Spoleto Festival USA Reveals 2026 Season Celebrating America's 250th Anniversary

Spoleto Festival USA has announced its 2026 season, running May 22–June 7, 2026, featuring more than 110 performances across opera, dance, theater, music, jazz, and community programs. The season arrives at a pivotal national moment—the 250th anniversary of the United States—and is shaped by a unifying theme of freedom of expression, reflecting the role of the arts as a catalyst for connection.

“Freedom of expression is at the heart of why this Festival exists,” said Mena Mark Hanna, General Director and CEO of Spoleto Festival USA. “In this moment—marking 250 years of American history—our 2026 season invites audiences to experience bold new work, revisit enduring masterpieces, and encounter artists who compel us to listen, reflect, and imagine together.”

The 2026 season brings the America 250 theme into focus through a wide-ranging group of programs that reflect the nation's history, artistic voices, and enduring spirit of expression. Highlights include Renée Fleming & Béla Fleck: The Fiddle and the Drum (May 23), celebrating Appalachian folk traditions; An Evening with Ken Burns, presented by Bank of America (May 27), featuring music and discussion drawn from his latest documentary, The American Revolution; George + George (May 29, 30, 31), a world-premiere comedy set at Valley Forge exploring liberty and censorship; Martha Graham Dance Company's Graham 100 (May 22, 23, 24, 25), celebrating the enduring legacy of visionary choreographer Martha Graham; an all-American orchestral program featuring Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring (May 31); Storytelling Through American Composers (June 5,6) by the Festival Chorus; and a robust slate of jazz performances that honor jazz as a defining American art form rooted in freedom, innovation, and cultural exchange. 

Dynamic storytelling takes center stage in this season's dance lineup, sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina, which spans contemporary and classical traditions. MacArthur Fellow Ayodele Casel presents The Remix (June 4-7), a high-energy tap performance blending live music, storytelling, and virtuosic choreography that celebrates the legacy of American tap. Scottish Ballet returns with the U.S. premiere of Mary, Queen of Scots (May 28-30), a sweeping narrative ballet featuring live music by the Festival Orchestra, dramatic storytelling, and striking visual spectacle. 

Extending beyond the stage, Spoleto continues its tradition of free community programming that celebrates Charleston's cultural heritage while expanding access to world-class art. The Untold Story Behind Porgy & Bess (June 2) examines the complex history of one of America's most iconic operas, tracing its roots in Charleston's Gullah-Geechee culture and its lasting impact through live music, excerpts from Lauren Waring Douglas' forthcoming documentary, and a discussion moderated by WCBD News 2 anchor Carolyn Murray. The Duchy (May 31), a new play by Tony-Award winner Denis O'Hare, will be presented as a table reading, offering audiences an exclusive first look at the work and insight into the creative process before its full production in a future Spoleto season.

The season's opera offerings showcase Spoleto's commitment to honoring historical repertoire while presenting bold, inventive approaches that engage audiences of all ages and experience levels. The Old Maid and the Thief (May 22, 25,27, 29), a Spoleto production of Gian Carlo Menotti's 1939 radio opera, is reimagined as a live radio-drama with hand-crafted sound effects, period microphones, and on-stage musicians, creating a witty, immersive, and accessible entry point for opera newcomers. Dido and Aeneas (May 23, 26, 28, 30), Circa's U.S. premiere, fuses Purcell's iconic 1689 opera with acrobatics and modern orchestration under conductor Patrick Dupré Quigley, crafting a visually stunning and emotionally intense reinterpretation. 

Marking her inaugural season as Music Director of the Festival Chorus, Amanda Quist brings the Festival Chorus and Orchestra together for a landmark performance of Mozart's Mass in C Minor (May 29), one of Mozart's most breathtaking achievements with soaring arias and radiant choral passages. The Festival Chorus also turns its focus to American voices in Storytelling Through American Composers (June 5, 6), a program that explores identity, memory, and community through choral works by American composers at the historic St. Matthew's Lutheran Church.

Offering audiences sweeping orchestral grandeur, intimate artistry, and the thrill of world premieres, the Festival Orchestra's symphonic programming unfolds under the direction of Music Director Timothy Myers. The Orchestra performs Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 (May 24) alongside the world premiere of Michael Abels' new work for cello and orchestra, featuring Grammy-winning cellist Zuill Bailey, as well as Mahler's Symphony No. 1 (June 4) paired with Paul Wiancko's new violin concerto written for Livia Sohn. American masterworks are further highlighted in Appalachian Spring and American Classics (May 31) at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, featuring music by Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, and Jessie Montgomery.

At the heart of the Festival's intimate musical offerings, the Bank of America Chamber Music series—led by Charles E. and Andrea L. Volpe Director of Chamber Music Paul Wiancko—invites audiences into a close exploration of artistry and collaboration. The 2026 series features Allison Loggins-Hull as the Suzan D. Boyd Composer-in-Residence, contributing new works and fresh perspectives. Presented in the historic Dock Street Theatre, these concerts highlight the precision, nuance, and expressive power of chamber music while offering a uniquely immersive Festival experience.

Theater programming in 2026 ranges from inventive solo performance to visually arresting physical theater and family-friendly works. Broadway star Patrick Page appears in All the Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain (June 3, 5, 6, 7), a solo show tracing the evolution of iconic Shakespearean villains through humor, analysis, and theatrical storytelling. Australia's Circa presents Humans 2.0 (May 24-25), a visually stunning physical theater piece exploring trust, strength, and human connection through acrobatics and ensemble movement. Family audiences are invited to experience imaginative performances such as Dead as a Dodo (May 29-31) and Alvin Sputnik: Deep Sea Explorer (May 23-25), blending puppetry, music, and storytelling to entertain and inspire younger festivalgoers.

A cornerstone of American culture, the Wells Fargo Jazz series showcases artists who embody freedom, resilience, and continual reinvention. Performances include Terence Blanchard (May 26), honoring Miles Davis and John Coltrane while connecting their revolutionary spirit to his own genre-defying work; Jason Moran (June 1), reimagining Duke Ellington's legacy through improvisation and visual storytelling; rhythm-driven celebrations by Pedrito Martinez Group (June 3) and Charleston native Quentin E. Baxter (May 30), linking Afro-Cuban, Gullah-Geechee, and Lowcountry traditions; and Jazz Artists-in-Residence Sullivan Fortner (June 5–6) and Mali Obomsawin (May 23-24), who illuminate the genre's evolving narrative, rooted in Black and Indigenous histories.