Verdi's Simon Boccanegra at the Teatro Real, designed by Anish Kapoor

The corsair who became Doge of Genoa returns to the Teatro Real in a new production by Pierre Audi, with monumental sets by sculptor Anish Kapoor. One of the big opera events of Christmas in Madrid. 🎭🌊

Nicola Luisotti conducts the Teatro Real Chorus and Orchestra, with Ludovic Tézier and Daniel Luis de Vicente alternating in the title role.

🎭 SIMON BOCCANEGRA · GIUSEPPE VERDI

📅 16 December 2026 to 9 January 2027 (12 performances)

🕐 7.30 pm · Sundays 20 and 27 December and 3 January, 6 pm

📍 Teatro Real · Plaza de Isabel II, s/n

🎟️ Tickets from €19

📖 The opera

Opera in a prologue and three acts, libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and Arrigo Boito after Antonio García Gutiérrez's play. Verdi premiered it in Venice in 1857 and revised it in 1881, the version performed today.

It tells the story of Simon, a former corsair elected Doge of Genoa, caught between politics, factional strife and the search for a lost daughter. The cast also includes Hrachuhí Bassénz, Mané Galoyan, John Relyea, Francesco Meli and Piero Pretti.

🏛️ The Teatro Real

Opened in 1850 opposite the Royal Palace, the Teatro Real is Spain's great opera house. Since reopening in 1997 it has become one of Europe's leading opera theatres, with its own productions touring the world's major stages.

ℹ️ Good to know: Running time about 3 hours. Co-produced with the New National Theatre Tokyo and the Finnish National Opera. Daniel Montané conducts on 9 January. Sung in Italian with surtitles.

✨ Pure Verdi, on a stage built by a contemporary sculptor.