Bayrerische Staatsoper München

The Bavarian Staatsoper had its 2025/26 season first premiere yesterday with Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Night Before Christmas, conducted by Vladimir Jurowski and staged by Barrie Kosky. Expectations were understandably high: a beloved title, an exceptional predominantly Russian cast, and a director known for theatrical imagination. Instead of entering a world of winter magic, however, the audience found itself in what felt more like a circus arena than a Christmas tale. Throughou