Opera

Opera reviews

La Voix Humaine

François Poulenc, Libretto by Jean Cocteau

Opera Philadelphia

Elkins Estate in Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania

From 24 September 2021

Madam Butterfly

Giacomo Puccini

Welsh National Opera

Wales Millennium Centre

24 September–2 October 2021

Der Zwerg

Alexander Zemlinsky, libretto by George C. Klaren

Dutch National Opera

18 September–18 December 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

Aroldo

Giuseppe Verdi, libretto by Francesco Maria Pavé

Teatro Galli di Rimini

Teatro Amintore Galli, Rimini, Italy

From 27 August 2021

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

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

Platée

Jean-Philippe Rameau

Theater an der Wien, Austria

Released 20 August 2021

Mathis der Maler

Paul Hindemith

Theater an der Wien, Austria

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

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

Don Giovanni

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart/Lorenzo Da Ponte

The Royal Opera

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London

16 July–15 August 2021

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

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

La Finta Giardiniera (The Secret Gardener)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart/?Giuseppe Petrosellini

La Scala, Milan

Released 9 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

Don Giovanni

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte

National Theatre, Prague

18 June–18 September 2021

Love duets

Various composers

Arena di Verona

Released 18 June 2021

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

Die Walküre

Richard Wagner

Sofia Opera, Bulgaria

Released 18 June 2021

Elektra

Richard Strauss, libretto Hugo von Hofmansthal

Salzburg Festival

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

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

Das Rheingold

Richard Wagner

Sofia Opera, Bulgaria

Released 16 April 2021

Don Giovanni

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart/Lorenzo Da Ponte

Unitel Edition / Theater an der Wien, Austria

Released 16 April 2021

Passione

Freddie de Tommaso

Decca

Released 16 April 2021

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

Andrea Chénier

Umberto Giordano

Cmajor / La Scala, Milan

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

Opera news

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.

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.