New Year celebrations in theatres and philharmonics across Poland
Even though November is still underway, the operatic world is already looking forward to the New Year 2026, when media and concert halls will be filled with coverage of galas, Vienna broadcasts and Strauss waltzes – a tradition that dominates the season every year. This January promises to be particularly interesting in many of Poland’s opera houses and philharmonics. Institutions have prepared New Year concert programs that often go beyond the usual repertoire.
In Białystok, the New Year will begin with a burst of carnival energy. On January 9, the Podlaska Opera and Philharmonic invites audiences to a “Carnival Evening.” Under the baton of Mirosław Jacek Błaszczyk, the orchestra will perform, among others, the suite from “West Side Story,” Gershwin’s F major piano concerto, the overture to “Orpheus in the Underworld,” as well as polkas and waltzes by the Strauss family. Soloists will include pianist Artur Jaroń and sopranos Karolina Kolińska and Daria Lahotska.
On December 31, the Polish National Opera will host the New Year’s Eve gala “An American in Paris.” The program will feature works by Leonard Bernstein and George Gershwin, including the overture to “Candide,” arias from “Porgy and Bess” and “West Side Story,” the blues section from “An American in Paris,” as well as pieces by Leroy Anderson. After the intermission, compositions by Jacques Offenbach, excerpts from “The Tales of Hoffmann,” and “La Vie Parisienne” will be performed. Soloists include Aleksandra Olczyk (soprano), Oreste Cosimo (tenor), Valentina Pluzhnikova (mezzo-soprano) and the Choir and Orchestra of the Polish National Opera conducted by Patrick Fournillier, with Katarzyna Sanocka and Andrzej Sułek hosting the concert.
On New Year’s Day, the Jan Kiepura Mazovian Musical Theatre will present its 21st New Year Concert. Young, talented soloists – Gabriela Legun (soprano), Simone McIntosh (mezzo-soprano), Piotr Buszewski (tenor), Hubert Zapiór (baritone) and Paweł Horodyski (bass) – will be accompanied by the Mazovian Musical Theatre Orchestra under the direction of Norbert Twórczyński. The program will include well-known opera arias and classical gems, as well as pieces from the worlds of musical theatre and crossover music.
On January 3, the Polish Royal Opera will present a “Carnival Concert.” The program includes excerpts from Mozart’s comic operas – arias by Nardo from “The Pretend Gardener,” Cherubino from “The Marriage of Figaro,” and the Papageno-Papagena duet from “The Magic Flute”- as well as excerpts from Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville,” Bizet’s “Carmen” and the Brindisi from “La Traviata.” Soloists include Gabriela Kamińska (soprano), Aneta Łukaszewicz (mezzo-soprano), Sylwester Smulczyński (tenor), Witold Żołądkiewicz (baritone), accompanied by the Polish Royal Opera Orchestra conducted by Jerzy Wołosiuk. Katarzyna Sanocka will host the concert.
On the same day, the National Philharmonic in Warsaw will present a symphonic concert. The program includes choruses from operas and operettas, as well as overtures by Smetana, Lortzing, Verdi, Mozart, Gounod, Chabrier, Strauss, Ponchielli, Nielsen and Rossini. The National Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir take the stage under the direction of Maciej Tomasiewicz, with Bartosz Michałowski overseeing the choir. The concert highlights the richness of ensemble and choral scenes, from Turkish music in “The Abduction from the Seraglio” to Gypsy and Spanish choruses in “La Traviata.”
On January 11, the Warsaw Chamber Opera will host a New Year Concert of music by Bach, Handel and Mozart at the Royal Castle. German soprano Lydia Teuscher will perform with the Warsaw Chamber Opera’s Early Music Ensemble Musicae Antiquae Collegium Varsoviense under the direction of Paul Goodwin. The program includes Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3, Mozart’s “Exsultate, jubilate,” Handel arias, and excerpts from “Music for the Royal Fireworks.”
The Krakow Opera will present “New Year Music Show” on December 31 and January 2. The performance combines American music of the 1950s and 1960s, including evergreen hits by musical and popular music stars such as Judy Garland, Doris Day, Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra. The show tells the story of New Yorkers in a Manhattan music club, with the script and direction by Wojciech Graniczewski.
Also in Krakow, on January 18, the Johann Strauss Orchestra will present a New Year concert titled “The King of Waltz” at the TAURON Arena under the direction of Markus Huber. Audiences will hear waltzes, polkas and marches with modern multimedia staging. Soloists include Thomas Hampson (baritone), Saimir Pirgu (tenor), and Regula Mühlemann (soprano). The program features pieces such as “The Blue Danube,” “Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka,” “Kaiser-Walzer,” “Roses of the South,” and a curated mix of Strauss’s Viennese melodies.
The Silesian Opera in Bytom will present “Viennese Night” by Johann Strauss II in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the “King of Waltz”. The premiere will take place on New Year’s Eve, with subsequent concerts on January 1 and 3. Conducted by Piotr Mazurek, the program will include all the New Year favorites: “The Blue Danube,” “Kaiser-Walzer,” “Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka,” the overture to “Die Fledermaus,” arias and duets from “Der Zigeunerbaron” and “Wiener Blut.” Soloists include Marta Huptas (soprano), Łukasz Załęski (tenor), accompanied by a performance from the Silesian Opera Ballet.
In Poznań, the Stanisław Moniuszko Grand Theatre invites audiences to a series of New Year Concerts on January 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 10, and 11. The repertoire includes classical Viennese pieces, including the “Radetzky March,” performed by the Theatre’s Choir, Ballet, and Orchestra under the direction of Antonello Allemandi, hosted by Jaromir Trafankowski.
“The Night in Paris” New Year concert, on December 31 and January 3 and 4, is presented by the Grand Theatre in Łódź. The program includes French opera and operetta (Saint-Saëns, Offenbach, Ravel, Gounod, Bizet) as well as hits by French artists such as Édith Piaf, Charles Aznavour, Dalida and Jacques Brel. Soloists, Choir, Ballet and Orchestra of the Grand Theatre in Łódź will perform under the direction of Kuba Wnuk, with staging by Hanna Marasz-Fiugajska.
Finally, Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz has planned New Year’s Eve and New Year concerts on December 28–31 and January 1–3. The two-part spectacle combines operatic classics with spectacular stage effects – pyrotechnics, streamers, strobe lighting and smoke. Soloists, choir, ballet and the Opera Nova orchestra will take the stage under the direction of Sebastian Gonciarz and Szymon Jachimek, with Maciej Figas serving as musical director.
For those planning a cozy New Year’s morning at home, the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Concert from the Golden Hall of the Musikverein is a perfect treat. Waltzes, polkas and marches fill the program, performed live on December 30–31 and January 1, though only the New Year’s Day concert will be broadcast. TVP has yet to announce which channel will air it