The Krumlov Festival has unveiled the program for its 35th edition. It will open with a concert performance of One Thousand and One Nights.

27 / 11 / 2025

With artists from around the world and premieres of classical music, it will embark on a journey into the Labyrinth of Stories.

From July 17 to August 8, 2026, more than forty concerts will take place in the South Bohemian Region during the 35th International Music Festival Český Krumlov, three compositions will be performed in their world premiere, and hundreds of artists from distant continents will perform. All in the spirit of the main theme, Labyrinth of Stories, with which the festival will celebrate its half-century anniversary. The musical events in six concert series will take place at fourteen different venues, including three completely new ones. Tickets will be available from November 27, 2025, at www.festivalkrumlov.cz.

In the beginning, there was a labyrinth

There were once three labyrinths in Český Krumlov. Although none of them remain today, the festival will recreate the mazes in 2026: towards the Orient, medieval knights, Renaissance pilgrims, Baroque opera, and contemporary experimentation.

“The festival sets itself new challenges and aims to raise the artistic bar even higher,” says Gabriela Rachidi, general director of the Krumlov Festival, adding: “We will create concerts and artistic performances tailored to magnificent locations, with performers and ensembles who are leaders in their field – all under the theme of Labyrinth of Stories, which has given us countless beautiful inspirations.”

Opening ceremony A Thousand and One Nights

The opening evening will begin with Ravel’s sensual songs, in which Scheherazade will be voiced by the star Egyptian soprano Fatma Said, who gained international attention shortly after studying at the Teatro alla Scala Academy in Milan. This distinguished artist is the recipient of the Gramophone Classical Music Award, the BBC Music Magazine Vocal Award, and the German Opus Klassik Award. The Prague Philharmonia, conducted by Petr Altrichter, will guide the audience through the evening, while the Losers Cirque Company will enhance the atmosphere of the Summer Riding Hall with their movement art and subtle acrobatic elements. Before the concert, you can listen to Persian music, and after the performance, you can take a poetic walk through the castle gardens with storyteller Justin Svoboda.

The opening weekend will feature, among other things, a performance by Lukáš Vondráček, one of today’s most prominent pianists. He will be performing at the Krumlov Festival for the first time ever, in Rachmaninoff’s iconic Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor. Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky, in Maurice Ravel’s orchestral arrangement, will also be performed by the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Tomáš Brauner. Lukáš Vondráček will then take part in the Summer Interpretation Courses in Český Krumlov, with which the festival is affiliated.

Six concert series

Six concert series form a clear path through the labyrinth of stories of the upcoming season: Symphony/Opera, Chamber Series, Organ Series, New Connections, Young Talents, and Concerts in the Gardens. Each offers a different way of perceiving classical music. The festival also strengthens Czechia-Austria cooperation – the Sankt Florianer Sängerknaben from Upper Austria will be visiting for the first time. One of the oldest boys’ choirs in the world will present a repertoire ranging from the Renaissance to the present day.

“The direct dramaturgical line of the musical journey through stories that visitors to the 35th Krumlov Festival will experience is also linked to Jan Amos Komenský and his work Labyrinth of the World and Paradise of the Heart,” says Krumlov Festival dramaturg Martin Rudovský, adding: “It is also linked to the history and present of Český Krumlov, whose winding streets often resemble a labyrinth. What’s more, those who attend the festival concerts will embark on a journey closer to their soul and heart.”

The heart is of fundamental importance in this story of love, freedom, and hope, which has become a symbol of human strength and vulnerability. Porgy and Bess, George Gershwin’s famous work, will connect the world of opera with jazz, blues, and gospel singing on the second Saturday of the festival. South African bass-baritone Bongani Justice Kubheka, sopranos Miriam Clark and Angela Renée Simpson, and tenor Ronald Samm will perform. Under the baton of Alena Hron, the world-class soloists will be accompanied by the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra Olomouc in the open air of the Brewery Garden.

Baroque, the Orient, and the Middle Ages in HD

The stories will take visitors to different eras and worlds. The Baroque opera Le Cinesi will be performed in the Baroque theater in Krumlov, a jewel of UNESCO World Cultural Heritage. This will be an extraordinary musical return, as the author of the work, Christoph Willibald Gluck, worked in Krumlov more than 250 years ago in the service of the Schwarzenberg family. The musical task will be taken on by an ensemble that is among the world’s best in historically informed performance – Collegium 1704 & Václav Luks.

“The Castle Theater in Český Krumlov is a place with incredible genius loci, and we are extremely pleased to be able to perform Gluck’s one-act comic opera Le Cinesi here, which, having been written in 1754, perfectly resonates with the current form of the theater. Performing on the stage of this unique theater is an unforgettable experience for every artist,” says conductor and artistic director of Collegium 1704 Václav Luks.

The pilgrimage Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Kájov will offer a new location and a new era. According to locals, time slows down there and music becomes prayer. The concert performance Journey to Jerusalem will feature narrator Saša Rašilov, the polyphony of Capella Mariana, and the Canadian ensemble Ensemble Constantinople.

“Kryštof Harant of Polžice and Bezdružice, a Renaissance nobleman, decided to walk all the way to the Holy Land. He is a great companion, even though he is a 400-year-old traveler,” says Sasha Rašilov, the guide for the concert Journey to Jerusalem, adding: “I am very happy that this concert story about the search for meaning and a journey that begins in music and ends deep within us will be performed at the Krumlov Festival. I believe that the magic of the beautifully restored sanctuary will help draw visitors into the story and let them feel the heat of the desert and the tranquility of the holy places.”

