enjoy a rare experience: to sit directly on stage, among the musicians, to feel the music from within. Vibrations of the strings, blowing of the winds, striking of the percussions… everything is perceived differently when you are up close. A powerful, lively, unforgettable moment. A total immersion in the beating heart of the orchestra.

At the heart of the orchestra #2

Opéra Berlioz

The Quatrâmes quartet's repertoire is vast, from baroque to classical, including arrangements of tangos, opera arias, and film music. These musicians, members of the Orchestre National Montpellier Occitanie, will offer you unforgettable musical moments and share with you their passion and love for music.

Quatrâmes Quartet

Espace Culturel François Calvet

The opening piece is Study for Orchestra by Julia Perry, a 20th - century African-American composer . This energetic and rhythmically inventive work reveals the full vitality of American music, bridging the gap between classical tradition and modern language. Next comes the poetry of Aaron Copland's Clarinet Concerto , brilliantly performed by our principal clarinet, Andrea Fallico. Alternating between jazzy tenderness and virtuoso flights of fancy, this iconic score lets the clarinet sing over intimate, sparkling orchestral colors. Finally, Bruckner's monumental Symphony No. 4 "Romantic" unfolds its mystical forest world, with horns calling out in the mist and majestic orchestral developments. A masterful work that transports us to the heart of nature sublimated by symphonic genius. Under the dynamic direction of Roderick Cox, this contrasting program celebrates the enduring Romantic spirit across centuries and continents.

Échos romantiques

To celebrate its 30 years of musical and stage creation, the E cume association presents Look Up!, a concert-show paying tribute to its history and its values.

Look Up!

Opéra Comédie

For more than ten years, the Montpellier Occitanie National Orchestra has been developing a close partnership with the Cité des Arts – Regional Conservatory of Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole.

Tuba in light

La Cité des Arts

The Opera Orchestra's Midis Musicales are always a great success with audiences. These short concerts (from 45 minutes to 1 hour) are presented in a warm and friendly atmosphere and will surprise you with the richness of the offerings!

Midi Musical | Montpellier Occitanie National Opera Choir

Founded in 1945, the association has transformed millions of lives thanks to the commitment of its volunteers and donors. To celebrate this anniversary, the Montpellier University Orchestra and soprano Barbara Derathé will offer a unique musical moment, joined by the Copain du Monde children's choir. Honored guests and an exhibition retracing eight decades of commitment will complete this event. The public will also be able to participate in an art raffle and attend a live painting performance by artist Bella Bah. An event dedicated to sharing.

80 years of solidarity!

First, Prokofiev's dazzling Piano Concerto No. 3 : it displays his unbridled virtuosity and his rhythmic energy is adorned with captivating melodies. Between passages of mechanical precision and lyrical flights, this score embodies all the genius of the Russian composer. Then Thomas Adès's Exterminating Angel Symphony transports you into a dreamlike and disturbing universe, inspired by the cinematic work of Buñuel. This recent creation deploys an eminently rich language where each instrument participates in a strange and captivating ceremony. In a grand finale, Debussy revolutionized orchestral writing with La Mer , a painting of the ocean in all its majesty and diversity. Under the baton of Roderick Cox, with the sparkling piano of Sergey Belyavsky, immerse yourself in three fascinating musical universes where the modernity of languages ​​rubs shoulders with the eternal evocative power of symphonic music.

Between sky and sea

Led by Won Il and his ensemble The 13 Fleeing Souls, Dionysos Robot propels traditional Korean sinawi (a form of musical improvisation accompanying shamanic rituals) into a futuristic and immersive dimension, combining symphonic and electronic instruments, visual installations, and multimedia creations. Conceived as a "postmodern ritual," the project brings together live music, dance, lighting, and costumes in a staging by multimedia artist Jaejin Jung.

Dionysus Robot

Relieve stress, strengthen your body, and awaken your mind in a unique setting, in the Grand Foyer of the Opéra Comédie with its exceptional view of the Place de la Comédie! Soloists from the Orchestra will provide musical accompaniment to your session.

Harmony: Qigong #1

The Parcelle473 museum, perched on the heights of Montpellier in the former Le Coteau wine estate, offers a unique event combining classical music, slam and visual arts.

Artists for a New World

A singer with a captivating voice and a key figure on the Franco-Algerian music scene, Souad Massi has been weaving a universe for over twenty years that blends folk, chaâbi, Sahelian influences and South American sounds.

Souad Massi Symphonic

True to its mission of promoting and raising awareness of classical music, the Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier Occitanie travels across the Occitanie region in various formations.

