Opera

Opera reviews

Destiny (Osud)

Leoš Janáček , libretto by Fedora Bartošová

2020 Janáček Brno Festival, Czechoslovakia

Janáček Brno Festival

27 November 2021–28 May 2022

Die Zauberflöte

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Released 26 November 2021

The Imaginary Invalid or The Cabal of Hypocrites

János Vajda, libretto by Szabolcs Várady based on plays by Molière and Mikhai...

Hungarian State Opera

Eifel Arts Studios, Budapest

19 November 2021–19 May 2022

The Valkyrie

Music Richard Wagner, new English language translation John Deathridge

English National Opera

London Coliseum

19 November–10 December 2021

The Barber of Seville

Gioachino Rossini

Welsh National Opera

New Theatre, Oxford

13 November–2 December 2021

Rusalka

Antonín Dvořák

Teatro Real, Madrid

Released 12 November 2021

Sadko

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Bolshoi Opera, Moscow

Released 12 November 2021

Zaza

Ruggero Leoncavallo

Theater an der Wien, Vienna

Released 12 November 2021

Belisario

Gaetano Donizetti

Teatro Donizetti, Bergamo

Released 12 November 2021

Carmen

Score by Georges Bizet, libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy

Opera North

The Lowry, Salford

10–12 November 2021

L’Orfeo

Music by Claudio Monteverdi, libretto by Alessandro Striggio

Teatro Alighieri

Teatro Alighieri, Ravenna, Italy

From 6 November 2021

Alice's Adventures Under Ground

Gerald Barry after Lewis Carroll

Irish National Opera

Wexford Festival from ROH online

5 November–5 December 2021

Der Rosenkavalier

Richard Strauss, Reduced Orchestration by Eberhard Kloke, Libretto by Hugo Vo...

Garsington Opera

Garsington Opera, Wormsley, Buckinghamshire

30 October 2021–29 April 2022

HMS Pinafore or The Lass That Loved a Sailor

Music Arthur Sullivan, libretto W S Gilbert, additional material Cal McCrysta...

English National Opera

London Coliseum

29 October–11 December 2021

Edmea

Alfredo Catalani, Libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni

Wexford Festival Opera

Wexford Festival Opera, Wexford, Ireland

25 October 2021–21 October 2022

Anne Howells (Octavian) and Kiri Te Kanawa (Marschallin)

Der Rosenkavalier

Richard Strauss

Royal Opera House

Released 22 October 2021

Italian Tenor Arias

Azer Zada

Naxos

Released 22 October 2021

Barber of Seville

Composed by Gioachino Rossini, translation of Cesare Sterbini's libretto by R...

Welsh National Opera

The Lyric, Theatre Royal Plymouth

16 October 2021

Iolanta

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, libretto by Modest Tchaikovsky after the play King ...

Royal Swedish Opera

Royal Swedish Opera, Stockholm

15 October 2021–15 April 2022

Giorgio Misseri (Claudio) and Gaia Petrone (Sabina)

Le nozze in villa

Gaetano Donizetti

Teatro Donizetti, Bergamo

Released 15 October 2021

Madam Butterfly

Giacomo Puccini with liberetto by Guiseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica

Welsh National Opera

The Lyric, Theatre Royal Plymouth

14–15 October 2021

Satyagraha

Music Philip Glass, book by Philip Glass and Constance de Jong

English National Opera

London Coliseum

14–28 October 2021

Amadigi

George Frideric Handel

English Touring Opera

York Theatre Royal

11–12 October 2021

David Stout (Stárek) and Karita Mattila (Kostelnička)

Jenůfa

Music and text by Leos Janáček

The Royal Opera

Royal Opera House, London

9 October–9 November 2021

Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene

Renée Fleming and Yannick Nézet-Séguin

Decca

Released 8 October 2021

Hulda

César Franck

Naxos

Released 8 October 2021

Ciboulette

Reynaldo Hahn

Opéra Comique, Paris

Released 8 October 2021

L'equivoco stravagante

Gioachino Rossini

Königliches Kurtheater, Bad Wildbad, Germany

Released 8 October 2021

The Idea

Composition by Gustav Holst with libretto by Fritz B Hart

Irrational Theatre

Jack Studio Theatre

5–9 October 2021

Fidelio

Ludwig von Beethoven, libretto edited by Georg Friedrich Treitschke

Opéra Comique

Opéra Comique, Paris

5 October 2021–30 September 2022

Carmen

Music by Georges Bizet; libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy

