Opera

Opera reviews

Les Contes d'Hoffmann

Jacques Offenbach, Libretto by Jules Barbier

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 4 August 2020

Die Walküre

Richard Wagner

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 2 August 2020

Ernani

Giuseppe Verdi, libretto by Francesco Maria Pave

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 1 August 2020

Il Trovatore

Giuseppe Verdi, Libretto by Salvadore Cammarano

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 30 July 2020

Rigoletto

Giuseppe Verdi, libretto by Francesco Maria Piave

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 29 July 2020

George Gagnidze, Marcelo Álvarez and Karita Mattila

Tosca

Composed by Giacomo Puccini, libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, b...

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 28 July 2020

Lucia di Lammermoor

Gaetano Donizetti, libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the novel by Sir...

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 27 July 2020

La Fanciulla del West

Giacomo Puccini, libretto by Guelfo Civinini and Carlo Zangarni, based on the...

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 26 July 2020

Der Rosenkavalier

Richard Strauss, Libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 25 July 2020

Falstaff

Giuseppe Verdi, Libretto by Arrigo Boito, Based on the Play by William Shakes...

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 24 July 2020

Romeo et Juliette

Charles Gounod, Libtretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 23 July 2020

Macbeth

Giuseppe Verdi, libretto by Francesco Maria Pave and Andrea Maffei

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 22 July 2020

Tannhäuser

Richard Wagner

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 21 July 2020

Wozzeck

Alban Berg

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 16 July 2020

Turandot

Giacomo Puccini, Libretto by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simon, Based on a play...

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 15 July 2020

Manon Lescaut

Giacomo Puccini, Libretto by Domenico Oliva, Giuilo Ricordi, Luigi Illica and...

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 13 July 2020

Eugene Onegin

Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Libretto by Tchaikovsky and Konstantin Shilovsky, B...

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 10 July 2020

Carousel

Music by Richard Rodgers, book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, based on t...

New York Philharmonic

Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, New York

10 July to 8 September 2020

Francesca da Rimini

Ricardo Zandonai, libretto by Tito Ricardi, a shortened version of the play b...

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 9 July 2020

Il Trovatore

Giuseppe Verdi, Libretto by Salvadore Cammarano

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 7 July 2020

La Bohème

Composed by Giacomo Puccini, libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, b...

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 6 July 2020

La Donna del Lago

Gioachino Rossini, Libretto by Andrea Leone Tottila

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 5 July 2020

Don Pasquale

Gaetano Donizetti, libretto by Giovanni Ruffini

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 4 July 2020

The Nose

Music by Dmitri Shostakovich, libretto by the composer with Yevgeny Zamyatin,...

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 2 July 2020

La Fille du Régiment

Gaetano Donizetti, libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-F...

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 29 June 2020

Satyagraha

Philip Glass, Book and vocal text by Constance deJong (adapted from the "Bhag...

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

21 to 22 June 2020

Akhnaten

Philip Glass

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

20 to 21 June 2020

Otello

Giuseppe Verdi, libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on the play by William Shakes...

Metropolitan Opera House

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 7 June 2020

The Exterminating Angel

Thomas Adès, libretto by Tom Cairns

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera, New York

From 5 June 2020

Lulu

Alban Berg

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera, New York

From 4 June 2020

La Damnation de Faust

Hector Berlioz

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera, New York

From 25 May 2020

Don Giovanni

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera, New York

From 22 May 2020

Rigoletto

Giuseppe Verdi, libretto by Francesco Maria Piave

The Metropolitan Opera

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 17 May 2020

Lucia di Lammermoor

Gaetano Donizetti

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera, New York

From 16 May 2020

The Tempest

Thomas Adès, libretto by Meredith Oakes

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera, New York

From 14 May 2020

Ariadne auf Naxos

Richard Strauss, libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera, New York

From 13 May 2020

Luciano Pavarotti, Renata Scotto and Ingvar Wixell

La Bohème

Composed by Giacomo Puccini, libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, b...

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 8 May 2020

Renée Fleming, Cecilia Bartoli and Bryn Terfel

Le Nozze di Figaro

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 5 May 2020

Gloriana

Benjamin Britten, libretto by William Plomer

The Royal Opera

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

24 April to 24 May 2020

Madama Butterfly

Giacomo Puccini by with a Libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica

Met on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 18 April 2020

Kelli O’Hara, Christopher Maltman, Adam Plachetka , Ben Bliss, Serena Malfi and Amanda Majeski

Così Fan Tutte

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 13 April 2020

Così Fan Tutte

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte

The Royal Opera

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

10 April to 10 May 2020

Aida

Giuseppe Verdi, libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

7 April 2020

Macbeth

Giuseppe Verdi with libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and Count Andrea Maffei...