COR-des Quartet

La Tuilerie

Under the captivating direction of Nicolò Umberto Foron, experience a musical adventure where the shadows of your National Orchestra become accomplices in black magic and bursts of laughter.

Halloween Concert

As the team prepares for the next performance of the opera Falstaff , a major problem arises: the last bars of the work have disappeared... It's impossible to play the finale! The director has found a mysterious chest in the basement of the Opera. It supposedly belonged to a former conductor... Inside: riddles, clues... and perhaps the key to the mystery!

In search of the lost note

Dorota Anderszewska, Florentza Nicola, and Alexandre Dmitriev, musicians of the Orchestre National Montpellier Occitanie, perform Johann Sebastian Bach's Goldberg Variations . Violinist Dmitri Sitkovetsky, who arranged this work originally written for harpsichord in 1985, provides string instruments with a sensitive and faithful interpretation of these Variations.

Trio violon alto violoncelle

Temple de l'Eglise protestante unie de France

Under the elegant direction of British conductor Leo Hussain and with the radiant presence of South African soprano Nombulelo Yende – Pretty's little sister – pure emotion, orchestral virtuosity and the dramatic power of lyric art come together. The program opens with a sparkling suite from Mozart's Idomeneo where grace meets dramatic intensity. Then, let yourself be enchanted by Puccini and his piece for strings composed in one night under the influence of intense emotion. The famous Bacchanale from Samson et Dalila by Saint-Saëns then sets the stage ablaze with its oriental colors and captivating rhythms. Finally, Richard Strauss closes this exceptional evening with excerpts from Capriccio , his "conversation in music" where the introductory Sextet, of unequaled harmonic subtlety, precedes the Final Scene, sublimated by the unique timbre of Nombulelo Yende. A dazzling tribute between classical grandeur, Puccinian lyricism, sensual exoticism and Straussian sophistication.

The great masters

144 voices united for love: Emmanuel Pi Djob and Rhoda Scott lead the annual concert to benefit the Habitat et Humanisme Hérault association, which fights against poor housing.

Solidarity concert with Emmanuel Pi Djob and Rhoda Scott

Immerse yourself in a meditative sound journey tinged with subtle harmonies and rhythmic pulses. The sounds of percussion and guitar gently guide us toward the discovery of our inner worlds. Close your eyes and let your imagination run wild!

Sound journey

Domaine de Bayssan

It is said that the Goldberg Variations were composed to help a German nobleman, Count Keyserling, get to sleep. An insomniac, he would ask his favorite young musician, Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, to play him something to soothe him…

Bach: The Short History of the Goldberg Variations

A child prodigy, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an outstanding musician. His father, Leopold, taught him the harpsichord and violin at the age of four, and later accompanied him throughout Europe to attend his many concerts. Mozart the Magician traces the life of classical music's most famous composer through some of his best-known works, such as A Little Night Music , The Turkish March , and The Magic Flute , arranged for flute and violin.

Mozart the Enchanter

What would opera be without its unforgettable arias? La Traviata , Romeo and Juliet , The Barber of Seville … These melodies that inhabit us, these emotions that transport us, are at the heart of this exceptional concert. Under the inspired baton of Marco Crispo, the Montpellier Orchestra, accompanied by the Opera Choir, invites us to rediscover the greatest masterpieces of the Franco-Italian lyric repertoire. Soprano Sheva Tehoval, dazzling with virtuosity and expressiveness, will bring to life the moving arias that make the magic of opera. A festive concert accessible to all, with these timeless arias that you will find yourself humming when you get home!

Revise your lyrical classics

If you've never been through these doors, this is the perfect opportunity. Come enjoy a free and exceptional evening: discover a place steeped in history, listen to a live orchestral concert with choir, or simply spend a unique moment with friends. On the evening's program: the "Revise your operatic classics" concert, a food court, competitions... and many other surprises!

Opera for Students

In the exceptional setting of the grand foyer, join us for a musical aperitif where the artists of the Orchestra and Choir will delight you with their talents! A moment  to savor with colleagues, partners or friends to unwind, escape and vibrate to the rhythm of music in good company.

Afterwork at the Opera #1

Oratorio in three acts on a libretto by Thomas Morell, composed in 1749 and premiered on March 16, 1750, at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, London.

Theodora

Au cœur de l’orchestre #1

The concert launches with John Adams in a whirlwind of "minimal music" where electrifying pulses and orchestral colors propel you at full speed. A lightning-fast, virtuoso and jubilant work, to open the season with a bang! Then, it's time for the poetry and bravery of Franz Liszt: between diabolical flashes and captivating cantabile, Piano Concerto No. 1 reveals the full extent of Liszt's genius, magnified by the simultaneously scintillating and pearly touch of the immense Bertrand Chamayou. Finally, the brutal harmonies and primitive force of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring always give us an inevitable shock. Prepare yourself for a powerful, virtuoso and unforgettable orchestral experience!

