Opera

Opera reviews

Mariana Tzvetkova (Brunnhilde), Nikolay Petrov (Wotan) and the Valkyries

Die Walküre

Richard Wagner

Sofia Opera, Bulgaria

Released 18 June 2021

Don Giovanni

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte

National Theatre, Prague

18 June–18 September 2021

Elektra

Richard Strauss, libretto Hugo von Hoffmansthal

Salzburg Festival

Released 18 June 2021

Love duets

Various composers

Arena di Verona

Released 18 June 2021

Fidelio

Ludwig van Beethoven, libretto by Joseph Sonnleithner (narration by David Pou...

Opera North

The Lowry, Salford

15 June 2021

The Barber of Seville

Gioachino Rossini, Libretto by Cesare Sternbini

Glyndebourne Opera House

13–27 June 2021

Mireille

Charles Gounod, libretto by Michel Carre

Opera National de Paris

Released 11 June 2021

Lucia di Lammermoor

Gaetano Donizetti, Libretto by Salvadore Cammarano

Staatsoper Hamburg

11 June–11 September 2021

La Passion selon Saint Jean

Johann Sebastian Bach

Théâtre du Châtelet and Teatro Arriaga de Bilbao

Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris

4 June–4 December 2021

Circus Days and Nights

Music by Philip Glass, libretto by David Henry Hwang, Tilde Björfors

Cirkus Cirkör

Malmö Opera, Sweden

29 May–13 June 2021

Cosi Fan Tutte

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart / Lorenzo Da Ponte

Royal Opera House

Released 28 May 2021

Prince Igor

Music and libretto by Alexander Borodin after a scenario by Vladimir Stasov

Met on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 28 May 2021

L’Elisir d’Amore

Gaetano Donizetti, libretto by Celice Romini

Opera Zuid

Opera Zuid, Maastricht, Netherlands

23 May–23 August 2021

The Cunning Little Vixen

Libretto by Leoš Janáček from the novel by Rudolf Tesnohlidek

Glyndebourne Opera House

23 May–6 June 2021

Falstaff

Giuseppe Verdi

Staatsoper, Under den Linden, Berlin

Released 21 May 2021

Ariodante

George Frideric Handel

Salzburg Festival

Released 21 May 2021

La Clemenza di Tito

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Libretto by Caterino Mazzola after Pietro Metastasio

The Royal Opera

Royal Opera House, London

21 May–20 June 2021

Die Zauberflöte

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder

Glyndebourne Opera House

14–23 May 2021

Carmen

Georges Bizet

Opéra Comique, Paris

Released 14 May 2021

Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk

Dmitri Shostakovich, Libretto by A Pries and D Shostakovich After a short sto...

Birmingham Opera Company

Tower Ballroom, Edgbaston, Birmingham

14 May–14 August 2021

Hamlet

Ambroise Thomas, libretto by Michael Carré and Jules Barbier

Met on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 5 May 2021

Hippolyte et Aricie

Jean-Phillipe Rameau, libretto by Simon-Joseph Pelligrin

Nationaltheater Mannheim

1 May–31 July 2021

Martina Serafin (Kupava) in red dress, appeals for punishment for the faithless Mizguir

The Snow Maiden

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov after Alexander Ostrovsky

Opera National de Paris

Released 28 April 2021

Fidelio

Ludwig van Beethoven, libretto by Joseph von Sonnleithner

Met on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 24 April 2021

Charles Castronovo (Rodolfo) and Sonya Yoncheva (Mimi).

