The 72nd Split Summer Festival Announces the Highlights of the Cultural Season with the Premieres of Don Carlo, Herscht 07769 and Ballet3

PROGRAM
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The Croatian National Theatre Split proudly announces the rich and diverse programme of the 72nd Split Summer Festival, taking place from 14 July to 14 August 2026. One of Croatia's oldest and most prestigious national festivals, Split Summer continues its long-standing tradition of bringing together classical and contemporary artistic expression within the city's unique historic setting, transforming Split's remarkable heritage sites and alternative urban venues into captivating stages for theatre, opera, ballet and music.

The festival will open on 14 July with a spectacular operatic event – the premiere of Giuseppe Verdi's Don Carlo, conducted by Simon Krečič and directed by Goran Golovko. Performed under the open sky on the magnificent Peristyle, one of the Mediterranean's most iconic open-air opera stages, this monumental masterpiece combines the lyrical beauty of Italian opera with the grandeur of French grand opera. Through profound psychological conflicts, powerful choral scenes and Verdi's magnificent orchestration, Don Carlo will set an exceptional artistic standard from the very beginning of the festival.

The festival's major theatrical premiere will be Herscht 07769, based on the acclaimed novel by one of Europe's most important contemporary writers, László Krasznahorkai. Directed by the renowned Ivica Buljan, the production offers a compelling and unsettling vision of contemporary Europe, dissolving the boundaries between reality and the inner worlds of its characters. The raw, expressive setting of Dujmovača, one of Split's most distinctive alternative venues, provides the ideal backdrop for this powerful theatrical work.

Dance enthusiasts can look forward to the premiere of Ballet3, an original contemporary dance project to be staged at the Tourism and Hospitality School Playground. Conceived as a dynamic ballet triptych, the production brings together three internationally acclaimed choreographers with distinctive artistic voices: Mirna Sporiš Miani, Lukas Zuschlag, and Takuya Sumitomo. Exploring the boundaries between body, space and music, Ballet3 transforms a warm summer evening into an immersive experience of contemporary dance and refined artistic expression.

Alongside these three major premieres, audiences will enjoy a rich programme of returning opera favourites, including Nabucco, Nikola Šubić Zrinjski and Ero the Joker (Ero s onoga svijeta); drama productions such as Skup (presented in co-production with the Dubrovnik Summer Festival), The Fox (Lisica), and Judita; as well as numerous concerts, guest performances and exhibitions throughout the month-long festival.

Tickets and the full performance schedule are available at the Croatian National Theatre Split box office and on the festival's official website: www.splitsko-ljeto.hr