The Rite of Spring

Midi Musical | Winners of the Gordes International Melody Competition

Cavalleria rusticana: opera in one act, with a libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci. Premiered in Rome at the Teatro Costanzi on May 17, 1890 / Pagliacci: opera in two acts, with a libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. Premiered in Milan at the Teatro dal Verme on May 21, 1892.

Cavalleria rusticana / Pagliacci

Pia Segerstam, principal cellist of the Montpellier National Orchestra, and Héloïse Dautry, concert pianist and harp professor at the Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole Regional Conservatory, take us on a musical journey, a mixture of fantasy, meditation, and reverie.

EPSG:4326

Cello/harp duo

Harmony: Yoga #1

Led by the artists of the choir and the musicians of the Opera Orchestra, as well as other talented guest artists, the Petits Parcours take the form of mini-concerts or short, fun musical pieces introducing children to different forms of sound and musical expression; voice, instruments, rhythms... Unforgettable moments of sharing between children and artists!

Petits Parcours Strauss & Co, Hip-Hop

The Haunted Reed Quartet offers a musical journey full of surprises, where Strauss's pieces intersect with those of other great composers like Brahms and Verdi. And on stage, the music also comes to life in the body: hip-hop dancer Bryan Montarou moves with the musicians. He jumps, spins, slides, and improvises, as if drawing the music with his body. A playful and poetic dance concert to enjoy with the family, to rediscover Strauss with a fresh perspective.

Strauss & Co, Hip-Hop

An ambassador for living and inclusive music, Alizé Léhon graduated brilliantly from the Paris Conservatoire (CNSMD) in 2024, the same year she was selected for Malko's young conductors' competition and awarded the Neeme Järvi Prize at the Gstaad Conducting Academy.

Orchestra for All #1

Opened in 1888, this sumptuous Italian-style theater, located in the heart of Montpellier, is the work of architect Joseph-Marie Cassien-Bernard (1848 – 1926), a student of Charles Garnier. Don't miss the opportunity to visit this gem, a listed historic monument, on your own, perhaps for the first time!

European Heritage Days

The Montpellier Occitanie Orchestra is pleased to present a series of open-air concerts, in the parks and gardens of Montpellier, but also in the heart of neighborhoods, in the Maisons pour tous. Whether you come alone, as a couple, with family, or with friends, these concerts will offer you the opportunity to share unique musical moments, outside of our traditional concert halls.

To garden and to courtyard #2

Maison Pour Tous Albert Camus

Radio Fuoco is a transdisciplinary project, both a performative exercise and a radio invention, a place to listen (to oneself), contemplate, and dance. A zone of resistance and encounter between artists and researchers.

Radio Fuoco invites Euphoria

The Montpellier Occitanie Orchestra is pleased to present a series of open-air concerts, in the parks and gardens of Montpellier, but also in the heart of neighborhoods, in the Maisons pour tous. Whether you come alone, as a couple, with family, or with friends, these concerts will offer you the opportunity to share unique musical moments, outside of our traditional concert halls. These events are a privileged opportunity for our musicians to strengthen the bonds forged with the public over the years and to meet new spectators by making music ever more accessible to all.

To garden and to courtyard #1

Kiosque Bosc

Renowned for his charismatic personality and bold approach to music, the violinist will perform Aram Khachaturian's Violin Concerto . His brilliant technique and stage presence bring a particular intensity to this work, between lyrical passages and more percussive moments. The program will be completed by Edward Elgar's Enigma Variations , a subtle work that calls upon a great diversity of orchestral colors, while maintaining an aura of mystery, and Magic Simon by Finnish composer Johanna Ruotsalainen, winner of the 2024 Unanimous Prize in the chamber orchestra category. A concert that promises you a musical return rich in emotions, carried by the singular personality and immense talent of Nemanja Radulović.

Back to school with Nemanja Radulović

Niché au sommet du Corum, Panorama (par la Halle Tropisme) propose apéros festifs, concerts, DJ sets, projections, expositions et animations variées.

Les vendredis à Panorama #2

Panorama - un été sur le toit du Corum

Fancy a coffee break like no other? The artists of the National Opera Choir and their choirmaster Noëlle Gény offer you a musical (and gourmet!) break during your day. Join us at 2:30 p.m. for a coffee before the concert!