La Bohème

Giacomo Puccini

Opus Arte / Royal Opera House

Released 23 April 2021

Romeo and Julia

Boris Blacher

Deutsche Oper am Rhein

Operhaus Dusseldorf, Germany

17 April–17 October 2021

Yusif Eyvazov (Chenier), Anna Netrebko (Maddalena) and company

Andrea Chénier

Umberto Giordano

Cmajor / La Scala, Milan

Released 16 April 2021

Passione

Freddie de Tommaso

Decca

Released 16 April 2021

Don Giovanni

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart/Lorenzo Da Ponte

Unitel Edition / Theater an der Wien, Austria

Released 16 April 2021

Das Rheingold

Richard Wagner

Sofia Opera, Bulgaria

Released 16 April 2021

Pelléas et Mélisande

Claude Debussy, Libretto by Maurice Maeterlinck

Opéra de Lille co-production with Théâtre de Caen, Les Siècles

Opéra de Lille

16 April–9 October 2021

Rinaldo

George Frideric Handel

Teatro del Maggio Musicale, Florence, Italy

Released 12 April 2021

Plácido Domingo (Miller) & Sonya Yoncheva (Luisa)

Luisa Miller

Giuseppe Verdi, libretto by Salvatore Cammarano, based on Kabale und Liebe (I...

Met on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 11 April 2021

Pagliacci / Cavalleria Rusticana

Ruggero Leoncavallo / Pietro Mascagni

Dutch National Opera

Released 9 April 2021

Rigoletto

Giuseppe Verdi, libretto by Francesco Maria Pavé

Semperoper, Dresden

Semperoper, Dresden, Germany

From 7 April 2021

The Flying Dutchman

Richard Wagner

Klaipeda State Musical Theatre, Lithuania

2 April–3 July 2021

Rhapsody - Homage to Pauline Viardot

Varduhi Abrahamyan

Decca

Released 2 April 2021

La Voix Humaine & L’Heure Espagnole

Maurice Ravel & Francis Poulenc

Opera Zuid

Opera Zuid, Maastricht, Netherlands

26 March–26 June 2021

Faust

Charles Gounod

Royal Opera House

Released 26 March 2021

Iphigénie en Tauride

Christoph Willibald Gluck, libretto by Nicolas-Francois Guillard

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 24 March 2021

Gonzalve (Elgan Llyr Thomas), Ashley Riches (Don Iñigo, in clock), Concepción (Catherine Backhouse) and Ramiro (Ross Ramgobin)

L'heure Espagnole

Maurice Ravel

Grange Park Opera

From 20 March 2021

L’Heure Espagnole

Maurice Ravel, Libretto by Frank-Nohain

Grange Park Opera

From 19 March 2021

Le Nozze di Figaro

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Lorenzo Da Ponte

Theater an der Wien, Austria

Released 19 March 2021

Attila

Giuseppe Verdi, libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, Themistocles Solera

Sofia Opera and Ballet

Tsarvets Fortress, Velico, Tarnovic, Bulgaria

19 March–19 June 2021

Andrea Chenier

Umberto Giordano, libretto by Luigi Illica

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 13 March 2021

Breaking the Waves

Music by Missy Mazzoli, libretto by Royce Vavrek, based on the film by Lars v...

Opera Philadelphia

12 March–31 May 2021

Fedora

Umberto Giordano, libretto by Arturo Colautti

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 12 March 2021

Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci

Pietro Mascagni & Ruggero Leoncavallo, libretti by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti...

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 9 March 2021

Die Tote Stadt

Eric Wolfgang Korngold, Libretto by Eric Wolfgang Korngold and Julius Korngold

Komische Oper Berlin

28 February–27 March 2021

Un Ballo in Maschera

Giuseppe Verdi, libretto by Antonio Somma

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 27 February 2021

The Beggar's Opera

John Gay

Theatre des Bouffes du Nord, Paris

Released 26 February 2021

The Queen of Spades

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Libretto by Modest Tchaikovsky

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 23 February 2021

Anne Sophie Duprels (Katyusha) and chorus

Risurrezione

Franco Alfano

Teatro del Maggio Musicale, Florence, Italy

Released 19 February 2021

Pelléas and Mélisande

Claude Debussy

Grand Théâtre de Genève

19 February–19 August 2021

Giulia Semenzato (Venere/Venus) and Nahuel Di Pierro (Ercole/Hercules)

Ercole Amante (Hercules in love)

Francesco Cavalli

Opera Comique, Paris

Released 12 February 2021

Julia Reznik (Iris) and Dirk Mestmacher (her father, Gomella)

Sonnenflammen

Siegfried Wagner

PPP Musiktheater, Bayreuth, Germany

Released 12 February 2021

Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci

Pietro Mascagni & Ruggero Leoncavallo

Teatro Municipale Valli di Emilia with Teatro Communale di Bologna and Grand-...

