2026 Season: Passion

What prompted us to create the Lakes Area Music Festival in 2009? What continues to draw world-class artists back to this rural community each summer? And what brings you into the concert hall, year after year?

At the heart of it all is PASSION.

This season, we celebrate its many forms: the thrilling spark of an opening gala with internationally acclaimed dancers; the intimate, moonlit confession of Schoenberg’s Transfigured Night; the raw, unguarded emotion of Stravinsky’s Petrushka. Each program invites us to feel more deeply and lean in to listen.

But passion also has its perils. Our operatic centerpiece, Carmen, reminds us how love, desire, and destiny can collide with devastating force. We are honored to welcome Julia Bullock back to LAMF for her debut in this iconic role, brought to life in a new production by our international creative team.

As we gather for long summer days and radiant Minnesota nights, we hope this 18th season rekindles your passion—for music, for community, and for the shared moments that stay with us long after the final note fades.

DOWNLOAD SEASON BOOKLET

Season Opening Gala: Pas de Deux
Friday, July 31, 2026, 6:00PM
Friday, July 31, 2026, 8:00PM
Experience our season-opening gala, where orchestra and dancers from American Ballet Theatre bring music and movement together as one. From classical ballet to sweeping waltzes and sultry tangos, every moment pulses with passion—while supporting LAMF’s largest fundraiser of the year.
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Brahms & The Schumanns
Sunday, August 2, 2026, 3:00PM
Music forged in friendship and passion. Brahms’ fiery Hungarian Rhapsodies, Clara Schumann’s tender Piano Concerto, and Robert Schumann’s soaring Symphony No. 2 reflect the intimate and complicated relationships between these composers.
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Lovers in the Night
Wednesday, August 5, 2026, 7:30PM
Passion beneath the stars. Experience the scintillating rhythms of Manuel de Falla’s 7 Popular Spanish Songs, the moonlit serenity of Turina’s Andalusian Scene, and the spellbinding Transfigured Night by Schoenberg, tracing a furtive moonlight walk between two lovers.
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Celebrating 250
Saturday, August 8, 2026, 7:30PM
Music of America. Join us outdoors for a family-friendly celebration featuring Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever, Copland’s Appalachian Spring, and Jessie Montgomery’s rousing Banner, honoring America’s musical legacy while spotlighting powerful new voices shaping the next 250 years.
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Carmen
Friday, August 14, 2026, 7:30PM
Sunday, August 16, 2026, 3:00PM
Passion that burns too hot. Bizet’s Carmen erupts with raw emotion and intoxicating drama, brought to life by Julia Bullock in her electrifying role debut, in an opera fueled by unforgettable melodies and irresistible intensity.
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Zorongo Flamenco
Saturday, August 15, 2026, 7:30PM
Born of fire, rhythm, and raw emotion, flamenco is music that wears its heart on its sleeve. Rooted in the same Spanish soil that inspired Carmen, this special evening with Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theatre brings the power and virtuosity of the art form to life.
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Haydn's Passion Symphony
Wednesday, August 19, 2026, 7:30PM
Lyricism meets virtuosity. Haydn’s La Passione, Strauss’s Horn Concerto No. 2 with Daniel Hawkins, and Poulenc’s dazzling Sinfonietta shape a vibrant program of dramatic energy, wit, charm, and irresistible melody.
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Dances of Passion
Saturday, August 22, 2026, 7:30PM
Sunday, August 23, 2026, 3:00PM
Rhythms ignite in color. Carlos Simon’s Four Black American Dances, Debussy’s shimmering Ibéria, and Stravinsky’s kaleidoscopic Petrushka create a symphonic feast of rhythm, color, and energy in our season finale.
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2026 PROGRAM AT A GLANCE

GALA: PAS DE DEUX
Friday, July 31, 8 p.m.

BRAHMS & THE SCHUMANNS
Sunday, August 2, 3 p.m.

  • JOHANNES BRAHMS: Hungarian Rhapsodies
  • CLARA SCHUMANN: Piano Concerto in A minor
  • ROBERT SCHUMANN: Symphony No. 2

LOVERS IN THE NIGHT
Wednesday, August 5, 7:30 p.m.

Thalea String Quartet

  • MANUEL DE FALLA: 7 Canciones populares españolas (7 Popular Spanish Songs)
  • JOAQUÍN TURINA: Escena andaluza (Andalusian Scene)
  • ARNOLD SCHOENBERG: Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night)

CELEBRATING 250
Saturday, August 8, 7:30 p.m.

  • Celebrating 250 years of American music, honoring our musical legacy and spotlighting the voices shaping the next 250 years.

CARMEN
Friday, August 14, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, August 16, 3 p.m.

Julia Bullock, Carmen
Paul Appleby, Don José
Evan Hughes, Escamillo
Katerina Burton, Micaëla
Lisenka Heijboer Castañon, stage director
Çağla Karslıoğlu, Scenic and Costume Designer

ZORONGO FLAMENCO
Saturday, August 15, 7:30 p.m.

Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theatre,
Ross Fellrath and Ben Abrahamson, guitar

HAYDN'S PASSION SYMPHONY
Wednesday, August 19, 7:30 p.m.

Daniel Hawkins, horn soloist

    • FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN: Symphony No. 49, “La Passione”
    • RICHARD STRAUSS: Horn Concerto No. 2
    • FRANCIS POULENC: Sinfonietta

DANCES OF PASSION
Saturday, August 22, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, August 23, 3 p.m.

    • CARLOS SIMON: Four Black American Dances
    • CLAUDE DEBUSSY: ‘Ibéria’ from Images
    • IGOR STRAVINSKY: Petrushka (1947)