Coffee Break #1

Through the power of dance and the depth of live music, this show pays homage to the soul of Oum Kalthoum and her timeless legacy . It does not seek to tell, but to feel; to vibrate this rare emotion that is Tarab.

Enta Omri by Nesma

Dorsaf Hamdani embodies a generation of singers from the Maghreb and the Middle East deeply attached to musical traditions, while asserting a singular modernity. Among the figures who forged her art, Oum Kalthoum occupies a central place. Sophistication, vocal power, unparalleled virtuosity: the great lady of Arabic song represents for Dorsaf an absolute model, an inexhaustible source of inspiration.

Dorsaf Hamdani

The cello, with its rich timbre, its vibrato that brings the sound to life, and its unparalleled velvety sound, is the instrument that is said to come closest to the human voice. It is therefore quite natural that the cello voice of Cyrille Tricoire de Haro, supersolo cellist of the Orchestre National Montpellier, dialogues with that of the soprano Hwanyoo Lee, in this abundant and eclectic program, rich in emotion.

Voco-Cello Duo

Saint-Vincent Church

As a tribute to the Montpellier and international figure Jean-Paul Montanari, who passed away last April, the Opera Orchestra is invited to the unique setting of the Théâtre de l'Agora, in the heart of the Cité internationale de la danse, a vibrant place steeped in memory.

Parmi les étoiles

Agora Theater

For the first time, the Opera Orchestra is joining forces with the Halle Tropisme with two new concerts led by artists from the Orchestra and the Choir.

Fridays at Panorama #1

The Opera Orchestra welcomes non-professional musicians to the Salle Molière. A concert piano will be at your disposal. You can choose to perform alone, with family, or with friends. So step onto the Salle Molière stage and experience the unique experience of performing in front of an audience!

Classic Open Stage

Led by their choirmaster, Albert Alcaraz, the young singers of Opéra Junior offer a warm and festive concert featuring folk songs, sacred works, and modern compositions from around the world. An enchanting moment to prepare for a beautiful end to the year!

Advent Concert

Small Sound Journeys

This timeless masterpiece, which nurtured the violinist's vocation, becomes a true sensory and metaphysical journey. Narrative and flamboyant, Vivaldi's cycle explores nature and the passing of time, between bursts of joy, climatic torments, and lyrical flights. In this interpretation, the dialogue between the instruments magnifies the expressive richness of the work and reveals its profoundly spiritual dimension. Between echoes of the past and contemporary questions, this reinterpretation invites us to rediscover Vivaldi in all his evocative and poetic force.

The Four Seasons

Under the energetic direction of Case Scaglione, Music Director of the Orchestre National d'Île-de-France, your National Orchestra opens the evening with Réveil à l'aube d'une ville by Lisa Chevalier, young winner of the 2024 Unanimes competition. This contemporary work evokes urban renaissance through innovative orchestral textures. Next comes Jean Sibelius's Symphony No. 7 , a single-flow work that transports us from the darkest depths to the brightest bursts. After the interval, Beethoven takes possession of the stage with the Leonore Overture No. 3 , a veritable opera condensed into a few minutes, then Symphony No. 8 , a jewel often overshadowed by its more famous sisters. Beneath its apparent classical lightness, it reveals all the inventiveness and humor of Beethoven's genius. A concert that celebrates the eternal vitality of musical creation through the centuries.

Beethoven #8

Relieve stress, strengthen your body, and awaken your mind in a unique setting, in the Grand Foyer of the Opéra Comédie and its exceptional view of the Place de la Comédie! A sound relaxation duo will provide musical accompaniment to your session. To fully enjoy the experience, don't forget to bring your own mat.

Harmony: Yoga #2

Led by the talented Case Scaglione, the Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier Occitanie offers a journey between Helsinki and Vienna, post-romanticism and classicism.

Theatre of Nîmes

Junior Opera

Salle Frédéric Bazille

A French conductor and violinist with Spanish roots, Sonia Ben-Santamaria has forged an original career at the crossroads of artistic excellence and transmission.

Christmas Concert

Le Sonambule

Salle Georges Brassens

To end 2025 in style and welcome 2026 as it should be, the Opera Orchestra invites you to a colorful New Year's Eve party: disco ball, glitter, good humor and dance floor for all!

New Year's Eve with Barbara Butch

Each stopover will introduce you to a different sound world, combining lively rhythms and captivating melodies. Under the direction of conductor Zoe Zeniodi, the musicians will be joined by soprano Sheva Tehoval, the distinguished guest of this festive event. Together, they will perform works with multiple influences, reflecting the richness of the world's musical heritage. A moment of sharing, joy, and escape to experience with family or friends, to start the year with a smile.