Teatro Municipale Valli di Emilia

From 9 February 2021

Das Rheingold

Richard Wagner

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 8 February 2021

Der Fliegende Hollander

Composed and written by Richard Wagner

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 29 January 2021

Pietro il Grande

Gaetano Donizetti

Ondaturo Teatro for Donizetti Festival

Released 22 January 2021

Soldier Songs

Music and libretto by David T Little, screenplay by James Darrah and Johnatha...

Opera Philadelphia

22 January–31 May 2021

Gianni Schicchi

Giacomo Puccini, Libretto by Giovacchino Forzano

Teatro Municipale di Piacenza

From 22 January 2021

Lucia di Lammermoor

Gaetano Donizetti, libretto by Salvadore Cammarano

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 19 January 2021

Il Paria

Gaetano Donizetti

Britten Sinfonia, Opera Rara

Released 15 January 2021

Capriccio

Richard Strauss, Libretto by Clemens Krauss and Richard Strauss

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 15 January 2021

Armida

Gioachino Rossini, Libretto by Giovanni Schmidt based on Torquato Tasso’s epi...

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 14 January 2021

The Fiery Angel

Sergey Prokofiev

Teatro dell'Opera, Rome

Released 8 January 2021

Andrea Chenier

Umberto Giordano, libretto by Luigi Illica

The Royal Opera

Royal Opera House, London

8 January–7 February 2021

Adriana Lecouvreur

Francesco Cilea, Libretto by Arturo Colautti

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 4 January 2021

Tosca

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

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 29 December 2020

Hansel and Gretel

Englebert Humperdinck, libretto by Adelheide Wett

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 25 December 2020

Opera news

Scottish Opera pops up on the road

4 June 2021

Scottish Opera will return to live outdoor performance with its Pop-up Opera Roadshow, featuring 30-minute performances of Gilbert & Sullivan classics.

Scottish Opera puts The Elixir of Love on screen

29 May 2021

Scottish Opera's film of Donizetti’s opera L’elisir d’amore (The Elixir of Love) is the latest Scottish Opera: On Screen, filmed at Glasgow’s Theatre Royal.

New circus opera by Philip Glass

14 May 2021

Circus Days and Nights features a libretto from David Henry Hwang and direction from Cirkus Cirkör co-founder and artistic director Tilde Björfors.

ENO announces 21/22 season

14 May 2021

English National Opera returns to the London Coliseum with HMS Pinafore, a new Ring Cycle, The Cunning Little Vixen, The Handmaid's Tale plus revivals.

Opera North online viewing

14 May 2021

As lockdown continues to impact live performance, Opera North has announced a range productions to entertain viewers at home.

Opera North returns to Huddersfield and Dewsbury

13 May 2021

Opera North is to bring back live music to Huddersfield and Dewsbury Town Halls after a year of silence, with a full programme of orchestral, chamber and organ concerts.

Royal Opera House thanks the NHS

27 April 2021

Royal Opera House will present a Thank You NHS programme of live ballet and opera and a special performance by the Royal Opera Chorus for hospital radios around the UK.

Opera North returns to the North East

22 April 2021

Opera North will return to the North East in November 2021 and March and June 2022.

Gilbert and Sullivan Festival to return

20 April 2021

The International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival, which had to be cancelled in 2020, is to go ahead in 2021, starting at Buxton Opera House and moving to the Royal Hall, Harrogate.

