Ohrid Summer 2026 opens with the gala concert Love on July 12 at the Ancient Theatre - on stage Ermonela Jaho, the soprano The Economist named "the world's most celebrated soprano", and tenor Charles Castronovo from the Metropolitan Opera. Tickets cost 1200 denars.

Ermonela Jaho is an Albanian opera soprano born in 1974 and today ranks among the most sought-after voices in the world. She has performed at the Royal Opera House in London, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, La Scala in Milan, the Paris Opera, and the Vienna State Opera. She is the winner of Artist of the Year at the International Classical Music Awards 2023 and Best Female Singer at the German OPER Awards 2024. Charles Castronovo is an American tenor with a long career on the world's greatest opera stages - an equally regular guest at the Metropolitan Opera and Covent Garden. The Macedonian Opera and Ballet will also perform under the baton of Italy's Marco Boemi.

The Love gala concert that officially opens the 66th Ohrid Summer is a rare encounter between world opera elite and Macedonian performers under the night sky of the Ancient Theatre - natural acoustics and a historical stage whose atmosphere is unmatched on the Balkans.

The concert is on July 12, 2026 at 21:00 at the Ancient Theatre in Ohrid. Tickets cost 1200 denars and are available via karti.com.mk.