Christmas concerts in Vilnius 2026: dates, prices and the Nutcracker

As of 20 October this guide lists 44 Christmas, holiday and New Year’s Eve concerts and shows in Vilnius between 29 November and 31 December 2026. Five are free (Advent organ concerts at the Cathedral), and 31 December is the busiest day, with eight. There is no Nutcracker at the national opera (LNOBT) this year. Touring companies dance it at Compensa concert hall on Sunday 20 December at 18:00 (from 29.60 EUR) and Friday 25 December at 20:00 (from 29 EUR). In Kaunas it plays at Žalgirio arena on Monday 21 December at 19:00 (from 37.90 EUR). The Philharmonic’s 31 December concert and every LNOBT La Traviata are already sold out.

Scope: the table lists Vilnius concerts and shows that their organizers bill as Christmas, Advent, holiday or New Year’s Eve programmes. It also includes both Nutcracker ballets in Vilnius and LNOBT’s New Year’s Eve La Traviata. The data was collected on 20 October from bilietai.lt, kakava.lt, opera.lt, filharmonija.lt, lvso.lt and vilnius-events.lt, so concerts sold only elsewhere may be missing. A concert with several shows on one day counts once, and La Traviata on 30 and 31 December is one row. “From” is the cheapest full-price ticket on sale that day, before the bilietai.lt booking fee. Prices and availability change daily.

Is The Nutcracker on at the Vilnius opera (LNOBT) in 2026?

No. On 20 October we went through all three pages of LNOBT’s 2026 to 2027 season repertoire on opera.lt, from November to June 2027. The Nutcracker (Spragtukas in Lithuanian) is not on any of them. So this December the ballet in Vilnius means the touring productions at Compensa concert hall and in Kaunas (see the next section). This is what LNOBT (A. Vienuolio g. 1) does stage in December:

• Kalėdų preliudas (Christmas Prelude): Saturday 19 December at 13:00 and 16:00 in the Red Foyer. It is the traditional Christmas concert of LNOBT’s opera trainees: young soloists sing Christmas pieces beside a decorated tree. Unnumbered seats, tickets 26 EUR, both shows still on sale.
• La Traviata: Wednesday 30 and Thursday 31 December at 18:30 in the Main Hall, also 2 January 2027 at 18:30 and 3 January at 18:00. On 20 October the theatre’s ticket shop marked all four performances sold out; price zones on 31 December ran from 55 to 260 EUR.
• La Bohème: Tuesday 22 December at 18:30. According to the theatre, this is the last performance of the production that premiered in 2006.
• Also in December: Britten’s opera A Midsummer Night’s Dream (3, 4, 5 and 8 December at 18:30, 6 December at 18:00) and the ballet Paquita (11, 12, 15, 16, 17 and 18 December at 18:30, 13 December at 18:00). The children’s show Užburtos akys plays on 5 and 6 December at 12:00.

When is The Nutcracker in Vilnius and Kaunas in 2026? Dates, tickets and prices

Two different touring companies dance The Nutcracker in Lithuania this December, each in both Vilnius and Kaunas. Both stage Tchaikovsky’s ballet after E. T. A. Hoffmann’s tale. Prices are from bilietai.lt as of 20 October; a booking fee is added at checkout.

• Vilnius, Sunday 20 December, 18:00, Compensa concert hall (Kernavės g. 84). Ukrainian Classical Ballet, organized by Big Show Europe. Tickets 29.60 to 69.60 EUR plus a 5.30 EUR booking fee. Two 50-minute acts with an interval of about 30 minutes, ending at about 20:15. Children up to and including age 5 go free if they sit on a lap.
• Kaunas, Monday 21 December, 19:00, Žalgirio arena (Karaliaus Mindaugo pr. 50). Same company and organizer. Tickets from 37.90 EUR, a seat at a table 69.95 EUR. About 2 hours.
• Kaunas, Tuesday 22 December, 19:00, Kauno sporto halė (Perkūno al. 5). Ukrainian Classical Etoile Ballet, organized by Flixon Live Baltics. Tickets 39 to 59 EUR.
• Vilnius, Friday 25 December (Christmas Day), 20:00, Compensa concert hall. Ukrainian Classical Etoile Ballet, organized by Flixon Live Baltics. Tickets 29 to 54 EUR plus a 5.30 EUR booking fee. About 2 h 30 min with an interval. Children up to and including age 7 go free if they do not take a seat.
• For small children: Raganiukė Theatre (Raganiukės teatras, S. Stanevičiaus g. 24) stages not the ballet but a 50-minute musical play, “Spragtukas”, based on Hoffmann’s tale. It plays on 18 December at 18:30, on 31 December at 12:00, 15:00 and 17:00, and on 2 January at 12:00. Ages 4 and up, tickets from 15.60 EUR, in Lithuanian.