New Year's Concert

String quartet and flute

Eglise Saint-Hilaire

With Falstaff , his final opera, Verdi created a dazzling comedy, punctuated by incisive dialogue and sparkling music. In this burlesque farce, the pot-bellied, boastful knight believes he can seduce with impunity, but he comes up against the intelligence and solidarity of women. David Hermann turns it into a biting satire of toxic masculinity, where intrigues, disguises, and misunderstandings follow one another in an effervescent production that is somewhere between burlesque and social critique. Carried by the alert direction of Michael Schønwandt—returning, to our great delight, at the helm of the Orchestre de Montpellier—Verdi's teeming score unleashes its jubilant energy: whirling ensembles, bouncy rhythms, and a dizzying final fugue that reminds us, with Falstaff , that "everything in the world is a farce"!

Falstaff

The program opens with Mozart's Trio in E major KV 542 , a luminous work where classical elegance converses with an unsuspected depth, notably in the andante grazioso with its captivating melodies. Then, the Slavic soul is revealed with Dvořák's "Dumky" Trio , an iconic piece blending melancholy and folkloric energy. Its six contrasting movements, inspired by dumky (Slavic ballads), oscillate between pain and joy, carried by passionate dialogues between the instruments. The finale returns to Schumann and his Trio in G minor opus 110 , a romantic masterpiece where youthful ardor and introspection echo each other. The feverishly soaring Allegro and the vehement finale rub shoulders with moments of rare delicacy, revealing the composer's tormented sensitivity. An invitation to discover the magic of instrumental dialogue where each note breathes under the fingers of these exceptional artists.

Trio harmony

This musical project invites the audience to relive the unique atmosphere of Viennese salons, sumptuous balls, and grand concert halls where composers, poets, and dancers met. Through a rich and varied program, alternating operettas, lieder, waltzes, and instrumental pieces, the show celebrates the joie de vivre, tenderness, and refinement characteristic of the 19th- century Viennese spirit .

An Evening in Vienna

Under the inspired direction of Diego Ceretta, principal conductor of the ORT-Orchestra of Florence, the Orchestre National Montpellier transports you from ancient tragedy to the splendors of Rome, from Viennese salons to the pictorial visions of Mussorgsky. The evening opens with the poignant Cede pietati, dolor by Silvia Colasanti, an immersion with expressive textures in the tragic world of Medea. Then Respighi unfolds his Fontane di Roma , a true pictorial symphony where the water games of the Roman fountains gush through the orchestra and where each sound tableau is a celebration of light and movement. After the intermission, Ravel's Valses nobles et sentimentales evoke the elegance of the 19th century in the refined language of the early modernity of the 20th century . Finally, here are Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition . Orchestrated by Ravel, this masterpiece is a veritable sound museum where each piece brilliantly depicts an imaginary canvas.

Pictures at an Exhibition

Cello and double bass duo

Collégiale Notre-Dame de la Carce

In the exceptional setting of the grand foyer, join us for a musical aperitif where the artists of the Orchestra and Choir will delight you with their talents! A moment to savor with colleagues, partners or friends to unwind, escape and vibrate to the rhythm of music in good company.

Afterwork at the Opera #2

Sophie Gail, one of the rare female composers of her time, opens the concert with the overture to The Two Jealous Ones , a lively and theatrical work, in the spirit of the comic operas of her time. Étienne-Nicolas Méhul achieved great success with the comic opera Stratonice , oscillating between gravity and lyricism. Then, Beethoven, whose Romance for Violin and Orchestra No. 2 distils a gentle melancholy, suspends time before deploying his creative energy in the overture to The Creatures of Prometheus . As for Mozart, he breathes into this concert the sparkling youth of his Symphony No. 29 , all lightness and clarity.

Montpellier Occitanie National Orchestra

Bridges Theatre

Pure joy! This is the musical program Mozart set for himself in his so-called "Coronation Mass," written in March 1779. In reality, it resounded in Salzburg Cathedral for Easter that same year, and it was only after the composer's death that it became the essential accompaniment for the weddings of crowned heads. The graceful vocal quartet clearly alternates with jubilant, swift choirs, the two concertante oboes adding a festive touch to the ensemble.

Coronation Mass

Three composers and one female composer each explore in their own way the play of contrasts, reflections, and flashes. Sophie Gail, one of the rare female composers of her time, opens the concert with the overture to The Two Jealous , a lively and theatrical work, in the spirit of the comic operas of his time. Étienne-Nicolas Méhul achieved great success with the comic opera Stratonice , oscillating between gravity and lyricism. Then, Beethoven, whose Romance for Violin and Orchestra No. 2 exudes a gentle melancholy, suspends time before deploying his creative energy in the overture to The Creatures of Prometheus . As for Mozart, he breathes into this concert the sparkling youth of his Symphony No. 29 , all lightness and clarity.

