Teatro Mayor Unveils 152-Performance 2027 Season Highlighting Beethoven and García Márquez
Teatro Mayor Unveils 152-Performance 2027 Season Highlighting Beethoven and García Márquez
The Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo in Bogotá has unveiled its 2027 cultural calendar, announcing a program of 152 performances spanning opera, classical music, dance, and theater. The season highlights international collaborations and marks significant anniversaries for Ludwig van Beethoven and Gabriel García Márquez.
The Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo in Bogotá has unveiled its 2027 cultural calendar, announcing a program of 152 performances spanning opera, classical music, dance, and theater. The season highlights international collaborations and marks significant anniversaries for Ludwig van Beethoven and Gabriel García Márquez.
The institution, which opened in 2010, describes the upcoming schedule as a reaffirmation of its position as one of Colombia’s leading cultural stages and a key meeting point for international performing arts. Since its inception, the theater has developed an ambitious program designed to place Bogotá in conversation with established cultural institutions across Europe and Latin America.
The 2027 season opens with a robust operatic lineup. A principal production is Ludwig van Beethoven’s "Fidelio," presented in collaboration with La Compañía Estable. The production features the Gürzenich-Orchester Köln under the direction of Colombian conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada, with stage direction by Pedro Salazar.
Giuseppe Verdi’s "Rigoletto" will follow, featuring the Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Patrick Fournillier, with Salazar again directing. The opera program also includes Francis Poulenc’s "La voix humaine," Pietro Mascagni’s "Cavalleria rusticana" presented in concert with the National Symphony Orchestra and National Choir of Colombia, and "Tristana," a contemporary production inspired by the novel by Spanish writer Benito Pérez Galdós. A zarzuela gala will conclude the operatic segment.
Orchestral music forms a core component of the year’s schedule. The Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, one of Europe’s historic symphonic ensembles, opens the major concert series on January 31 under Orozco-Estrada. The season features several high-profile international artists, including Spanish guitarist Pablo Sainz-Villegas, violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and her ensemble, the Mutter’s Virtuosi, and French-Canadian cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras.
Queyras is scheduled to perform a demanding program comprising all six of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cello Suites. One of the season’s most ambitious undertakings is Gustav Mahler’s Eighth Symphony, known as the "Symphony of a Thousand." This monumental composition will unite the Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia, the National Choir of Colombia, the Philharmonic Youth Choir, and the Philharmonic Children’s Choir.
The schedule also coincides with the 60th anniversary of the Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra (OFB). Celebrations include a series of concerts featuring Anton Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony with German conductor Christoph Eschenbach, a tribute to the Colombian tiple by Juan Manuel Araque, and "Echoes of Beethoven," conducted by Henrik Schaefer with Colombian-Austrian pianist Sergio Posada.
The National Symphony Orchestra will present Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto with Dutch pianist Gile Bae, alongside Osvaldo Golijov’s "La Pasión según San Marcos," a Latin American interpretation of the Passion narrative.
In March, the theater hosts the eighth Bogotá International Classical Music Festival, titled "Bogotá es Beethoven 200." Running from March 24 to 27 across four venues, the festival commemorates the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s death. It will present 18 concerts, including two free performances, featuring the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Belcea Quartet, Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos, pianists Enrico Pace and Gottlieb Wallisch, and tenor Christoph Prégardien.
Dance offerings include international perspectives from Colombia’s Incolballet, which will present "Carmen," "Zorba the Greek," and Tchaikovsky’s "The Nutcracker." Spanish choreographer Antonio Najarro brings "Romance sonámbulo," inspired by Federico García Lorca’s poetry, while Argentina’s National Folkloric Ballet presents "Enlazados," celebrating traditional dance from the southern continent. Contemporary dance features productions by French choreographer Simon Le Borgne, Colombian company Gregarios, and Basque company CieloRaso.
The season also marks the centenary of Gabriel García Márquez’s birth. The Teatro Mayor will host a dedicated program including "Gabo 100: In Memoriam" by Teatro Cenit and "Úrsula Iguarán, delirio sin fin" by Teatro Tierra. A new musical work dedicated to the Nobel laureate, performed by French contemporary ensemble L’Itinéraire, extends the celebrations into experimental music.
Beyond classical traditions, the "Colombia es Música" program features artists such as Las Añez, Marta Gómez, María Cristina Plata, Piangua, Colombia Negra, and Oscar Acevedo Big Band. Bogotá will also host launches for three major musical gatherings: the 60th Festival de la Leyenda Vallenata, the 53rd Festival de Música Andina Colombiana Mono Núñez, and the 31st Festival de Música del Pacífico Petronio Álvarez.
The theater schedule includes productions ranging from Shakespeare-inspired Argentine performance to contemporary Spanish drama and new Colombian stage works. Younger audiences are addressed through "Conejo azul," the winning production of the theater’s 2027 children’s performance creation competition.
The Teatro Mayor continues to emphasize social responsibility and sustainability through initiatives such as Cien Mil Niños al Mayor, Teatro Digital, and Teatropedia, which aim to expand access to performing arts for children and young people. Its Teatro Verde program features 17 productions addressing environmental themes.
For information on the complete 2027 program, visit www.teatromayor.org.
R.Joshi--MT