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

5 to 6 April 2020

Street Scene

Kurt Weill (music) and Elmer Rice (book) -lyrics by Langston Hughes and Rice

Opera North

The Lowry, Salford

13 March 2020

The Turn of the Screw

Benjamin Britten (score) Myfanwy Piper (libretto -after the story by Henry Ja...

Opera North

The Lowry, Salford

11 March 2020

The Marriage of Figaro

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (music) and Lorenzo da Ponte (libretto)

Opera North

The Lowry, Salford

10 to 14 March 2020

Vehicles

Martyn Harry

Operasonic

The Riverfront, Newport

3 March 2020

Fidelio

Music Ludwig van Beethoven, libretto Joseph Sonnleithner, Stephan von Breunin...

The Royal Opera

Royal Opera House

1 to 17 March 2020

Nixon in China

Opera by John Adams, Libretto by Alice Goodman

Scottish Opera, The Royal Danish Theatre & Teatro Real Madrid

Edinburgh Festival Theatre

18 to 29 February 2020

The Marriage of Figaro

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Lorenzo da Ponte

Welsh National Opera and Grand Theatre de Geneve

Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff

16 February to 6 May 2020

The Turn of the Screw

Music by Benjamin Britten; libretto by Myfanwy Piper; based on the novel by H...

Opera North

Leeds Grand Theatre

15 to 27 February 2020

Les vêpres siciliennes

Giuseppe Verdi with libretto by Eugene Scribe

Welsh National Opera and Theater Bonn

Donald Gordon Theatre, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff

8 to 22 February 2020

Opera news

Scottish Opera online Emerging Artists recital

12 July 2020

Scottish Opera will present a live online recital showcasing its Emerging Artists from the 2019/20 season on its YouTube channel.

Opera North's Tragedy on BBC iPlayer

7 July 2020

Capturing the backstage world during a performance of La traviata by Opera North, Tragedy, by artist and film-maker Lynne Marsh, is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Three new Friday premières from Royal Opera House

6 July 2020

The Royal Opera House continues its #OurHouseToYourHouse programme with three new productions: Romeo and Juliet (The Royal Ballet, 2019), Faust (The Royal Opera, 2019) and The Sleeping Beauty (The Royal Ballet, 2020).

Fancy joining an opera chorus?

25 June 2020

Opera North is inviting everyone to join its new chorus to sing choruses from Bizet’s Carmen, Smetana’s The Bartered Bride and Verdi’s Nabucco.

Birmingham Opera goes online this summer

21 June 2020

Birmingham Opera Company has announced productions to be shown online in the coming months, including Tippett’s The Ice Break, Stockhausen’s Mittwoch Aus Licht / Wednesday from Light and Verdi’s Othello.

Chauhan is Birmingham Opera Company music director

15 June 2020

Conductor Alpesh Chauhan is to join Birmingham Opera Company as music director from 1 July 2020 and with artistic director Graham Vick will lead the company on its mission “to make great opera for all the people of Birmingham”.

Ballet and opera resumes live from Covent Garden

13 June 2020

The Live from Covent Garden series marks the first live performances of opera and ballet at the Royal Opera House since the building closed on 17 March.

Kaufmann, Ashton and Szymanowski among latest from ROH online

7 June 2020

The latest online releases from Royal Opera House include a Jonas Kaufmann documentary Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée, the first Live from Covent Garden concert and Szymanowski's King Roger.

More free Royal Opera and Royal Ballet productions online

16 May 2020

Royal Opera House is making available online productions of The Cellist (The Royal Ballet, 2020), Il trittico (The Royal Opera, 2012), La Fille mal gardée (The Royal Ballet, 2005) and The Magic Flute (The Royal Opera, 2017).

Opera North’s orchestra play together online

13 April 2020

Forty play in perfect harmony for digital performance of the opening to Also Sprach Zarathustra.

Homemade micro-opera connects composers and librettists

5 April 2020

New initiative #OperaHarmony is to pair composers with librettists across the world to create new work.

More Royal Opera House free productions online

29 March 2020

In addition to previously announced free broadcasts, the Royal Opera House has announced the next in the series of productions to be available to watch online.

Free online ballet and opera from Royal Opera House

20 March 2020

The Royal Opera House has announced a free programme of curated online broadcasts, musical masterclasses and cultural insights on Facebook and YouTube.

A community opera for Co Durham

27 February 2020

Opera North and Northern Heartlands are cooperating to create a new community opera for south and west Durham

Want to be an opera singer?

20 February 2020

A chance for Sunderland people to take part in a new opera which will be performed in the city in June.

Two seasons of Opera North in Newcastle

19 February 2020

Opera North has announced its autumn 2020 and spring 2021 seasons in Newcastle.

Operatic triple treat for Chester

16 February 2020

English Touring Opera returns to Storyhouse in Chester with Handel’s Giulio Cesare, Mozart’s Così fan tutte and the St John Passion by J S Bach.