The gala concert reviewed: 4.9 from 109, and two reviewers in ten who could not find the way in
The best score here with a sample behind it
4.9 from 109 ratings. Three other listings on this site show 5.0, and they carry five ratings, two ratings and one rating respectively, which is not the same kind of number at all. Among everything here with three figures of evidence behind it, this is the top of the table — ahead of the guided visit’s 4.8 and the Saturday chapel concert’s 4.6.
It is also the dearest of the concerts listed here, as the table above shows, and the reviews suggest people know what they are paying for. Matthew Alan puts it more precisely than any summary could: a level above the usual classical music event for tourists.
All ten written reviews
“It being our first day in Munich, we did have some difficulty finding the entrance to the theater. But once inside, everything went well. The theater is beautiful and comfortable, the music sublime. Who would have believed that an ensemble of two violins, viola, cello, bass, and oboe could pull off Mozart's Jupiter Symphony? The musicians played with gusto and produced a big sound. The pianist for the Beethoven concerto was terrific. This concert was certainly at a level above the usual classical music event for tourists.”
“Really cool to see the inside of the theatre during a live orchestra. It’s really beautiful. The timing was a little unclear until I read the fine print and realized we were behind schedule. It was also difficult to find the entrance. Other than that, we had amazing seats and an easy experience.”
“It was a unique, excellent experience in a festive atmosphere at the wonderful Cuvilliés Theatre, one of the most beautiful and important Rococo theatres in Europe. The Residenz soloists masterfully performed music by Rossini, Mozart, Dvorak, Brahms, Johann Strauss (Son).”
“Great seats, amazing venue, incredible performers! I was blown away by how good our seats were (Lower floor box seating).”
“Excellent venue and amazing musicians-gorgeous and very ornate theatre . Lovely central refreshment area was pleasant too.”
“Voucher-ticket exchange easy. Great location and excellent concert”
“Great musicians, wonderful ambiance, good acoustics, nice choice of music. (Beethoven)”
“A unique experience. For classical music, the live performance is truly exceptional.”
“🤩👏👏👏👏Very talented musicians and a beautiful hall.”
“It was very, very nice, concert very emotional, next time again very happy”
The entrance is the one repeated complaint, and it has a cause
Matthew Alan and Morgan, on different nights, both say they struggled to find the way in. That is two out of ten, and it is the highest rate of the same complaint on any listing on this site. It is not carelessness on their part. The Cuvilliés Theatre has its own entrance, separate from the museum and treasury door on the Residenzstraße side and separate again from the Court Church of All Saints, and that is the palace administration’s own floor plan rather than anybody’s opinion.
Arriving in the dark for a concert makes it harder, not easier. Give yourself an extra fifteen minutes and walk to the right door rather than the nearest one: the doors of this block, one by one. Morgan adds a second warning worth reading twice — the timing was unclear to her until she read the fine print, by which point they were running behind.
What Anita’s six words are doing here
“Voucher-ticket exchange easy.” On the face of it that is the least interesting review in the file. In context it is one of the more useful, because on another concert at this address a reviewer was caught out by exactly that step: his voucher did not tell him he had to collect numbered tickets at the box office first. Anita is confirming that the same exchange, on this listing, gave her no trouble at all. One report each way is not a pattern, but arriving early enough to swap a voucher costs you nothing if it turns out to be needed.
Beatrice’s review is four clapping hands and a starry face in front of eight words, and it is printed as she left it. Lilly’s is the one to read if you are choosing seats: lower floor box seating, and she was surprised by how good it was.
What works
- The highest score on this site backed by a real sample: 4.9 from 109 ratings
- It is the only way onto this site’s pages to sit in the Cuvilliés Theatre in the evening rather than walk through it by day
- Reviewers name the actual repertoire — Mozart, Beethoven, Rossini, Dvorak, Brahms, Strauss — rather than a generic programme
- Two hours with an interval and a refreshment area, which one reviewer singles out
- Wheelchair accessible, which its own page states
Worth knowing
- Two of the ten written reviews say the entrance was hard to find, and the theatre’s door is not the museum’s
- One reviewer found the timing unclear until she read the fine print and was already running late
- It is the dearest of the four rated concerts at this address
- No museum visit is included, as with every concert listing here
- 109 ratings is a tenth of what a Munich-wide listing carries, so the score is good evidence but not deep evidence
The room itself, by day and by night
What you are sitting in is four tiers of carved boxes that spent the war in storage: the building that housed them was destroyed in March 1944, the carvings had been taken to safety the year before, and they were reassembled in a new building inside this complex in the late 1950s. That history, and the fact that the theatre opens at 2 pm on weekdays for most of the year, is on the Cuvilliés Theatre. A daytime visit is the cheapest of the three tickets and takes minutes (the tariff, the hours).
Most-reviewed thing hereMunich: Classical Concert at the Residenz Palace
The white hallMaster Concert in the Max-Joseph Hall in Munich
The guided oneMunich: Residenz Palace and Hofgarten Skip-the-Line Tour
Frequently asked questions
Is the Cuvilliés Theatre gala concert worth the price?
It holds 4.9 from 109 ratings, the best score on this site with a sample of that size, and reviewers describe named repertoire and a small ensemble rather than a tourist programme. It is also the most expensive concert at this address. If the room is what you are buying, note that a daytime ticket to the same theatre is the cheapest of the palace’s three (the tariff).
Where is the entrance to the Cuvilliés Theatre?
It has its own entrance, separate from the museum and treasury door, which is the palace administration’s own arrangement rather than a quirk. Two of the ten written reviews on this concert say they had difficulty finding it, both arriving in the evening. Allow extra time and see which door is which.
Does the gala concert include a visit to the Residenz museum?
No. None of the concert listings at this address includes a museum visit; they are evenings of music in a room inside the building. The museum, the Treasury and the theatre by daylight are the palace’s own separate tickets.
How long is the gala concert?
About two hours including an interval, which makes it the longest of the concerts listed here — the chapel concert runs an hour. One reviewer notes the schedule was not clear to her until she read the fine print, so check the start time on your own booking rather than assuming.