The unique project Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, which last week fought its way into the ranks of the world’s best games – into the shortlist for the 12th annual Game Awards – will bring a medieval atmosphere, film music, and symphonic energy. The world of knights, battles, chorales, and emotions of one of the most successful computer games, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, will come to life in the Brewery Garden thanks to a live performance of the soundtrack. The Brno Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bakchus group led by Richard Závada, and the MU choir led by Jan Ocetek, who will play and sing the music for the game, will be conducted by the composer himself, Jan Valta. There will also be a screening of impressive film sequences from the game.

“I can’t wait to present the music of Kingdom Come: Deliverance II live with a symphony orchestra, choir, and medieval band in front of thousands of spectators,” says conductor and composer Jan Valta, adding: “I am all the more excited that it will take place at the Krumlov Festival. I think this venue will be a perfect match for our game, and thanks to that, we will be able to offer the audience an exceptional evening on the border between game and reality.”

Premieres of compositions and concert venues

Three compositions will have their world premieres at the Krumlov Festival in 2026. In the Castle Riding Hall, the Prague Philharmonia orchestra, conducted by Jiří Habart, will perform Tomáš Kač’s composition Labyrinth of the World and Paradise of the Heart[1], inspired by the work of Jan Amos Komenský. Another new composition by Kač will be performed at the same concert. He wrote it for South Korean violinist Boha Moon, commissioned by the festival. And the first performance of Ondřej Brousek’s Labyrint, prepared specifically for the 35th edition, will open the musical evening Vondráček & Rachmaninov.

Kuklov will be a new concert venue. Organist KATTA (Kateřina Chroboková) will fill the local natural temple with works by Bach, Pärt, and her own compositions. At another premiere festival location – the Červený dvůr Psychiatric Hospital – violinist Jiří Vodička and guitarist Pavel Steidl will play Paganini’s sonatas.

Other festival series and projects

In addition, the Chamber Series will feature one of today’s most distinctive string quartets, the Pavel Haas Quartet. In the Masquerade Hall, it will offer a dialogue between Dvořák’s classical forms and the modernism of its own expressive avant-garde. In the New Connections series, the BERG Orchestra will present a musical and dance Inuit legend. Thanks to this, visitors to the industrial Port 1560 will learn what the world would look like if plants, animals, and humans swapped roles. The organ series will connect spiritual space, contemporary work, and Jan Amos Komenský, the “teacher of nations.” The Church of the Body of Christ and Our Lady of Sorrows in Český Krumlov will host Labyrinth of the World and Paradise of the Heart by composer Petr Eben, with recitation by his son, Marek Eben, also a prominent figure on the domestic cultural scene. This musical story for organ and narrator recounts man’s spiritual journey from confusion and the search for knowledge to the discovery of inner peace, or, if you will, the “paradise of the heart.”

The final Labyrinth of Love under the open sky

The 35th edition will be closed by the resonant voices of Australian-American soprano Danielle de Niese, mezzo-soprano Ester Pavlů, and tenor Pavel Černoch. Accompanied by the Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK conducted by Tomáš Netopil, a selection of the most famous operas by Puccini and Verdi, such as La bohème, Tosca, La Traviata, and others, will fill the summer sky of the Brewery Garden. The finale will bring a musical conclusion to the Labyrinth of Stories, full of tenderness and despair, tragedy and humor.

Age doesn’t matter

Next year, the free Festival Zone in the Monastery Garden will be expanded, offering more music, including a series of Concerts in the Gardens. This will ensure that people of all ages and socio-economic backgrounds can enjoy themselves.

The youngest generation will also have a space in the Castle Riding Hall, where the winners of the international Virtuosos competition will perform. Pianist Ivan Klánský will mentor young classical music talents and selected participants of the Summer Interpretation Courses in Český Krumlov. The South Bohemian Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Jan Talich, will provide the accompaniment.

It wouldn’t be possible without support

The general partner that has been with the Krumlov Festival almost since the beginning of the music event is the Kooperativa insurance company. “We enjoy the Krumlov Festival mainly because it isn’t afraid to be different. It also brings together worlds and people who would otherwise never meet. We have a similar approach at Kooperativa. That’s why we’re glad that we meet in the labyrinth of stories,” says Martin Diviš, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Kooperativa, adding: “At the same time, when listening to music or looking at a beautiful painting, we can somehow naturally switch off a little, and so the part of us that takes care of numbers, investments, and presentations at work can relax.”

The main partners are ČEPS and Audi ČR, with Madeta, Reticulum, and the Český Krumlov Development Fund as official partners. The festival is held with the support of the Ministry of Culture, the South Bohemian Region, the city of Český Krumlov, and the Czech Tourism Authority – CzechTourism. We would like to thank them and all other partners and patrons, including media partners.

Contact: Štěpánka Filipová, PR & Press Officer, filipova@festivalkrumlov.cz, +420 724 302 802

• Photos: www.festivalkrumlov.cz/galerie
• Videos: www.youtube.com/@festivalkrumlov
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^{[1] The work was created in 2022 on commission from Jiří and Radana Wald as part of the Art for Freedom project and is dedicated to the 400th anniversary of the publication of Jan Amos Comenius’ famous work Labyrinth of the World and Paradise of the Heart.}