Which Vilnius show to pick? The 20 December show starts at 18:00 and ends at about 20:15. The 25 December show starts at 20:00 on Christmas Day, a public holiday, and runs about 2 h 30 min. The cheapest tickets cost about 29 EUR at both, and neither has an age limit, but the free entry rules for children differ. Ballet needs no language. On 20 October both Vilnius shows still had seats in every price zone.

Christmas concerts in Vilnius 2026: the full list by date

How many Christmas concerts are there in Vilnius in December 2026?

As of 20 October the table lists 44 Christmas, holiday and New Year’s Eve concerts and shows between 29 November and 31 December. The key numbers:

• Venues: 16 are in churches (nine at St Catherine’s, five at the Cathedral, one each at St Casimir’s and St John’s), eight in the Philharmonic Grand Hall, six at the LVSO Concert Hall, four at Arena Vilnius, three at Compensa, two at LNOBT and five in other halls.
• Free: the five Advent and Christmas organ concerts “Vox organi Cathedralis” at Vilnius Cathedral.
• Prices: the cheapest paid concert is Christmas with Ąžuoliukas (from 16 EUR), and Philharmonic chamber concerts start at 21 EUR. The cheapest tickets for the Arena Vilnius shows cost 30.50 to 44 EUR. The highest starting price is the LVSO New Year’s Eve concert Diva in Rock (from 81 EUR).
• Dates: the busiest days are 31 December (eight) and 30 December (four), with three each on 17, 19, 20 and 28 December. There are no concerts in the table on Christmas Eve, 24 December, and on Christmas Day only The Nutcracker at Compensa.
• Sold out: five concerts, either completely or one of their shows (see “Which Christmas concerts in Vilnius are sold out?”).

What kinds of Christmas concerts are on in Vilnius?

Philharmonic and orchestras

The table has eight holiday concerts in the Lithuanian National Philharmonic’s Grand Hall (Aušros Vartų g. 5). The Philharmonic runs two more on 31 December, at Vilnius University St John’s Church and the Samuel Bak Museum. Its Christmas programme opens on 11 December with Nomeda Kazlaus’s festive gala in honour of Luciano Pavarotti. On 16 December Anna Geniušienė gives a piano evening in the Kalėdiniai vakarai (Christmas Evenings) festival.

• After Christmas: the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra with violinist and conductor Sergej Krylov (26 December: Bach, Haydn and Ravel, sold out), Grand Trio Vilnius (27 December) and the Čiurlionis Quartet with the tango duo Bandini-Chiacchiaretta (28 December). The last two start at 21 EUR.
• New Year: Simfoninė salvė Naujiesiems (A Symphonic Salute to the New Year) runs on two nights with the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra (LNSO), conductor Modestas Pitrėnas and soloists Kseniya Bakhritdinova-Kravchuk and Karolis Kašiuba. 31 December is sold out; 30 December has tickets from 41 EUR. The programme is not announced yet, and the concert lasts about two hours.
• The Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra (LVSO Concert Hall, Vilniaus g. 6) opens its Christmas programme on 16 December with The Christmas Star, with Edgaras Montvidas (sold out).
• LVSO holiday week with conductor Gintaras Rinkevičius, all at 19:00 and from 51 EUR: Rock Ballads on 27 December (Česlovas Gabalis and Jeronimas Milius), Under the Starry Sky on 28 December (Evelina Sašenko and Egidijus Bavikinas), Viva la Diva on 29 December (Ieva Prudnikovaitė, Ona Kolobovaitė and Evelina Sašenko) and Pop songs with the LVSO on 30 December.
• LVSO New Year’s Eve: Diva in Rock on 31 December at 19:00, with Ieva Prudnikovaitė, Ona Kolobovaitė and Evelina Sašenko, from 81 EUR.

Christmas concerts in churches: St Catherine’s, the Cathedral and St John’s

St Catherine’s Church (Šv. Kotrynos bažnyčia, Vilniaus g. 30) in the Old Town has more of the table’s Christmas concerts than any other venue. On 20 October bilietai.lt listed 19 events there in December, and two more are sold on kakava.lt. The Christmas and holiday programmes:

• 1 December: Monika Marija, songs from her new album and Christmas songs.
• 7 December: Svinguojančios Kalėdos, Christmas and swing tunes on piano, vocals and saxophone.
• 12 December: QUEEN in Jazz. 15 December: a fado Christmas with Joana Amendoeira.
• 18 December: a Christmas show of Celine Dion songs. 19 December: Christmas with Ringmasters.
• 20 and 23 December: festive concerts by Saulės Kliošas and Alina Orlova.
• 31 December at 17:00 and 20:00: the St Christopher Chamber Orchestra’s Svaiginanti muzika Naujiesiems!

