Alte Oper Nights

About this event

Alte Oper Nights returns for a second edition, turning the neo-Renaissance concert hall into an urban festival playground for three autumn evenings. Each night runs on a choose-your-own-adventure format: around ten short concerts are spread across the building's different halls, so you drift from room to room as the mood takes you. The 2026 lineup brings together artists who thrive on genre collisions. Polish bassist Kinga Głyk blends jazz, rock, blues and funk into groove-heavy solo sets; the percussion ensemble Repercussion layers acoustic textures with electronic beats; and accordion virtuoso Richard Galliano — a central figure in French jazz musette — shares the bill with rising kora player and singer Momi Maiga, whose music bridges West African griot traditions and contemporary jazz. The CelloOctet Amsterdam and classical accordionist Martynas Levickis add further voices to a programme that treats musical boundaries as suggestions rather than rules. Beyond the concerts, a silent film screening of Walther Ruttmann's 1927 classic "Berlin – Die Sinfonie der Großstadt" gets a live score, and talks curated by the non-profit Hertie Foundation open up conversations around city life and cultural encounter. When the last concerts end, the Albert Mangelsdorff Foyer turns into a club where DJ sets keep the energy going into the night. The festival is designed for an open-minded, cosmopolitan crowd — you can come solo and follow your ears, or make an evening of it with friends. The building-wide light and sound installation means there is always something pulling your attention in a new direction.