A Night of Opera in Berlin: René Barbera, Florian Sempey and Alisa Medvedeva Join the Filharmonie Brno.
Europe rarely fits on one stage. On Monday, 2 November 2026, it comes close: the Operngala at the Philharmonie Berlin gathers ten European composers from five nations – plus one Brazilian guest – into a single programme, performed by the Filharmonie Brno under Maestro Arkady Beryn with tenor René Barbera, baritone Florian Sempey and soprano Alisa Medvedeva.
Follow the route. It starts in Mozart’s Vienna with the overture to Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni’s “Fin ch’han dal vino” and the duet “Là ci darem la mano”. It crosses the Alps for the largest stop, Italy: Rossini, Donizetti, Verdi, Puccini and Mascagni. It turns to Bizet’s Paris for the Carmen Prelude and the Toreador Song, heads east to Tchaikovsky’s Russia for the Onegin Polonaise and the finale of the Fourth Symphony, and comes home to Dvořák’s Bohemia with a Slavonic Dance. The Brazilian showpiece “Tico Tico no fubá” is the one stamp from outside the continent.
The orchestra is itself Central Europe in miniature. The Filharmonie Brno, founded in 1956 in the Moravian capital and once led by Sir Charles Mackerras, is one of the Czech Republic’s principal orchestras. Maestro Prof. Arkady Beryn, who conducts, has more than forty years of professional experience and a career that covers the same map: Chief Conductor of the Internationale Symphoniker Deutschland from 2003 to 2011, guest conductor of the Berliner Symphoniker, the Leipziger Symphoniker, the Camerata Salzburg, the Győr Philharmonic and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, and a regular presence in the Philharmonie Berlin, the Golden Hall of the Vienna Musikverein and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. He has appeared with Aida Garifullina, Roberto Alagna, José Carreras and Maxim Vengerov, and holds the Grand Prix of an international competition in Luxembourg.
The soloists extend the map across the Atlantic and back. Barbera, from Texas, was the first singer to win all three top prizes at Plácido Domingo’s Operalia competition and now sings at the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, the Opéra de Paris and the Vienna and Bavarian State Operas.
Sempey, from the Bordeaux region, is the Rossini Figaro of his generation – Opéra de Paris, Covent Garden, Pesaro, Rome – and a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres. Soprano Alisa Medvedeva, a graduate of the Saint Petersburg Conservatoire, has performed internationally at venues including Dubai Opera, Wiener Stadthalle and Mozarthaus Vienna, with further appearances in Paris, Monaco, Porto Cervo, St. Moritz and Bucharest. She has shared the stage with internationally renowned artists including Andrea Bocelli, Il Divo, Vittorio Grigolo and Luca Salsi.
The setting is Hans Scharoun’s Großer Saal, opened in 1963: 2,440 seats in terraces around the orchestra, the design that concert halls across Europe have followed ever since. The Operngala-Nacht begins at 20:00, tickets are available via Eventim.
EVENT INFORMATION
Operngala-Nacht – Opera Gala at the Philharmonie Berlin
Monday, 2 November 2026, 20:00
Philharmonie Berlin – Großer Saal
Herbert-von-Karajan-Straße 1, 10785 Berlin, Germany
Conductor: Maestro Arkady Beryn
Soloists: René Barbera, tenor; Florian Sempey, baritone; Alisa Medvedeva, soprano
Orchestra: Filharmonie Brno (Brno Philharmonic)
Programme: Arias, duets, overtures and intermezzi by Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Puccini, Bizet, Verdi, Mascagni, Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini, Dvořák and Zequinha de Abreu
Tickets: from €26.50 via Eventim – eventim.de/artist/philharmonie-berlin/operngala-nacht-philhamonie-berlin-4122419
Event page: Philharmonie Berlin – berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/concert/calendar/57371
Event listing: visitBerlin – visitberlin.de/en/event/brno-philharmonic-opera-gala-night