Orchestra for All #2

Coffee Break #2

Conductor Paul Agnew and Les Arts Florissants continue their exploration of the moving world of the Neapolitan composer Carlo Gesualdo (1566 – 1613), and join forces with choreographer Amala Dianor for a powerful stage creation, where a cappella singing blends with the expressive force of the bodies. At the heart of this show: the responses for Holy Week . Composed in 1611, shortly before the composer's death, these responses recount in a chiseled polyphony the last days of Christ in a musical language that is at once mystical, dramatic and of rare expressiveness. Six singers and four dancers embody this Passion on stage , where voices rise in space while bodies translate the spiritual and physical intensity of the story. In this original stage creation, emotion circulates freely between past and present, between voices and gestures, between faith and humanity.

Gesualdo Passione

Valerie Coleman opens with Umoja , a vibrant hymn to unity and peace. This short but intense introduction, inspired by African traditions, deploys a rhythmic and melodic energy that ideally prepares us for the works to come. Then comes American lyricism with Samuel Barber's Cello Concerto , magnificently served by the sensitive playing of Maximilian Hornung. Alternating virtuoso passages and profound melancholy, this work reveals the full expressive range of the cello, dialoguing with an orchestra that is by turns tender and tumultuous. As a grand finale, Brahms' Symphony No. 1 displays its beautiful architecture and tormented lyricism. After fifteen years of doubt, the composer delivers a masterful response to Beethoven's legacy, culminating in a finale with a triumphant theme that has become legendary.

Symphonic Bridge

Harmony: Pilates #1

Led by renowned restaurant executives and punctuated by musical interludes, this evening, partially deductible through patronage, offers a unique experience in the sumptuous foyers of the Opéra Comédie. An exceptional event to share with friends, colleagues, clients, or partners.

Gala dinner

Among them, parallel trajectories echo each other with poignant force. Korngold and Schoenberg, two major figures in Viennese music, had to flee Nazism. The former found refuge in Hollywood where he revolutionized film music; the latter reconstructed his musical language in the United States. Their works bear the scars of this uprooting, between nostalgia and audacity. Pablo Casals and Roberto Gerhard, Spanish exiles, embody resistance through music. Casals, an opponent of Franco, transformed El cant dels ocells into a hymn of freedom. Gerhard, a disciple of Schoenberg, blended avant-garde and Catalan folklore in a unique style, shaped by his exile in England. Arvo Pärt, Olga Podgaiskaya, and Samir Odeh-Tamimi extend this reflection on wandering and creation. Pärt, forced to leave Soviet Estonia, found refuge in timeless music. Podgaiskaya and Odeh-Tamimi, heirs to these journeys, in turn question boundaries and shifting identities. An evening resonating with the echoes of a torn 20th century and the persistence of a beauty born of absence. A world concert where each note echoes a lost land, but also the hope of a new beginning.

Exiles #2

For over twenty years, the Grand Chinese New Year Concert has toured Europe, inviting Western audiences to discover the immense wealth of traditional Chinese music. To celebrate the entry into the Year of the Horse, the Opera Orchestra invites a large orchestra from China, which will offer a musical journey through the Chinese provinces, exploring a repertoire spanning over 3,000 years of musical history. On stage, the musicians play emblematic instruments such as the Erhu, the Pipa, and the Yangqin, whose captivating sounds transport spectators from the steppes of Mongolia to the gardens of Canton. By highlighting these repertoires rarely performed outside of China, the Grand Chinese New Year Concert invites you to discover Chinese culture through a captivating musical universe, rare on Western stages.

Grand Chinese New Year Concert

The lion roars, the birds sing, the elephant waddles, the swan glides... All come to life thanks to the instruments of the Orchestre National Montpellier in Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals , a joyful musical bestiary to discover with the family. Each instrument becomes an animal, each piece a sound tableau: flute for the birds, cello for the swan, piano for the kangaroos... This fabulous work is a fun way to discover the sounds of the orchestra by following a real animal parade. Alongside Damien Robert, who designed the staging, actress Wafae Ababou blends gesture and music in a poetic interpretation in LSF, while Lim Kiihwan's projected illustrations accompany the music and invite wonder.

Carnival of the Animals

Immerse yourself in this eclectic and captivating program, led by Sora Elisabeth Lee, a Korean conductor who trained in Berlin and Vienna and worked under the direction of Christian Thielemann and Neeme Järvi.