Opera North

Leeds Grand Theatre

2–28 October 2021

Re-issue of Muti's 1981 recording of Verdi's Requiem

Verdi: Messa da Requiem

Giuseppe Verdi

BR Klassik

Released 1 October 2021

The Turn of the Screw

Benjamin Britten, libretto by Myfanwy Piper

Le Monnaie / De Munt

Le Monnaie / De Munt, Brussels

28 September 2021–28 February 2022

La Voix Humaine

François Poulenc, Libretto by Jean Cocteau

Opera Philadelphia

Elkins Estate in Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania

From 24 September 2021

Thaïs

Jules Massenet

Theater an der Wien, Vienna

Released 24 September 2021

Madam Butterfly

Giacomo Puccini

Welsh National Opera

Wales Millennium Centre

24 September–2 October 2021

Donizetti in the 1830s - Three Complete Operas

Gaetano Donizetti

Opera Rara

Released 20 September 2021

Der Zwerg

Alexander Zemlinsky, libretto by George C. Klaren

Dutch National Opera

18 September–18 December 2021

Concerto: One Night in Central Park 10th Anniversary Edition

Andrea Bocelli

Decca

Released 16 September 2021

The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte)

Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder

The Royal Opera

Royal Opera House

15 September–7 October 2021

Tosca

Giacomo Puccini, libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica

Teatro Real, Madrid

3 September 2021–3 March 2022

Meeta Raval (Savitri) and Kamil Bien (Satyavan) in Savitri.

Savitri / At the Boar’s Head

Gustav Holt

Northern Opera Group

Morley Town Hall

27–28 August 2021

Aroldo

Giuseppe Verdi, libretto by Francesco Maria Pavé

Teatro Galli di Rimini

Teatro Amintore Galli, Rimini, Italy

From 27 August 2021

Robert Tear: The Argo Recitals

Robert Tear

Decca

Released 27 August 2021

Laurent Naouri (Mamma Agata), Pietro Di Bianco (composer) and Enea Scala (tenor)

Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali

Gaetano Donizetti

Opera de Lyon

Released 26 August 2021

When the Fern Blooms

Yevhen Stankovych, libretto by Oleksandr Stelmashenko

Lviv National Opera

Lviv National Opera, Ukraine

20 August 2021–20 February 2022

I Puritani

Vincenzo Bellini

Delos

Released 20 August 2021

Platée

Jean-Philippe Rameau

Theater an der Wien, Austria

Released 20 August 2021

Haydn: Endimione

Michael Haydn

Salzburger Hofmusik

Released 20 August 2021

Mathis der Maler

Paul Hindemith

Theater an der Wien, Austria

Released 13 August 2021

Abdi: Hafez

Behzad Abdi

Naxos

Released 13 August 2021

Rusalka

Antonin Dvořák, libretto by Jaroslav Kvapil

Staatstheater Braunschweig

Staatstheater Braunschweig, Germany

13 August–13 November 2021

La Traviata

Giuseppe Verdi, libretto by Francesco Maria Pavé

Glyndebourne Opera House

1–29 August 2021

Paer: Leonora

Ferdinando Paer

Cpo

Released 30 July 2021

ll Trovatore

Giuseppe Verdi, libretto by Salvatore Cammarano

Teatro dell’Opera di Roma

Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Italy

28 July 2021–28 January 2022

La Fille du Régiment

Gaetano Donizetti, Libretto by Georges Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean...

Met on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 25 July 2021

Barbe-Bleue

Jacques Offenbach

Opera de Lyon

Released 23 July 2021

Jonas Kaufmann (Paul) and Marlis Petersen (Marietta)

Die tote Stadt

Erich Korngold

Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich

Released 16 July 2021

Don Giovanni

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart/Lorenzo Da Ponte

The Royal Opera

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London

16 July–15 August 2021

La Finta Giardiniera (The Secret Gardener)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart/?Giuseppe Petrosellini

La Scala, Milan

Released 9 July 2021

The Haunted Manor

Stanislaw Moniuszko

Theatre Wielki, Poznan, Poland

Poznan Opera House, Poznan, Poland

9 July 2021–9 January 2022

Le Nozze di Figaro

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte after Beaumarchais

Théâtre de l’Archevêché

Festival Aix-en-Provence 2021

9 July 2021–8 January 2022

David Webb (Gerard), Eleanor Dennis (Miranda) and Graeme Broadbent (Don Diego)

The Dancing Master

Malcolm Arnold

Early Opera Company

Buxton Opera House

9–22 July 2021

A Little Night Music

Stephen Sondheim

Buxton International Festival

Buxton Opera House

8–24 July 2021

Alice Coote, Anna Stéphany and Clive Bayley

La Clemenza di Tito

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, libretto by Caterino Mazzola after Pietro Metastasio

Glyndebourne Opera House

4–18 July 2021

Andrea Chénier

Umberto Giordano, libretto by Luigi Illica

Hungarian State Opera

Erkel Theatre, Budapest

2 July 2021–2 January 2022

Billy Budd

Benjamin Britten, libretto by E M Forster and Eric Crozier based on novel by ...

