Cistermúsica Festival reveals its 34th edition
The Alcobaça Music Festival 2026 will take place from 26 June to 31 July and will have ‘Resurrection’ as its theme.
The Cistermúsica season offers cultural programming throughout the year, but it is in the summer that it reaches its peak with the Alcobaça Music Festival. In 2026, the country's largest classical music festival will celebrate its 34th edition between 26 June and 31 July, with approximately fifty performances, under the theme "Resurrection".
This multifaceted concept invites multiple interpretations: from the religious dimension, associated with the belief in life after death; to the metaphorical interpretation of transformation, renewal or individual overcoming; and even a philosophical approach, in which death is transcended by reason, ethics or the legacy that remains throughout time. The idea of Resurrection will be the underlying theme of this edition, finding particularly evident expression in the Festival's opening and closing concerts.
Two magnificent concerts under the sign of Resurrection and Transformation
The opening concert, at the Monastery of Alcobaça, will be performed by the Ludovice Ensemble, one of the most active and prestigious national early music groups, conducted by Miguel Jalôto. The Central Nave will echo with Johann Sebastian Bach's monumental Mass in B minor, BWV 232, a masterpiece by the German master, who readapted choruses and arias from various cantatas to set all parts of a mass to music.
At the closing of the festival, the stage at the Fence of the Monastery will welcome the Alto Minho Youth Orchestra, under the musical direction of the promising conductor Miguel Sepúlveda, who in 2025 conducted, among others, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Dresdner Philharmonie and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. More than 200 musicians, including choir and orchestra, will be on stage to perform Gustav Mahler's monumental Symphony No. 2 in C minor, GMW 30.
Between Bach's liturgical celebration and Mahler's existential journey, these two concerts translate into music the idea of Resurrection as a process of spiritual and human transformation.
"A classic for ALL" with a revamped image that allows for contemporary interpretations
The graphic image of this edition draws on the brilliance of brass instruments for a contemporary interpretation of the classic. The kaleidoscopic composition of the pistons on a trumpet refers to the plurality of perspectives and emotions that musical enjoyment awakens, inviting each listener to a unique experience. This is an invitation to a plural, open and transformative listening experience throughout the Festival.
Organised by ABA – Banda de Alcobaça Associação de Artes, Cistermúsica - Alcobaça Music Festival is supported by Fundação La Caixa, in collaboration with BPI, and the Portuguese Republic – Culture / Directorate-General for the Arts. It is held in strategic partnership with the Municipality of Alcobaça and with the institutional partnership of Museus e Monumentos de Portugal, EPE /Mosteiro de Alcobaça.