Brno’s cultural season begins this Friday when the Brno National Theatre (NdB) and the Janáček Opera present ‘Aida’, the famous opera by Verdi, at Janáček Theatre.
Aida is one of Verdi’s masterpieces, highlighting the traditional ingredients of romantic Italian opera – love, jealousy, political intrigue, large choral scenes, and (spoiler alert) inevitable tragic death.
This production is directed by Magdalena Švecová, with musical staging by Jakub Klecker. It will be staged in collaboration with the junior ballet company, Balet NdB2, as choreographed by Marek Svobodník. Marek Cpin, a master of eloquent and effective simplicity, is responsible for the set design, and Linda Boráros demonstrates her talent for capturing the inspiration of Ancient Egypt in a highly original way in her costumes.
Featured performers are Csilla Boross, Sung Kyu Park, Luis Cansino, Aleš Jenis, and Anastasya Martyniuk, with the debut of Václava Krejčí Housková in the role of Amneris.
“I was delighted to accept the offer of a new musical staging of Verdi’s Aida,” said conductor Jakub Klecker. “A large part of the opera is based on large ensemble and choral scenes, including the triumphal march played on an Aida trumpet. We have purchased brand new instruments for the new production. In my staging of the work I would also like to emphasize the equally essential, but more intimate aspect of the work, with which Verdi works masterfully, particularly in the second half of the opera.”
Aida is packed with impressive music, including famous arias such as “Celeste Aida”, the triumphal march, and the opera’s heartbreaking final quartet. The secret lovers Radamès and Aida are generally placed at the forefront of productions of the work.
Director Magdalena Švecová endeavors to look at the whole story both through the eyes of Amneris, whose love for Radamès causes the loss of human lives, including the life of her chosen one, and through the eyes of Aida, who finds herself in the midst of a different culture.
The premier is Friday at the Janáček Theatre.
Additional performances are 27 September, 4 October, 16 November, 28 December, 31 January 2026, and 14 May 2026. You can find out more information about the production here.
Janáček Brno Festival Earns Two Important Nominations
The international Janáček Brno Festival has received two nominations for the prestigious International Opera Awards 2025.
The nominations are in the Festival category, which takes into account the entire month-long Janáček Brno Festival, and the ‘New Production’ category, which is for ‘The Excursions of Mr Brouček’ (‘Výlety páně Broučkovy’), a co-production of NdB and the Staatsoper Berlin, directed by Robert Carsen.
The nominations refer to the 2024 edition, which was officially opened with the premiere of Carsen’s production of ‘The Excursions of Mr Brouček’ on 1 November 2024 at the Janáček Theatre.
This acclaimed production will also appear as part of the preview events of the Janáček Brno 2026 Festival, scheduled for 7 October 2026 at the Janáček Theatre.
The upcoming 10th anniversary edition of the Janáček Brno Festival will take place from 13 October to 17 November 2026. The full program will be revealed and ticket sales launched on 31 October 2025 at the concert Janáček Na Start! (7pm at the Mahen Theatre).
The Janáček Brno Festival has already won this prestigious award once before, when it was named Festival of the Year in 2018. Within just six editions, it has established itself among the world’s leading opera festivals, becoming the first festival in the Czech Republic to receive this highest honour in the field. Thanks to this recognition, NdB and the festival have joined the ranks of the most distinguished artists and ensembles of the global opera world.
The winners of the International Opera Awards 2025 will be announced on 13 November 2025 in Athens at the Greek National Opera – Stavros Niarchos Hall.
2025-26 NdB Season
Aida is just the first premiere of the coming season. Subsequent opera, ballet, and theatre premieres include:
Premieres of the first half of the season:
- 26. 9. 2025 Aida, opera
- 24. 10. 2025 Kafka, ballet
- 14. 11. 2025 Lidovky judo do riť, drama
- 21. 11. 2025 Pokúšení, drama
Premieres of the second half of the season:
- 23. 1. 2026 changes, drama
- 30. 1. 2026 Divoká kachna, drama
- 6. 2. 2026 Čertova stěna, opera
- 27. 2. 2026 NdB 2: Program 8, ballet
- 20. 3. 2026 Phaedra (Eclipse), drama
- 27. 3. 2026 Fellner’s Helmer and Helmer’s Fellner, drama
- 11. 4. 2026 Agrippina, opera
- 8. 5. 2026 Giselle, ballet
- 15. 5. 2026 The Shining Word, drama
- 12. 6. 2026 The Bat, opera
- 19. 6. 2026 A Midsummer Night’s Dream, drama
Opera is generally performed with Czech, English, and German subtitles. Some theater performances have English surtitles.
Click here for the full NdB schedule for the coming season, and more details of all the performances.