Opera North new activities for young musicians

15 April 2021

Opera North’s £18m redevelopment project, the Howard Opera Centre, will offer over 300 places for young musicians and Opera North Youth Orchestra launched.

Scottish Opera filmed and outdoor performances

14 April 2021

There will be a new outdoor production of Verdi’s Falstaff, five pop-up Gilbert & Sullivan shows, Roxana Haines directs the latest Scottish Opera: On Screen.

Opera North returns from lockdown

10 April 2021

A tour of Beethoven’s opera Fidelio will be the first large-scale production for over a year as Leeds-based Opera North builds towards a fuller programme of public events.

Pappano remains ROH Music Director until 2023

1 April 2021

Sir Antonio Pappano will continue as Music Director of The Royal Opera until the end of the 2023/24 season before joining the London Symphony Orchestra as Chief Conductor.

ROH booking for Brecht’s and Weill’s Deadly Sins and Mahagonny

30 March 2021

The Royal Opera House will stream Bertolt Brecht’s and Kurt Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins and Mahagonny Songspiel live from Covent Garden on 9 April.

Royal Opera House new season highlights

28 March 2021

The Royal Opera House's first full season since 2019 features 11 new productions—including 5 world premières—and 20 revivals.

Armitage and Bryars on words and music in podcast

19 March 2021

The latest podcast episode from Opera North and the University of Leeds brings together Poet Laureate Simon Armitage and composer Gavin Bryars.

Opera North's new broadcast and digital projects

19 March 2021

Opera North's new projects will include a co-production with Leeds Playhouse of Testament’s Orpheus in the Record Shop, broadcast on BBC Four and BBC iPlayer as part of #BBCLightsUp.

BBC Easter broadcast of ENO Messiah

12 March 2021

BBC Two will broadcast a concert of Handel’s Messiah from English National Opera for television this Easter.

Royal Opera House to open in May

11 March 2021

The Royal Opera House will open to audiences on 17 May 2021 with performances from The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera, new work online and an opera in 'hyper-reality'.

Belfast Ensemble streams live children's horror opera

5 March 2021

Conor Mitchell’s darkly comic children’s opera The Musician: A Horror Opera for Children from the Belfast Ensemble asks, "who was the Pied Piper?" and "why did the rats all dance to his tune?"

Royal Opera House two new Friday Premières

27 February 2021

Royal Opera House's next two new Friday Premières will be Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and Kenneth MacMillan’s Elite Syncopations.

ENO new staging of Ring Cycle

27 February 2021

English National Opera is to perform a new staging of Wagner’s Ring Cycle, directed by Richard Jones and conducted by Martyn Brabbins, over the next five years.

ROH streams Young Artists and Friday Premieres

12 February 2021

Royal Opera House 's #OurHouseToYourHouse programme continues with Tony and the Young Artists and a new Friday Premiere stream.

Opera North new online activities

8 February 2021

Opera North has launched Opera North’s Little School of Music, Orchestral Academy Online, ONe-to-ONe virtual solo performances and Virtual Choirs: From Couch to Chorus.

ENO and Imperial College Breathe with COVID sufferers

4 February 2021

English National Opera and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust are to roll out nationally their Breathe programme for people recovering from COVID-19.

ROH premières Puccini and Nureyev

30 January 2021

Royal Opera House has announced two new Friday Premières: Puccini's Il trittico and Nureyev's Raymonda Act III.

Scottish Opera screens Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel

30 January 2021

The latest Scottish Opera: On Screen, filmed at Glasgow’s Theatre Royal, is Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, a modern adaptation of the classic fairy tale.

Opera North workshops have diverse Resonance

22 January 2021

Opera North has selected four lead artists to develop new work in this year’s Resonance programme for minority ethnic music-makers.

Verbatim online opera from all-disabled ensemble

13 January 2021

New verbatim opera We Ask These Questions of Everybody from composer Amble Skuse will be performed online by an all-disabled ensemble at Scotland's Sound Festival 2021.