Friday 13 November, around half past six in the evening. You close the suite door, step outside, and about eight minutes later you're at the Teatro di San Carlo. At 19:00, Daniel Oren conducts Beethoven's Ninth Symphony: around an hour and a quarter of music, with no interval.
In Naples, in November 2026, four dates are worth marking in the diary: at the Teatro di San Carlo, Boléro on the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 10th, Beethoven's Ninth on the 13th and 14th, and the Chopin recital by Louis Lortie on the 24th; at the Museo di Capodimonte, BIVI, by Igor x Moreno, on the 14th and 15th.
Boléro at the Teatro di San Carlo, 5 to 10 November
Boléro at the San Carlo is a triple bill of dance: Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, choreographed by Renato Zanella; Rachmaninoff's Three Preludes, choreographed by Ben Stevenson; and Ravel's Boléro, choreographed by Maurice Béjart. Jonathan Darlington conducts; the evening lasts around two and a half hours, with two intervals.
There are five performances: Thursday 5 November at 20:00, Friday 6 at 19:00, Saturday 7 at 20:00, Sunday 8 at 17:00 and Tuesday 10 at 20:00. Sunday's leaves the dinner hour free: you'll find a few addresses in our restaurant guide. A trip built around a single performance is set out in Boléro at the San Carlo.
November is also the month the San Carlo was born: it opened on the evening of 4 November 1737, the name day of King Charles of Bourbon, with Pietro Metastasio's Achille in Sciro (Achilles on Skyros), set to music by Domenico Sarro.
Beethoven's Ninth at the San Carlo, 13 and 14 November
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, the 'Choral', is on at the San Carlo on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 November 2026, at 19:00 both evenings. Daniel Oren conducts; the soloists are Louise Alder, Ekaterine Buachidze, Stefan Pop and Michele Pertusi. It lasts around an hour and a quarter, with no interval.
At the San Carlo, latecomers are only admitted at the first interval, and the Ninth has none: anyone arriving late does not get in. Doors open an hour before curtain-up; the theatre recommends arriving at least twenty minutes early. If this concert is what's bringing you to Naples, read Beethoven at the San Carlo.
BIVI at the Museo di Capodimonte, 14 and 15 November
On Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November 2026, the Museo di Capodimonte presents BIVI, a site-specific performance by Igor x Moreno (Igor Urzelai and Moreno Solinas) inspired by Annibale Carracci's Ercole al bivio (The Choice of Hercules), for the Movimentale festival. In the Salone delle Feste, four artists combine dance, singing and live music; there are two performances a day, at 17:00 and 18:00.
From Follaky to Capodimonte takes about 20 minutes by taxi from Vico Monteroduni 16, or about 50 by bus; on foot it would take over an hour. The festival is covered in Movimentale at Capodimonte.
Three nights, from Thursday 12 to Sunday 15 November, take in both the Ninth and BIVI:
- Thursday 12: arrival and check-in in person with Monica or Fabio, between 15:00 and 20:00.
- Friday 13: the Ninth at the San Carlo, at 19:00.
- Saturday 14: the seafront in the morning, about a 7-minute walk away; BIVI at Capodimonte at 17:00 or 18:00.
- Sunday 15: check-out by 10:00, which on Sundays is done from Vico Monteroduni 16, one of the two entrances.
Louis Lortie and Chopin at the San Carlo, Tuesday 24 November
On Tuesday 24 November 2026 at 20:00, Louis Lortie plays an all-Chopin programme at the San Carlo, as part of the piano festival, in collaboration with the Associazione Alessandro Scarlatti: from the Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante, Op. 22, to the Polonaise-fantaisie, Op. 61. The recital lasts around an hour and a half, with an interval.
For three nights midweek: arrive on Monday 23, spend Wednesday on one of our itineraries, and set off again on Thursday 26. We cover it in Louis Lortie in Naples.
Tickets for Boléro, the Ninth and Lortie's recital are available on Vivaticket or from the box office at Via San Carlo 98/F, open daily from 10:00 to 18:00.
Staying in Chiaia in November: which suite to choose?
Follaky Secret Garden is a boutique B&B in Chiaia, within the residential grounds of Palazzo Giovagnoni, with pedestrian access from Via Chiaia 149F. The Teatro di San Carlo is about an 8-minute walk away: for evenings at the theatre, you won't need a taxi.
The Suite Chiaia Deluxe Garden View is the more intimate of the two: olive green, wood and maiolica tiles, with a window looking onto two adjoining private gardens. The Suite Toledo Deluxe Private Patio is larger and brighter, in white and turquoise maiolica, with a private patio. Each sleeps two and has its own independent, private entrance; Follaky Breakfast is included.
Choose the date that's bringing you to Naples first, then the suite to come back to in the evening: the greenery outside the window, or a private patio. Compare the suites and check your dates for November.
