Mannheimer Sommer

Mannheimer Sommer 2026 — Eleven Days of Music and Theatre in Unusual Locations

The Mannheimer Sommer is the international summer festival of the National Theatre Mannheim (NTM) and has been one of the most interesting programmes in the South German festival summer since 2002. While the NTM's main venue, the Goetheplatz, has been undergoing general renovation since 2023, the theatre is performing in the OPAL — a specially constructed interim opera house on the former Franklin grounds. This unusual location between the city motorway, the Rhein-Neckar-Stadion, and a furniture store has become programmatic: the festival uses it as a stage for the boundary-breaking idea of the 2026 edition.

Programme 2026 — “Let yourselves go beyond boundaries!”

The motto permeates every piece. Mozart's The Magic Flute, directed by Cordula Däuper, opens the festival on June 18 in the OPAL; Monteverdi's L'Orfeo will be performed on June 23 and 24 in the baroque Schlosstheater Schwetzingen. On June 25, Boris Charmatz will present his much-discussed choreography 10000 Gestures set to Mozart's Requiem. The ensemble in residence Wooden Elephant will bring Beyoncé's Lemonade as a string quintet version to the Rhein-Neckar-Stadion and will also give concerts, workshops, and performances at the festival centre. Soprano Diana Damrau returns to the NTM for a recital. Actor Charly Hübner will be a guest with a theatre evening.

Venues — The City as a Stage

The festival uses around a dozen venues across Mannheim and into neighbouring Schwetzingen: OPAL (main venue), Friedenskirche (concerts), Schlosstheater Schwetzingen (baroque opera), Planetarium Mannheim (sound installations), Technoseum (MR-808 robot drum machine by Moritz Simon Geist), Luisenpark (closing landscape music June 28), Rhein-Neckar-Stadion, Rosengarten, Altes Kino Franklin, Studio Werkhaus, and the mobile Festival Centre. The OPAL is conveniently located between Käfertal and the main train station; the NTM offers free shuttle and festival bus connections between the locations.

Mannheim — UNESCO City of Music and City of Theatre

Mannheim (independent city in the Rhein-Neckar district, city code 08222) is Baden-Württemberg's second-largest city with around 320,000 inhabitants and has been a UNESCO City of Music since 2014. It is home to the Popakademie Baden-Württemberg, the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst (University of Music and Performing Arts), and the traditional National Theatre (founded 1779) — Schiller's The Robbers premiered here. The Mannheimer Sommer is the city's most important theatre festival and one of the most ambitious programmes of the Southwest German summer.

Tickets and Advance Sales

Advance ticket sales for the Mannheimer Sommer 2026 are now open. Individual tickets are available depending on the production and seating category; discounts for children (-50% on The Magic Flute Sunday performances), students (-50%), social welfare card holders, and groups (10+ people: -10%, from 20: -25%). Many Wooden Elephant concerts, workshops, and performances are free. Reservations can be made via the NTM box office (O7 18), by phone at +49 621 1680 150, or by email at [email protected].