The same church has other December concerts that their organizers do not bill as Christmas programmes: Martynas Levickis and Mikroorkéstra (4 December, 18:30 and 20:30, from 35 EUR) and Benas Lyris’s evening of music, talk and meditation (9 December, 18:00, 16+, in Lithuanian, from 18.80 EUR). Also: Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires (10 December, 19:00, from 20.80 EUR), Austieja’s “Medaus” (14 December, 20:00, from 42 EUR) and an evening of Ludovico Einaudi’s music (17 December, 19:00, from 35.80 EUR). After Christmas: Galèra’s “BALSU” (27 December, 18:00, from 25.20 EUR), Vidas Bareikis (29 December, 19:00, from 36.20 EUR) and Vaidas Baumila (30 December, 18:00, from 44.20 EUR).

At Vilnius Cathedral (Katedros a. 1) the National Organists’ Association runs “Vox organi Cathedralis. Advent and Christmas music 2026”: five free organ concerts between 29 November and 26 December. On the first Sunday of Advent, 29 November, and on Saturday 26 December they run from 16:00 to 17:00. On Thursdays 3, 10 and 17 December they are lunchtime concerts, 12:00 to 12:30. Entry is free, and the organizers ask for a donation to the Cathedral.

On 31 December at 18:00 and 20:00 the Philharmonic plays at Vilnius University St John’s Church (Atsisveikinimo simfonija, standing tickets 31 EUR). On 5 December at 19:00 St Casimir’s Church (Didžioji g. 34) hosts Vivat Klasika 2026, a charity concert for the Vilnius Jesuit Gymnasium. It features Evelina Sašenko, Eugenijus Chrebtovas and organist Renata Marcinkutė-Lesieur (from 29.99 EUR).

Big shows: Home Alone, 10 Tenors, Arena Vilnius and Compensa

• 10 Tenors (Arena Vilnius, Ozo g. 14): Thursday 17 December, 19:00, ten Italian tenors with a symphony orchestra of more than 40 musicians, classical pieces and holiday songs. Tickets from 30.50 EUR, with a 20 minute interval, recommended for children from 5.
• Home Alone Live in Concert (Arena Vilnius): Saturday 19 December, 18:00, the LVSO and the Kaunas State Choir play the score live to the film. The film is shown in English with Lithuanian subtitles, about 2 h 20 min with an interval, doors open 1 h 30 min before the start. Tickets from 44 EUR; children up to and including age 7 go free if they do not take a seat.
• Didysis šventinis koncertas (Arena Vilnius): Monday 28 December, 20:00, the Lithuanian band Hiperbolės legendos and the Swedish band Secret Service on one stage. Tickets from 40 EUR.
• Kalėdos ant ragų (Arena Vilnius): Wednesday 30 December, 18:30, a family Christmas musical by the makers of the holiday TV series “Tai bent Kalėdos”, in Lithuanian. Tickets from 32 EUR.
• 2 Metrai: Linksmiausias kalėdinis šou (Compensa concert hall, Kernavės g. 84): Thursday 17 December, 19:00, with Deivis Norvilas and Rafailas Karpis. Tickets from 39 EUR.
• Kaunas Blues holiday concert (Vilnius Polish Culture House, Naugarduko g. 76): Friday 18 December, 19:00, the blues, soul and funk band Boney Fields & The BFB. Tickets 75 EUR.

Arena Vilnius takes payment by card or phone only.

Christmas concerts for families and children

In the daytime there is Christmas with Ąžuoliukas (Sunday 20 December, 12:00, Philharmonic, about an hour, from 16 EUR). The boys’ and youth choir and the ensemble Musica Humana perform Martín Palmeri’s Misa a Buenos Aires and traditional Christmas carols. LNOBT’s Kalėdų preliudas (19 December at 13:00 and 16:00) and the free Vox organi concerts at the Cathedral are daytime concerts too. In the evening, The Nutcracker at Compensa, Home Alone Live in Concert and Kalėdos ant ragų are family shows. For the smallest children there is Raganiukė Theatre’s musical play “Spragtukas” (ages 4 and up). The Philharmonic’s family concert Carnival of the Animals (13 December, 12:00, from 12 EUR) is not a Christmas programme, so it is not in the table. Christmas plays, workshops and visits to Santa are in a separate guide.

New Year’s Eve concerts in Vilnius: 30 and 31 December

The table has eight concerts on 31 December, in this order:

• 17:00: the St Christopher Chamber Orchestra’s Svaiginanti muzika Naujiesiems! at St Catherine’s Church (second show at 20:00, from 54.80 EUR).
• 18:00: the Farewell Symphony at Vilnius University St John’s Church (second show at 20:00; standing tickets 31 EUR), the retro programme “O buvo taip...” with three opera soloists at the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences (35 EUR) and Keistuolių teatras’s “Laimingų Keistų!” (from 51.20 EUR).
• 18:30 and 20:30: Kremerata Lituanica plays Vivaldi’s and Piazzolla’s Seasons at Vilnius Town Hall (Kalėdinis Vilnius festival, about 1 h 10 min, from 39 EUR).
• 19:00: the LVSO’s Diva in Rock (from 81 EUR), the Vilnius Quartet’s New Year’s Eve at the Samuel Bak Museum (from 26 EUR) and the Philharmonic’s Simfoninė salvė Naujiesiems (sold out).

