The Munich Opera Festival 2007 is kicking off this Friday from 8 p.m. with the HVB Festival Night of opera, concerts, songs, dances, and readings at various venues in and around the Fünf Höfe (between Marienplatz and Odeonsplatz). Keeping in mind the Bayerische Staatsoper's motto "Opera for all", the evening is sponsored by the HypoVereinsbank, and entrance is free.

There are too many performances to go into detail here, but they include excerpts from Rossini, Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, & Handel/Händel, as well as some jazz and ballet. You should be able to work it out by looking at the programme even though it's in German.

A lot of the Staatsoper's stars are taking part, so I expect it to be good. The performances vary in length, so if it's not the sort of thing you'd usually go to it's easy to pop by for a short time, while on your way somewhere else.

Here's a map of the various locations, taken from the programme (the numbers indicate where performances are taking place).