Romance under the stars

Dive into the golden age of burlesque with an  exceptional film concert! The Orchestre National Montpellier accompanies three silent film masterpieces live: Big Business and Liberty by Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, and Payday by Charlie Chaplin. In the first two hilarious short films, the iconic duo pushes the art of slapstick to its paroxysm: an absurd war between Christmas tree sellers and an irascible owner, dizzying stunts at 70 meters in the air... Jens Troester's music, faithful to the tradition of silent films, mixes mischievous fanfares, wild percussion, and catchy melodies to enhance the humor and energy of these timeless classics. In Pay Day, our famous Tramp, a construction worker, tries to enjoy  his pay despite his bossy wife and a drunken night that leads him into hilarious situations.

Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin

The Montpellier National Opera Choir unveils its full virtuosity in a repertoire that is dear to its heart. Under the direction of Noëlle Gény, it will perform, for the greatest pleasure of all, an anthology of great choral pieces from the most beautiful operas… A beautiful musical interlude!

Great pages of opera

Vignette Theater

The opening performance is Beethoven's Symphony No. 4 , a rare gem, astonishing with its youthful vitality and intimate lyricism. Then soprano Golda Schultz illuminates André Previn's sensual Honey and Rue , a cycle of melodies fusing classical and jazz to poems by Toni Morrison. Carried by the orchestra, her radiant timbre captivates and illuminates this sensitive kaleidoscope of feminine emotions, from intimate murmurs to passionate flights. As a grand finale, Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier suite unfolds its intoxicating waltzes and fiery duets. Under the impassioned direction of Roderick Cox, this short opera becomes a symphonic poem where the human soul throbs, each note making our hearts dance. Between symphonic power, vocal confidence, and orchestral voluptuousness, this program weaves a golden thread between the centuries—where music always beats.

Where the heart beats

Together, they won the Melody Prize at the Nadia and Lili Boulanger International Competition in 2015, and a year later, the Grand Prize at the 51st Hertogenbosch International Competition. In this concert, they take you on a journey of discovery through the treasures of French melody, paying homage to the three great masters: Debussy, Massenet, and Fauré, while exploring the works of their contemporaries and heirs such as Dubois and Bachelet. Their collaboration, marked by a great musical complicity, makes each performance a moment of pure emotion and refinement.

Adèle Charvet et Florian Caroubi

Little Wow Courses!

Winner of several prestigious awards, she has dedicated several critically acclaimed albums to them. Alongside pianist Julian Riem, she presents a unique program inspired by her album Femmes , which spans nine centuries of female musical creation. From the German mystic poet Hildegarde von Bingen to the eclectic and innovative Lera Auerbach, by way of Lili and Nadia Boulanger, this concert highlights numerous female composers, ranging from emblematic figures to surprising discoveries.

Women

Le Corum

The Montpellier Occitanie National Opera Orchestra invites you under the sky of the Grand Foyer for a unique and wild Spring Party!

Spring Party

Trio Soul and Voice

Église Saint-Paul de Frontignan

In the majestic setting of the Opéra Comédie, the main foyer is transformed into a festive and colorful dance floor, designed for children. A regular at clubs and major festivals, the Montpellier collective K-Waï will take on the challenge of getting this demanding audience of 0 to 10 year-olds moving. With their mix of music from around the world, rhythms that get your feet tapping, and sounds that make you want to jump around, the scenery changes with each song, you dance, you laugh, you move... and above all, you never get bored.

The Fantastic Party

And in a completely round world, we can make quacks, and even better, the quack of the quack! This musical show brings together works by Luciano Berio, Georges Aperghis, John Cage, Jacques Rebotier, and Cathy Berberian, playing with sounds, words, and their diversions. Mademoiselle Couak wanders from one to the other and enjoys the expressive possibilities of the voice, in a scenography that is complicit in her wonder. An immersion in contemporary vocal music from the last sixty years, reinvented in a poetic dialogue between voice, space, and imagination.

Quack!

Paul Lay and Joël Suhubiette, artistic director of the Les Éléments Chamber Choir, pursued a parallel musical career that took them to Toulouse and then to Paris. The two musicians share a curiosity for all types of music, which they enjoy exploring and bringing into dialogue in original creations. Their encounter sparked a desire to confront their worlds and blend them into a unique creation. In this unique program, for which he composed the music inspired by poems by Pablo Neruda, Henry David Thoreau, Victor Hugo, and Emily Dickinson, Paul Lay presents several original pieces for choir and jazz trio around the theme of light. These pages are complemented by arrangements of works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Henry Purcell, and György Ligeti for choir and jazz trio.