The sold-out Simfoninė salvė Naujiesiems also plays on 30 December with the same performers, the same night as Pop songs with the LVSO. The 31 December concerts start between 17:00 and 20:30, and those with a published length run from 1 h 10 min to 2 hours. The Cathedral Bell Tower projection on Cathedral Square runs from 22:00 to 01:00, so there is time to get there after a concert. New Year’s Eve parties, dinners and the full Cathedral Square programme are in our New Year’s Eve guide.

Which Christmas concerts in Vilnius are sold out?

On 20 October the ticket systems showed these concerts and performances as sold out:

• Philharmonic: Simfoninė salvė Naujiesiems on 31 December, Christmas with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra and S. Krylov on 26 December, and the LNSO concert “Kelionė į Ameriką džiazo ritmu” (Gershwin, Bernstein) on 19 December, which is not in the table. The Philharmonic’s event pages let you sign up for a notice if tickets come back.
• LNOBT: all four performances of La Traviata (30 and 31 December, 2 and 3 January).
• LVSO: The Christmas Star with Edgaras Montvidas on 16 December.
• St Catherine’s Church: the Christmas show of Celine Dion songs on 18 December at 18:00; the extra show at 20:30 still had tickets.
• Vilnius University St John’s Church: every seat for the Farewell Symphony on 31 December at 18:00; only standing tickets were left.

Tickets are also running low for Martynas Levickis on 4 December at 18:30 and for Keistuolių teatras’s New Year concert: on 20 October bilietai.lt showed only a few seats left for each.

Where can you buy tickets for Christmas concerts in Vilnius?

• Bilietai.lt: The Nutcracker, the Arena Vilnius and Compensa shows, the LVSO and most St Catherine’s Church concerts. A booking fee is added at checkout: 5.30 EUR per ticket for The Nutcracker at Compensa, 6.20 to 14.80 EUR for Arena Vilnius events, 1 EUR for the LVSO and 0.80 to 1.50 EUR for St Catherine’s concerts. The site has an English version.
• Kakava.lt: Philharmonic concerts (the “Bilietai” button on filharmonija.lt leads to kakava.lt), Svinguojančios Kalėdos and Fado: Kalėdos Alfamoje.
• LNOBT: tickets are sold in the theatre’s own shop, opera.koobin.com, linked from each performance page on opera.lt.
• Vox organi Cathedralis: no tickets needed, entry is free.
• Discounts: none for The Nutcracker, Home Alone or 10 Tenors. The St Christopher Chamber Orchestra and Kremerata Lituanica concerts have cheaper tickets for seniors and students.
• For 10 or more tickets, bilietai.lt asks you to email vipklientai@bilietai.lt.

What to know before going to a Christmas concert in Vilnius

• Holidays: 24, 25 and 26 December are public holidays in Lithuania (Labour Code, article 123); in 2026 they fall on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. In 2025 Vilnius buses and trolleybuses ran on weekend and holiday timetables from 24 to 26 December; the 2026 arrangements are not announced yet.
• New Year’s Eve: in 2025 public transport in Vilnius was free from 20:00 on 31 December to 04:00 on 1 January; the 2026 arrangements are not announced yet.
• Language: ballet and instrumental concerts need no Lithuanian, and Home Alone is shown in English with Lithuanian subtitles. The comedy and musical shows (2 Metrai, Kalėdos ant ragų, Keistuolių teatras) and the Raganiukė Theatre play are Lithuanian productions with Lithuanian ticket pages, so check the language with the organizer before you buy.
• Age: the Philharmonic’s Simfoninė salvė Naujiesiems is for ages 7 and up, the Town Hall New Year concert is 7+, 10 Tenors is recommended from age 5, Benas Lyris’s evening is 16+, and The Nutcracker has no age limit.
• Arrive early: Home Alone doors open 1 h 30 min before the start, The Nutcracker at Compensa on 20 December at about 17:00, and many St Catherine’s concerts 20 to 30 minutes before. Some St Christopher Chamber Orchestra concerts have no box office at the door, so buy online in advance.
• Accessibility: Arena Vilnius and Žalgirio arena sell wheelchair spaces with the discount code “NEĮGALIESIEMS” (show your disability card at the door), and Compensa recommends seats at the ends of the stalls rows for wheelchair users.

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