Met on Demand

Metropolitan Opera House, New York

From 28 June 2021

Express G & S

Written by John Savournin, after Gilbert, with new lyrics by David Eaton.

Charles Court Opera

Pleasance Theatre

23 June–2 July 2021

Evelina Dobracheva as Olga in Ivan the Terrible

Ivan the Terrible (The Maid of Pskov)

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Grange Park Opera

19 June–14 July 2021

Love duets

Various composers

Arena di Verona

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 Hofmansthal

Salzburg Festival

Released 18 June 2021

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

Die Walküre

Richard Wagner

Sofia Opera, Bulgaria

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

Lucia di Lammermoor

Gaetano Donizetti, Libretto by Salvadore Cammarano

Staatsoper Hamburg

11 June–11 September 2021

Mireille

Charles Gounod, libretto by Michel Carre

Opera National de Paris

Released 11 June 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

Opera news

Opera North winter season

21 November 2021

Opera North's 2022 winter season will open at Leeds Grand in January with two new shows and a revival of Carmen, followed, in June, by a new concert performance of Wagner's Parsifal.

Nutcracker opens ROH cinema season

16 November 2021

The Royal Opera House will open its international Cinema Season with Peter Wright’s production of The Nutcracker.

Wolf Witch Giant and Fairy relaxed at Linbury

3 November 2021

The Royal Opera House is to stage its first fully relaxed run of shows with Little Bulb's Wolf Witch Giant Fairy at Linbury Theatre, in association with Farnham Maltings.

Scottish Opera and Disney collaborate in schools

28 October 2021

Scottish Opera and Disney Musicals in Schools will give five primary schools in Scotland the opportunity to learn and produce their own Disney KIDS musical including The Lion King KIDS and Aladdin KIDS.

Scottish Opera's festive children's musical adventure

15 October 2021

Scottish Opera will presents Mister MacNeep Has Lost His Sheep, a festive musical adventure for children aged 3 to 7, at the company’s Edington Street Production Studios in Glasgow.

20 years of ROH Jette Parker Young Artists

5 October 2021

This autumn, the Royal Opera House will celebrate 20 years of the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme with Meet the Young Artists Week 2021.

Scottish Opera helps Long COVID with Breath Cycle

5 October 2021

Breath Cycle, Scottish Opera’s new project to benefit those suffering from conditions affecting lung health, in particular Long COVID, begins online in October.

Some of the cast of The Barber of Seville

WNO returns to Birmingham with two major productions

1 October 2021

Welsh National Opera returns to Birmingham Hippodrome with Giles Havergal’s 1986 production of Rossini's The Barber of Seville and a new version of Puccini's Madam Butterfly.

Philip Glass opera up for circus awards

26 September 2021

Circus Days and Nights, a new opera by Philip Glass co-produced by Cirkus Cirkör and Malmö Opera, has been nominated for four awards at the International Circus Awards.

ROH autumn streams of opera and ballet

12 September 2021

The Royal Opera House will stream six productions from its 2021/22 season on selected Fridays then on-demand for 30 days.

Royal Opera and Ballet at the movies

12 September 2021

The Royal Opera House has launched its 2021/22 international Cinema Season after sixteen months of closure, broadcasting to more than 2,000 screens across the globe.

ROH opera and ballet schools matinées

5 September 2021

The Royal Opera House has announced details of this year’s schools’ matinées, bringing ballet and opera to more than 10,000 pupils.

Scottish Opera tours G&S Gondoliers

5 September 2021

A new Scottish Opera production of Gilbert & Sullivan's The Gondoliers opens at Theatre Royal Glasgow before touring to Edinburgh, Inverness and London's Hackney Empire.

Northern Ireland Opera's La Bohème

20 August 2021

International tenor Noah Stewart will perform Rodolfo in Cameron Menzies’s production of La Bohème this September.

Scottish Opera returns indoors

20 August 2021

Scottish Opera’s Opera Highlights tour will journey the length and breadth of Scotland to 9 venues for a total of 11 performances.

ENO Tosca at South Facing Festival

13 August 2021

As a part of South Facing Festival at Crystal Palace Bowl in London, English National Opera will present a semi-staged outdoor performance of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca.

Scottish Opera Young Company in Weill première

29 July 2021

Scottish Opera’s Young Company, will perform the Scottish première of Kurt Weill’s absurd one-act comedy The Tsar Has His Photograph Taken.

NI Opera announces its delayed return to live performances

23 July 2021

Northern Ireland Opera unveils a new era with its first live performances with audiences in 19 months.

ROH Engender Festival returns for 2021

24 June 2021

The Royal Opera House's Engender Festival returns for 2021 with a packed programme of events and a line-up of change-makers and creatives.

ROH Unlocked festival

24 June 2021

Royal Opera House and Covent Garden will partner for festival of creativity: ROH Unlocked, a month-long programme of cultural events.

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.