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Baltic Opera Festival 2026 – … where rituals become music, and the spirits of the past speak in a contemporary voice.

From the very beginning, The Baltic Opera Festival has established itself as one of the largest open-air opera events in Europe. Renowned singer Tomasz Konieczny invites everyone to Gdańsk, Sopot and Gdynia for the upcoming edition of his original project, taking place July 02- 07.

The Fourth Edition of the Baltic Opera Festival 2026 – Concept and Programme

Baltic Opera Festival 2026: Romantic Rituals, Northern Spirits, and Die Walküre on the 150th Anniversary of The Ring of the Nibelung.

In the summer of 2026, for the fourth time, the Baltic Sea will become a stage for stories woven from Romantic fervor, myths, and the specters of the past. The Baltic Opera Festival returns with a program in which music summons spirits and the nocturnal landscapes of the North pulse with Wagnerian magic.

At the heart of the festival will be Richard Wagner’s Die Walküre – a masterpiece presented on the 150th anniversary of the first performance of The Ring of the Nibelung.

Two monumental performances will be staged on 2nd and 5th July 2026 at the Forest Opera powered by Energa, where nature and theatre have for years engaged in a dialogue of extraordinary power.

The programme will also feature discoveries and returns to forgotten worlds. Polish Wedding by Joseph Beer will be staged on 3rd and 4th July 2026 at the Baltic Opera in Gdańsk. Suspended between nostalgia and the drama of history, Joseph Beer’s Polish Wedding will complete the festival’s Romantic profile.

On July 1st and 2nd, 2026, we invite families and the youngest music lovers to a world of myths and legends, presented in an accessible yet artistically ambitious form. We present Richard Wagner’s Das Rheingold featuring a specially prepared libretto in Polish in the Forest Opera powered by Energa.
A highlight of the festival will be Museum of Man – Penderecki in memoriam on July 6th, 2026. This concert, performed by Sinfonietta Cracovia under the baton of Michał Klauza, serves as a moving tribute to the memory of Elżbieta Penderecka – an outstanding promoter of musical life and member of the Baltic Opera Festival Honorary Committee, who passed away in October 2025. The performance will be more than just another artistic event for Sinfonietta Cracovia. It is an attempt to confront memory, heritage, and the human condition. The works of Krzysztof Penderecki, to which this evening is dedicated, become not only musical material but also a space for reflection on history, identity, and the future of civilization.
The Baltic Opera Festival will culminate with a recital by Anett Fritsch on July 7’th, 2026. This intimate encounter will take place in the unique and unconventional space of the European Solidarity Centre in Gdańsk. It will feature the extraordinary voice of Anett Fritsch and the poetry of Heinrich Heine in a setting where the sacred and art intertwine.

 

 

The Baltic Opera Festival is organised by the Baltic Opera in Gdańsk.

The Festival’s partner is the Dal Segno Institute Association.

Baltic Opera Festival 2026 is co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.

Tomasz Konieczny

Tomasz Konieczny – Artistic Director of the Baltic Opera Festival

At its core, the Baltic Opera Festival follows from my dream of making full use of the wonderful possibilities and world-class potential of the Forest Opera in Sopot, an extraordinary open-air venue with a history dating back to 1909.

Tomasz Konieczny studied acting at the Łódź Film School, followed by vocal studies at the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw and the Carl Maria von Weber Dresden University of Music under Professor Christian Elßner. He specialises in German music. His extensive career has taken him to the world’s top stages, including: Oper Leipzig, Metropolitan Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Paris Opera, Carnegie Hall, Wiener Staatsoper, Teatro alla Scala, National Theatre of Japan in Tokyo, or Bayreuth Festival. In 2019, at the request of the leadership of the Wiener Staatsoper, he received the highest professional award in the German-speaking opera world: the title of the Österreichischer Kammersänger. In 2022, in recognition for his outstanding contribution to the development of Polish culture, he was presented with the Gold Gloria Artis Medal for Merits to Culture by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage of Poland.

Honorary Committee

  • dr Daniel Cichy Director and Editor-in-Chief of PWM Edition
  • Waldemar Dąbrowski General Director of the Polish National Opera 2008-2025, former Polish minister of culture 2002–2005
  • Peter Gelb General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera in New York
  • Ioan Holender Director of the Vienna State Opera 1992-2010
  • Andreas Homoki Director General of the Opernhaus Zürich
  • Zenon Kosiniak-Kamysz Polish ambassador in Austria
  • Jolanta Róża Kozłowska Former Polish ambassador in Austria (2017–2022)
  • prof. dr Tadeusz Krzeszowiak University lecturer, light director and stage designer. Institute of Theatrology, University of Vienna, 1997-2015. Since 2010, he has been conducting photobiological measurements of stage lighting at the Vienna State Opera.
  • Stanisław Leszczyński Deputy Director of the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Warsaw, Artistic Director of the Chopin and His Europe Festival
  • Joan Matabosch Grifoll Artistic Director of the Teatro Real Madrid
  • Jacek Marczyński Music journalist and critic
  • Dominique Meyer former CEO and Artistic Director of the Teatro alla Scala, former General Director of the Vienna State Opera 2010–2020
  • Cornelia Pieper former General Consul of the Federal Republic Germany in Gdańsk
  • Bogdan Roščić General Director of the Vienna State Opera
  • Matthias Schulz Intendant of Opernhaus Zürich
  • prof. Katharina Wagner Director of the Bayreuth Festival
  • prof. Rafał Wiśniewski Director of the National Centre for Culture Poland 2017-2024
  • Joanna Wnuk-Nazarowa Conductor, composer, former Polish minister of culture 1997–1999, former Director of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra 2000–2018

The Team

  • Organiser - The Baltic Opera Theatre in Gdańsk Director Romuald Wicza-Pokojski
  • Artistic Director Tomasz Konieczny
  • Director of the Festival Rafał Kokot
  • Director for Organization of Artistic Work and Impresario Paweł Marzec
  • Graphic Designer Adam Dudek
  • Main Producer Aleksandra Filipek (Opera Bałtycka)
  • Head of Promotion and Marketing Katarzyna Gigiewicz (Opera Bałtycka)
  • Coordination of Ticket Sales and Accreditation Kamila Kończak (Opera Bałtycka)