Hans Zimmer and the UAE National Orchestra are among the latest additions to the Abu Dhabi Festival 2026 line-up, which spans orchestral music, opera, ballet, jazz and contemporary performance.
Running from October 10 to December 19 under the theme Wisdom of Culture, the festival will take place across the emirate with venues including Etihad Arena, Cultural Foundation, Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Arts Centre at NYU Abu Dhabi.
Here are the highlights of the Abu Dhabi Festival performance programme, with ticketing details and venue information yet to be announced.
UAE National Orchestra: October 10 at Etihad Arena
The UAE National Orchestra will open the festival season with one of their biggest shows to date at Etihad Arena. The ensemble, which brings together musicians from across the country, will be joined by Georgian pianist David Khrikuli, one of the rising talents of his generation.
Show starts 8pm
Sondra Radvanovsky and Vincenzo Scalera: October 17 at The Red Theater, The Arts Centre at NYU Abu Dhabi
American-Canadian soprano Sondra Radvanovsky will charge through arias and songs by Bellini, Verdi and Puccini, in a performance accompanied by Italian-American pianist Vincenzo Scalera. The duo will also present songs by Rachmaninoff, the famous Letter scene from Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, as well as three compositions by Richard Strauss.
Show starts 8pm
Hans Zimmer: November 13 at Etihad Arena
Hans Zimmer will bring The Next Level tour to Etihad Arena, transforming some of his best-known film scores into a large-scale production combining orchestra, electronic music and immersive visuals.
The Oscar and Grammy-winning German composer has written music for films including The Lion King, Gladiator, Inception, Interstellar and Dune. The concert reworks pieces from across his career for the arena stage, presenting them through new arrangements and an expanded live production.
Show starts 8.30pm
American Ballet Theatre: November 21 at Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental
Dubbed one of the greatest dance companies in the world, the American Ballet Theatre will perform works by three American choreographers, each of whom brings a unique style and emotion. Expect Twyla Tharp’s Sextet, with its playfulness and unorthodox nature; the sombre and meditative work of Alexei Ratmansky’s Serenade after Plato’s Symposium; and George Balanchine’s classic Theme and Variations, cast against the music of Tchaikovsky.
Show starts 8pm
Algarabia: November 26 at Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental
In a conflation between flamenco and Arab poetic traditions, musicians from Spain’s University of Navarra Symphony Orchestra will perform with dancers and actors from various disciplines.
The story revolves around an Arab girl who embarks on a journey to study ancient botanical theories. Her intellectual curiosity becomes a natural fit with a Spanish florist’s reverence for the scents and colours of flowers.
Show starts 8pm
Verdi’s Opera Gala: November 29 at Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental
Marking 125 years since the composer’s death, this programme of Giuseppe Verdi’s work is led by soprano Maria Agresta and tenor Giorgio Berrugi, and includes selections from Nabucco, I Vespri Siciliani, Otello and La Traviata, alongside orchestral overtures and duets drawn from Verdi’s wider catalogue.
Show starts 8pm
Lisa Batiashvili and Giorgi Gigashvili: December 10 at Cultural Foundation
Georgian musicians Lisa Batiashvili and Giorgi Gigashvili will perform several classical compositions by Beethoven, Bartok and Franck. They will also present a new piece by Israeli-Georgian composer Josef Bardanashvili.
Show starts 8pm
Minsoo Sohn: December 11 at Cultural Foundation
The Well-Tempered Clavier by Bach was originally intended as a teaching exercise, showing the nuances of every major and minor key. Minsoo Sohn will take the 24 preludes and fugues from the first book, bearing the intricacies that make the compositions masterpieces beyond their pedagogical value.
The Korean-American pianist is known for his cerebral and poignant performances, taking listeners through a vast spectrum of human emotion through the different musical keys, expounding what each can evoke.
Show starts 8pm
Dhafer Youssef: December 19 at Louvre Abu Dhabi’s Auditorium Plaza
Dhafer Youssef will bridge sounds from the East and West in a performance with his quintet. Known for his transcendental vocals and mastery of the oud, the Tunisian maestro is celebrated for merging jazz principles with Arab and North African musical traditions, while also drawing from European classical, Turkish and Indian sources.
His concerts are often cutting-edge, textured with electronic elements. He is expected to perform tracks from his latest album Shiraz, which has been described as his most personal, centred on his relationship with his wife, filmmaker Shiraz Fradi.
Show starts 8pm
