The 2025-2026 season of El Real Junior (which takes place at the Daoíz y Velarde Cultural Centre, home of this artistic project located in the district of El Retiro) will be performed from 28 September 2025 to 6 July 2026. An initiative that aims to bring music and the performing arts to children and young people with a total of 248 performances, of which 86 will be for schools and 162 for families, suitable for all ages.
The Daoíz y Velarde Cultural Centre is a major cultural and artistic space for children and young people launched by the Teatro Real and Madrid City Council, seeking to broaden their horizons by expanding the artistic offer available to children and families. An initiative that aims to promote access to art and culture, offering great experiences for the whole family.
The programme includes established projects, premières, artists, companies and guest orchestras. Schools also have the opportunity to enjoy the shows put on at the Teatro Real with more school performances throughout the year.
The programme will begin with a concert as part of the Mini-Classics - Discovering Baroque Dance series, followed by the opening concert, performed by the classical music ensemble Forma Antiqva. De sopitu will unite popular tradition with cultured elements of Baroque music.
Opera occupies an important place in the programme with the restaging of The Barber of Seville, premiered in 2023 at the Real Teatro de Retiro, and with a new production of The Magic Flute, featuring a cast of young artists from the fifth edition of Crescendo, a programme run by the Fundación Amigos del Teatro Real that promotes, stimulates and supports the artistic and professional development of up-and-coming lyrical singers.
This new season will also explore tradition from two new perspectives. Teatro Xtremo presents Lazarillo, a chamber opera by David del Puerto that offers a modern take in terms of music and performance on the Spanish novel; and Más acá de los romances, by the company For the fun of it, which explores traditional Spanish ballads.
Musical tales will feature once again thanks to proposals such as Los cuentos de mamá oca, set to music by Ravel, and a musical version of Ariadna y Barbazul by Manuel Sánchez García. The programme also features two classic silent German films, Nosferatu and Metropolis, screened with a live musical accompaniment.
Puppetry also takes centre stage once again, with performances by the company Claroscuro Teatro and a show called La niña que salvará nuestro mundo, a hymn to life and an invitation to recover the stories that are part of us. Meanwhile, the show Un instante en Suspensión will plunge audiences into an immersive experience of music, dance and images.
The Microperas project brings together in a single show the efforts of four institutions as students of the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid, the Escuela Superior de Canto de Madrid and the Real Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático (RESAD) will have the opportunity to stage their new operatic creations. And there will also be plenty of opportunities to enjoy dance through the Christmas performance of The Nutcracker, but also throughout the year with Yumé and the programme for emerging flamenco artists, El cuerpo en danza.
Programme 2025-2026:
- 28 September, 11am and 1pm - Mini-Classics: Discovering Baroque dance
- 4 and 5 October, 12:30pm- Opening Concert (concert marking the start of the season)
- 5 October, 11am and 1pm - ¿Te suena Otello? (educational family concert)
- 11, 12, 18, 19, 25 and 26 October - The Barber of Seville (opera for the whole family)
- 16 November, 11am and 1pm - ¿Te suena El mandarín maravilloso? (educational family concert)
- 31 October (6pm), 1 and 2 November (12pm and 5pm) - Nosferatu (silent cinema with live music)
- 15, 16, 22 and 23 November - Yumé (dance and object theatre)
- 29 November (12pm and 5pm), 30 November (11am and 1pm) - Los cuentos de mamá Oca (musical story)
- 6 and 7 December, 12pm and 5pm - Christmas Concert (Christmas concert with festive marimbas)
- 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19 and 20 December - The Nutcracker (ballet)
- 14 December, 11am and 1pm - ¿Te suena Carmen? (educational family concert)
- 20, 27 and 28 December, 3 and 4 January - Christmas carol concerts (children's choral music)
- 21 December, 12pm - Waltz Workshop (musical workshop for the whole family)
- 26, 27 and 28 December, 2, 3 and 4 January 2026, 12pm and 5pm - Va de Bach (dance)
- 8 January 2026, 11am and 1pm - Mini-Classics: discovering polyphony (mini-concert for babies)
- 10, 11 and 17 January 2026 - La niña que salvará nuestro mundo (Musical tale with puppets and live music )
- 25 marzo 2026, 11am and 1pm - ¿Te suena Ariadna y Barbazul? (Educational family concert)
- 31 January, 1, 7 and 8 February 2026 - Lazarillo (modern opera for children and teenagers)
- 14 and 15 February 2026, 5pm - Metropolis (silent film with live music)
- 15 February 2026, 5pm - Gran Fiesta de Carnaval en la ópera (Carnival celebration for the whole family)
- 21, 22 and 28 February 2026 - Más acá de los romances (musical theatre)
- 22 February 2026, 11am and 1pm - ¿Te suena Julio César? (educational family concert)
- 8 March 2026, 11am and 1pm - Mini-Classics: discovering world folklore (mini-concert for babies)
- 15 March 2026, 11am and 1pm - ¿Te suena La flauta? (educational family concert)
- 21, 22, 28 and 29 March 2026 - The Magic Flute (opera)
- 11, 12, 18 and 19 April 2026 - Un instante en suspensión (art, music and science)
- 26 April 2026, 11am and 1pm - ¿Te suena La novia vendida? (educational family concert)
- 29 and 20 April 2026 - Microperas (new contemporary music )
- 17, 23 and 24 May 2026 - Ariadna y Barbazul (theatre with live music )
- 24 May 2026, 11am and 1pm - ¿Te suena Romeo and Julieta? (educational family concert)
- 31 May 2026, 11am and 1pm - Mini-Classics: Discovering our grandparents’ music (mini-concert for babies)
- 6, 7, 13 and 14 June 2026 - Cuerpo en danza: flamenco joven and ritmos urbanos (dance and flamenco music with urban beats)
- 7 June 2026, 11am and 1pm - ¿Te suena El trovador? (educational family concert)
- 20 June 2026, 7pm - Concierto Agrupación Musical Inclusiva
- 27 June 2026 (12pm and 5pm) and 28 June 2026 (12pm) - La Magia del Musical (summer concert)
- 4 and 5 July 2026, 12:00pm - Summer Concert (last concert of the season for the whole family)
- 5 July 2026, 5pm - Inclusive Concert (Inclusive concert in collaboration with Fundación Sesé)
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