Dubai Opera has lifted the curtain on its ninth season, as it is set to welcome more than 150 performances and 50 international productions, inviting legends like Plácido Domingo and José Carreras to the Emirati stage. The lineup also brings Broadway’s Wicked to Middle Eastern soil for the first time ever, and also features the region’s debut of piano superstar Yuja Wang.
Dubai is often branded as the best city to work in, the best city to live in, and the best city to travel to.
But the reason behind this bold statement is that Dubai is slowly becoming the leading cultural capital in the world, a fact just confirmed by the Dubai Opera’s highly anticipated 2025 – 2026 season lineup.
“Dubai Opera is an iconic venue that has become a cornerstone of Dubai’s cultural landscape and events calendar,” said Ahmed Al Khaja, CEO of Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment. “This new season will further underline its importance to the city’s creative sectors.”
The spectacular season invited regional as well as international media and leading cultural figures to Dubai during its opening gala, and has set the bar too high for future global stages, demonstrating the power of art to inspire and connect.
Let’s Draw the Curtains of Dubai Opera’s Highly Anticipated 2025 – 2026 Season
This season will welcome over 50 international productions and more than 1,000 artists from around the world, spanning opera, ballet, musicals, concerts, Arabic music, comedy, and theatre. The 2025 – 2026 season is going to be the most ambitious season since the inauguration of Dubai Opera in 2016.
The whole of Dubai operates on a strategy of inclusivity, especially in the arts, entertainment, and tourism departments. Enhancing the cultural fabric of Dubai is an impressive strategy to attract global talent and offer world-class performing arts to tourists and residents. The ripple effect that such events create gives birth to terrific opportunities for the restaurants, hotels, and retail sector of Dubai.
Shaima Rashed Al Suwaidi, CEO of the Arts, Design & Literature Sector at Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, puts it like this: “Dubai Opera continues to play an important role in Dubai’s cultural and creative landscape, offering a stage for discovery and artistic excellence. Through such partnerships, we strengthen the performing arts as a vital pillar of community life and advance our vision of positioning Dubai as a global centre for culture.”
Revealing the Full Program of Dubai Opera’s 2025 – 2026 Season
The opening performances of the gala in Downtown Dubai launched this season in September 2025 with a stirring trilogy featuring Puccini’s La Bohème, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony alongside the “Emperor” Piano Concerto, and Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake.
It was a grand display of culture and heritage. The evening commenced with the UAE National Anthem performed by the Arabic Music Institute Ensemble, which was followed by a duet, ‘O, soave fanciulla from La Bohème, sung by soloists from the Hungarian State Opera.
“It’s about tradition and innovation meeting on one stage,” said Dr. Paolo Petrocelli, head of Dubai Opera. “We aspire to foster dialogue, spark imagination, and deepen appreciation for the arts as a vital force for progress.”
Opera & Classical Music
Opera begins the season with legendary productions.
The Hungarian State Opera’s staging of timeless La Bohème will run from 18 to 20 September 2025, followed by Handel’s Tamerlano, the reimagined opera that merges Uzbek instruments with Western baroque, from 10 to 11 January 2026.
On 26 March 2026, the most long-awaited debut would be from Yuja Wang, the Chinese virtuoso pianist renowned for dazzling audiences from Carnegie Hall to great stages in Europe such as Vienna. Her performance will be presented by M Premiere and House of Pianos. The tickets of this performance are expected to sell out the fastest within hours of their release.
Opera legends Plácido Domingo and José Carreras are also returning for the Stars of the Century Opera Gala on 22 December 2025. This performance would mark Dubai Opera’s 10th anniversary. Meanwhile, orchestral debuts of the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra and the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia will also happen.
Ballet & Dance
Ballet lovers are eagerly waiting for The Hungarian National Ballet’s Swan Lake, which will spread its magic from 25 to 28 September 2025. On 18 to 21 December, 2025, the festive classic The Nutcracker will introduce the spectators to Clara and her Prince, and the Dubai debut of Roberto Bolle “Roberto Bolle & Friends gala” will also take place on 6 November, 2025. The production, which is an epitome of contemporary works and classical masterpieces, became a global sensation due to its brilliance and versatility.
Dubai Opera proudly presents its long-standing partnership with Van Cleef & Arpels, which has sponsored the ballet and dance since 2016.
Musical Theatre
For the first time on Middle Eastern soil, Broadway’s Wicked will premiere at Dubai Opera. The global sensation will run from 28 January 2025 to 15 February 2026. Known all around the world for Stephen Schwartz’s iconic score, like “Defying Gravity” and the reimagining of Oz through the eyes of Elphaba and Glinda, the production will be co-presented by Dubai Opera and Broadway Entertainment Group.
For nostalgia, Grease is arriving. The feel-good rock ’n’ roll musical will run from 24 October to 2 November, 2025. Whereas Rumi: The Musical, written by Dana Al Fardan and Nadim Naaman, will arrive from 4 to 7 June 2026. It will transform the opera into a moving celebration of the life and poetry of the 13th-century poet, made even more beautiful by Middle Eastern and Western musical traditions.
Concerts
The classics are timeless. The concert’s lineup will actually tell who is dominating the current landscape of global music.
Indie folk duo Kings of Convenience (16 October 2025), Grammy- and Oscar-winning musician Jon Batiste (23 November 2025), Balkan’s acclaimed musician Goran Bregović (10 December 2025), and Spain’s flamenco-pop sensation India Martínez (12 April 2026) will all perform on the mentioned dates.
Other highlights include André Reyes with the Gipsy Kings on 8 May 2026, a celebration of International Jazz Day by Blue Note Records (30 April 2026), and tributes to the 40-year career of the iconic Iranian star Mehran Modiri (13 November 2025).
Arabic Music
Arabic music will also take center stage at Dubai Opera season 2025-2026. The special appearances from Najwa Karam (30 September, 2025), Elissa (3 November, 2025), Omar Khairat (24 December, 2025), Marwan Khoury and Faia Younan (1 October, 2025), Hany Shaker (23 December, 2025), Khalid Abdulrahman (4 January, 2026), and the Yemenis Orchestra (14 December, 2025).
Theatre & Comedy
M Premiere and Dubai Opera will present Tolstoy’s War and Peace on 21 January 2026 with a five-hour spellbinding adaptation by Russia’s Vakhtangov Theatre and directed by Rimas Tuminas.
On the flip side, the Dubai Comedy Festival between 3 and 12 October 2025 will unite over 200 nationalities through laughter, followed later by the beloved British comedian Rob Beckett’s stand-up show Giraffe on 22 January 2026.
Dubai Opera Partnerships – Some Old, Some New
For the 2025 – 2026 season, Dubai Opera has announced HSBC as its new official partner, American Hospital as its community healthcare sponsor, and Amouage as its fragrance partner. The collaborations that have long been forged with American Express Middle East and Van Cleef & Arpels will also continue throughout this season.
Dubai Opera, since it opened in 2016, has been a bold experiment and a flagship institution. Its 2,000-seat auditorium allows it to morph and adapt to host everything from West End musicals and philharmonic orchestras, as well as conferences and comedy nights.
“We bring to Dubai productions of the highest caliber,” said Dr. Petrocelli, Head of Dubai Opera. “Through this work, we aspire to enrich the cultural landscape of the United Arab Emirates.”
