Critic's choice
Festival
Enescu Festival 2025
The 27th George Enescu International Festival will be held in Bucharest, Romania, from August 24 to September 21, 2025, under the artistic direction of renowned conductor Cristian Măcelaru. As one of the world’s premier classical music festivals, it will bring together over 4,000 artists from 28 countries and feature more than 80 orchestras, choirs, and chamber ensembles.
This edition, themed Celebrations, marks the 70th anniversary of George Enescu’s passing with over 45 performances of his works, including symphonies, chamber music, orchestral suites, and his opera Oedipe, presented by the Bucharest National Opera. The festival also honors anniversaries of major composers such as Maurice Ravel, Gabriel Fauré, Pierre Boulez, Arvo Pärt, J.S. Bach, and Dmitri Shostakovich.
Top orchestras performing include the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Czech Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Dresden, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Celebrated soloists featured this year include violinists Anne-Sophie Mutter, Isabelle Faust, Augustin Hadelich and Renaud Capuçon; pianists Martha Argerich, Kirill Gerstein, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Lucas & Arthur Jussen; and cellists Gautier Capuçon, Sol Gabetta, Kian Soltani and Alisa Weilerstein.
Concerts will take place in seven iconic Bucharest venues, including the Romanian Athenaeum, Radio Hall, and Palace Hall. Innovative series such as Enescu in Control and the Enescu – JTI Immersive Experience reimagine Enescu’s legacy through bold, modern artistic collaborations.
For more information and the full schedule, visit www.festivalenescu.ro.
Festival
Festival de Granada 2025
The Granada International Music and Dance Festival is one of the most emblematic cultural events in Spain. It is held between June and July in the palaces of the Alhambra and in the main monuments of the city and the province of Granada, and is known not only for its extraordinary stages and the presence of the great performers of the moment, but also for its commitment to young artists who are destined to become the masters of the future.
The Granada Festival is a living instrument of cultural action, whose common denominator is emotion. The emotion of sharing artistic proposals of exceptional quality; the emotion of enjoying the most beautiful and unique spaces in Granada; the emotion of discovering that Granada offers a unique cultural tourism experience; the emotion and satisfaction of verifying that, for a few weeks, the Granada Festival becomes a real driving force for the economy and culture of this city, thanks to the thousands of artists, orchestras, companies and visitors who come to this Festival of the Senses. More information: www.granadafestival.org
Festival
Festival Jazz à Porquerolles from july 9 to 14
For over 20 years, the island of Porquerolles has hosted a unique summer jazz festival. From July 9 to 14, Jazz à Porquerolles welcomes major artists for magical moments suspended between sea and sky.
The festival opens with an exclusive concert cruise featuring Katarina Pejak aboard the ILADORA catamaran, in partnership with AMC Cape Grace. The festivities continue with a lively, free warm-up show by Lazcar Volcano in the idyllic setting of Le Provençal hotel in Giens.
Starting July 11, evening concerts take place at the Fort Saint-Agathe, perched high above the island. Kutu and Lagon Nwar open the program with jazz inspired by Ethiopian and Réunionese rhythms. On July 12, Yom x Ceccaldi and Jowee Omicil blend contemporary trance with Caribbean spirit. On July 13, AMG Quartet and Marion Rampal deliver a poetic and soulful performance celebrating memory and legacy.
The festival concludes on July 14 with an evening of musical transmission and tenderness: Sona Jobarteh, the first female virtuoso of the kora, performs alongside Ballaké Sissoko & Piers Faccini for a moving finale.
Opera
Greek National Opera - Season 2025-2026
The Greek National Opera (GNO) announces a bold and visionary 2025/26 season, under the theme: “The opera of the future arises from the womb of the past.”
Curated by Artistic Director Giorgos Koumendakis, the season features seven new productions, five revivals, a concert presentation, and two international tours. This programme is made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) [www.SNF.org] to enhance the Greek National Opera’s artistic outreach.
After 65 years, the GNO returns to the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus with the historic production of Medea, originally created for Maria Callas in 1961, while also reviving beloved classics such as Tosca and La Traviata at the Stavros Niarchos Hall. Highlights include the grand opening with La Gioconda, a co-production with the Royal Opera House and Salzburg Easter Festival, and the long-awaited Requiem for the End of Love by Koumendakis, Papaioannou, and Currentzis.
Anna Pirozzi, Aleksandra Kurzak, Gaëlle Arquez, Marina Viotti, Alisa Kolosova, Anita Rachvelishvili, Roberto Alagna, Charles Castronovo, Arsen Soghomonyan, Andrea Carè, and Marcelo Puente are just a few of the international opera stars who will perform at the Greek National Opera during the new season. The season also includes the hosting of the International Opera Awards in Athens on 13 November.
For more information and the full programme, visit nationalopera.gr/en.