Waves of Light

Harmony: Qigong #2

Afterwork at the Opera #3

Considered too realistic at its premiere in 1853, La Traviata remains one of the essential operas in the lyric repertoire. At the end of the first act, Violetta proclaims sempre libera (always free): is this a feminist plea ahead of its time or a tragic illusion? From the ballroom to the confines of the sanatorium, Verdi infuses his masterpiece with ardent music, sometimes breathless, but constantly seeking to free itself from conventions to achieve authentic beauty. Silvia Paoli, one of the great directors of our time, dares a powerful and virtuoso dramaturgical gesture, in total osmosis with the direction of Roderick Cox who brings this iconic score to incandescence, ideally served by the solar soprano of Ruzan Mantashyan and the very remarkable tenor Omer Kobiljak.

La Traviata

Luz Casal is more than a voice, she's a legend. From Piensa as the lead vocalist in Almodóvar's film High Heels to her powerful ballads, she embodies the soul of Spanish pop. Since her rock beginnings in the '80s, she has traversed styles, leaving her mark on each decade. A star in Spain, a darling in France, she revisits Daho and Cabrel. Her return with the album Las Ventanas de mi Alma is a shock of intimacy and strength, an autobiographical record where each song touches the heart. On stage, Luz Casal is a shot of emotion, a thrill with each song.

Luz Casal

In the first part, Emmanuel Pahud, a flute magician, takes on Khachaturian's Flute Concerto , a virtuoso piece with Armenian overtones. His unique artistry – velvety in the legato, sparkling in the dancing lines – reveals this little-known score where Caucasian folklore and pure virtuosity intertwine. Newly appointed to lead the Liège orchestra, Lionel Bringuier from Nice deploys a direction that is both precise and chiseled. His fluid gesture sculpts each nuance of the Concerto before plunging into the tormented ocean of the Pathétique . Tchaikovsky's ultimate masterpiece, this Symphony No. 6 becomes, under his baton, a path from shadows to light: sensual phrasings from the strings, heart-rending bursts of brass, crowned by this finale that fades into a whisper. A perfect dialogue between the dazzling soloist and a conductor at the height of his art, galvanizing his phalanx.

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège

With his concerti grossi and sonatas, he not only elevated the art of the violin but also paved the way for a whole generation of composers. For the Consort, revisiting Corelli means delving into the heart of the trio sonatas, those demanding pieces where polyphony flourishes between two melodic lines carried by the violins and a basso continuo that is both rigorous and free. Partners since their training years at the Paris Conservatoire, the musicians of the Consort infuse these works with youthful energy, remarkable fluidity, and a keen sense of dialogue. Following the success of their Corelli #1 program last season, they return to deepen this exploration, driven by their unique musical identity: a sound that is both elegant and bold, a playing where the past resonates intensely in the present.

Corelli #2

Little Tours The Three Friends

Three performers, three stories, three spaces: Magna is an electro sabbath where dance, video, and light merge with music and trance. Inspired by electricity and magnetism, three modern-day witches celebrate the creative power of women, their magna, their great qualities: their ability to take space, to transform it, their aptitude to perceive the sensitive and the invisible, to create paths to these other dimensions and to share them. An electrifying ceremony, somewhere between rite and concert, between incantatory techno and sonic shamanism.

Magna + Ubic ( After techno live )

Esa Pekka-Salonen's Helix opens the program with a virtuoso orchestral whirlwind, where the sections intertwine in sonic spirals deploying a mechanical and organic energy. Then Dorota Anderszewska, our super-soloist concertmaster, takes on Prokofiev's formidable Concerto No. 2 , combining rhythmic harshness and tender lyricism, to achieve a perfect balance between sarcasm and melancholy. Her violin, by turns sharp in the diabolical scherzo, singing in the nostalgic theme of the first movement, reveals all the ambivalence of the Russian composer in exile. As for conductor Roderick Cox, his precise gesture sculpts Shostakovich's anger and hope in Symphony No. 10 , which majestically closes the evening. From the oppressed murmurs of the strings to the liberating explosion of the finale, it crystallizes his remarkable resilience in the face of Stalinist torment. A fascinating dialogue between instrumental virtuosity and human depth.

Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier

Dec 6, 2025

Classic Open Stage

Dec 6, 2025

Advent Concert

6 - 7 Dec, 2025

Small Sound Journeys

Dec 9, 2025

The Four Seasons

Dec 12, 2025

Beethoven #8

2 - 3 Dec, 2025

At the heart of the orchestra #2

Nov 30, 2025

Quatrâmes Quartet

Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier