Wednesday 30 December, around half past four in the afternoon. You leave Follaky via Vico Monteroduni 16, walk for about eight minutes and reach Teatro di San Carlo when the doors are already open: there is time to find your seats before the orchestra strikes up Tchaikovsky.
The Nutcracker is on stage at Teatro di San Carlo from 22 December 2026 to 5 January 2027, at 17:00, 20:00 or 21:00 depending on the date. The ballet, choreographed by Simone Valastro, lasts about two hours, with an interval, and sits outside the subscription series. Full details are on the theatre's official page.
Nutcracker dates at San Carlo, December 2026 – January 2027
- Tuesday 22 December 2026, 20:00 (series IV)
- Wednesday 23 December, 20:00 (series V)
- Sunday 27 December, 17:00 (series IV)
- Tuesday 29 December, 20:00 (series V)
- Wednesday 30 December, 17:00 and 21:00 (series V)
- Saturday 2 January 2027, 17:00 and 21:00 (series IV)
- Sunday 3 January, 17:00 (series IV)
- Tuesday 5 January, 17:00 and 21:00 (series V)
There are no performances on 24, 25, 26 or 31 December, nor on 1 January. The series, IV or V, sets the ticket price.
Simone Valastro's Nutcracker: the company, the podium and the fairy tale
It is a ballet in two acts and three scenes, to music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. On the podium, Andriy Yurkevych and Maurizio Agostini; sets are by Nicola Rubertelli, costumes by Giusi Giustino. The Étoiles, Soloists and Corps de Ballet of Teatro di San Carlo dance, directed by Renato Zanella, joined by the theatre's Ballet School and its Coro di Voci Bianche.
The fairy tale is that of Clara and the Prince, a journey between dream and reality, from Marius Petipa's scenario inspired by E. T. A. Hoffmann's tale in Alexandre Dumas père's version. Presented in December 2025 as a new San Carlo production, it returns this season as 'the traditional Christmas Nutcracker' (season announcement), in the season of the theatre's 290th anniversary: it was founded on 4 November 1737.
Nutcracker tickets at San Carlo: prices and how to buy
Prices vary by series and by section. For series IV performances (22 and 27 December, 2 and 3 January) an Orchestra Stalls seat costs €80 and a Top Orchestra Stalls GOLD seat €110; for series V (23, 29 and 30 December, 5 January) they cost €70 and €90. A seat in the V and VI tier balconies always costs €35. These are full prices: under-30s and over-65s on a minimum income get reductions in some sections, at the box office only.
For a ballet, what you see matters: the Listening Only seats, at €20, are meant for listening, and the theatre warns that, because of the structure of the building, some types of seat have restricted views. Check the seating plan before you choose.
Tickets can be bought online via Vivaticket, by credit card only and with a booking fee; through the Vivaticket call centre on 892.234, Monday to Friday 8:30–19:00 and Saturday 8:30–14:00; or at the box office at Via San Carlo 98/f, every day from 10:00 to 18:00, except 25 December, 1 and 6 January. The theatre advises against buying outside its authorised channels.
Doors open an hour before the start, and it's best to arrive at least 20 minutes early: latecomers are admitted to the auditorium only at the interval. Wheelchair users can enter from Piazza Trieste e Trento and reach the stalls via ramps and lifts; each performance sets aside 4 seats, in rows 21 and 22.
Which performance to choose, between Christmas and New Year?
Before Christmas, on Tuesday 22 and Wednesday 23 December, the performance is at 20:00: you can arrive in Naples that same day, check in early in the afternoon, from 15:00, in person with Monica or Fabio, and walk to the theatre. The days that follow are covered in Christmas in Naples for couples.
Between Christmas and New Year there are Sunday 27 at 17:00, Tuesday 29 at 20:00 and Wednesday 30, at 17:00 or 21:00. With the 17:00 performances you come out around 19:00 and the evening is free for dinner: a few addresses are on the restaurants page. The night of the 31st has its own page: New Year's Eve in Naples for couples.
In the first days of 2027 the performances are on Saturday 2 January at 17:00 and 21:00, Sunday 3 at 17:00 and Tuesday 5 at 17:00 and 21:00. If you choose Sunday 3, keep that night too: on Sundays check-out, by 10:00, is from Vico Monteroduni 16, and the porter's desk, with its luggage storage, is closed.
Before the ballet, stay close by: from Follaky, Palazzo Reale is about a 7-minute walk, Galleria Umberto I about 8, Piazza del Plebiscito about 9. You can also visit the theatre by day, on guided tours in Italian and English, Monday to Saturday in the morning and afternoon, on Sunday in the morning only: times may change to suit the needs of the stage, so it's worth booking.
Is there a Christmas concert at San Carlo?
Not as of 18 October: neither the subscription calendar nor the season announcement lists a Christmas or a New Year concert. For the holidays, San Carlo has announced Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker.
Five days before the first performance, though, there is an evening of song: on Thursday 17 December 2026, at 19:00, the Gala Domingo celebrates 55 years since Plácido Domingo's debut at San Carlo, with soprano Sonya Yoncheva and Leonardo Sini on the podium. It lasts about 1 hour 45 minutes, with an interval; an Orchestra Stalls seat costs €70. The other evenings of the month are in Naples in December.
After the ballet, a suite in Chiaia
Follaky Secret Garden is a boutique B&B in Palazzo Giovagnoni, inside a private residential park in Chiaia; Monica and Fabio welcome you in person. There are two entrances: Via Chiaia 149F on foot, with the park's private lift, and Vico Monteroduni 16, for taxis and luggage. From Napoli Centrale a taxi takes about 15–20 minutes, at a fixed fare of €18.50.
The Suite Chiaia Deluxe Garden View is the most intimate: olive green, wood, maiolica tiles and a picture 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. If you're going to the theatre as a foursome, Double Suites – Exclusive Use brings the two suites together for exclusive use. Follaky Breakfast is included, with quality products.
Once you've chosen your performance, all that's left is the suite you'll walk back to after the ballet: check your nights and compare the suites.
