Szeged Open-Air Festival announces diverse 95th anniversary season
Hungary’s largest outdoor theater, the Szeged Open-Air Festival, will celebrate its 95th anniversary next summer with a rich and diverse lineup, including a world premiere folk dance production, an opera, a film music concert, a returning musical hit, and a Hungarian premiere. The 2026 season on Dóm Square will run from July 4 through August 22, the festival announced in a press release.
Five large-scale productions and fourteen performance nights will fill the historic square, continuing a tradition that has made the Szeged Open-Air Festival one of the country’s most prominent cultural events since its founding in 1931.
The 2026 season opens on July 4 with Dawn of Heroes (Hősök hajnala), a large-scale premiere by the Hungarian National Dance Ensemble. The production commemorates the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Mohács and will be performed for the first time in Szeged. Set design is by Kázmér Tóth. The first part of the performance, Dance Chronicle on the Deeds of György Dózsa, features actor József Wunderlich in the title role, with music by Tamás Szarka. The second act, Requiem for Mohács, is a new dance vision by Zoltán Zsuráfszky, Artist of the Nation and Kossuth Prize laureate, and fellow Kossuth Prize-winning choreographer Zsuzsa Zs. Vincze, with music by Benjamin Eredics.
Following its success in the previous season, The 3 Musketeers will return to the Dóm Square stage for four performances, on July 10, 11, 17, and 18. The spectacular adventure musical, written by the Bolland–Bolland–Breedland trio, will once again bring to life the twists and turns of Dumas’ classic story with an outstanding cast and creative team. Nearly 4,000 tickets have already been sold during the early pre-sale period, but seats are still available for all four dates.
The internationally acclaimed Budafok Dohnányi Orchestra will also perform on Dóm Square. The ensemble will bring to Szeged the film music concert that has become its signature program in Hungary. The Cinefonic concert, scheduled for July 24, will offer a rich visual and musical experience, presenting some of the most beloved themes from film history alongside hits from recent blockbusters. Guido Mancusi, the ensemble’s first guest conductor and a noted composer, will lead the performance.
Opera lovers can look forward to Bizet’s Carmen, to be staged on July 31 and August 1. One of the most frequently performed operas in the world, Carmen celebrates two anniversaries in 2026: 150 years since its Hungarian premiere and 15 years since it was last performed at the Szeged Open-Air Festival. The production by the Csokonai National Theater of Debrecen is directed by Kossuth Prize-winning Tamás Juronics. Set during Mexico’s Day of the Dead carnival, the Hungarian-language production will come to life through the distinctive visual design of Jászai Mari Award-winning artist László Erkel Kentaur.
The Dóm Square program will conclude with an Open-Air Festival premiere: Wicked, the hit Broadway musical by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, based on Gregory Maguire’s novel. The rights to present the musical in Hungary have been granted to the Erkel Theater, which will stage the production under the direction of Vajk Szente. The premiere will take place on August 14, followed by five additional performances on August 15, 16, 20, 21 and 22. The story of the witches of Oz will feature leading Hungarian musical stars and actors performing exclusively in Szeged.
The 95th anniversary season — for which ticket sales are already underway — will combine the best traditions of the nearly century-old Szeged Open-Air Festival with new artistic ambitions. The organizers promise large-scale productions, diverse genres and high artistic standards, featuring renowned guest performers and companies, innovative stage technology and a commitment to quality entertainment.
Tickets are available through the Szeged Open-Air Festival’s website, at the Festival Box Office in Szeged, and through the Interticket nationwide network of ticket offices.
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