London Opera Season 2026-27 – Previews

Last Updated on August 11, 2026

An Exciting Line-Up of Operas for the Autumn

The London Opera Season for 2026–27 is framed by the chill wind of cuts at the Royal Opera House, with the loss of 64 jobs. On the back of the Arts Council cuts to Glyndebourne’s touring funding and Welsh National Opera, as well as the reshaping of English National Opera as a two-city company, let’s hope that the new government’s 10-year plan includes some sustainable funding for opera.

The Royal Opera

Despite the upheaval, The Royal Opera enters the new season with a sense of creative confidence. There is a new Parsifal, the final instalment of Barrie Kosky’s Ring cycle with Götterdämmerung, and a solid selection of classics beyond the two Wagner productions.

Main Stage Royal Opera

Don Giovanni
10 September–15 October 2026

Kasper Holten’s 2014 production of Mozart’s exploration of the world of the amoral Don G returns for its fourth revival. We said, “I really enjoyed Kasper Holten’s take on Don Giovanni. It’s a production with some … terrific dramatic moments. Don Giovanni becomes an existential hero who owns his fate, taking responsibility if not seeking penance for his sins.” With a strong cast that includes Gordon Bintner as Don Giovanni, Roberto Tagliavini as Leporello, Aigul Akhmetshina as Donna Elvira, Bogdan Volkov as Don Ottavio and Rachel Willis-Sørensen as Donna Anna, this will be a hot ticket. See our review.

Alcina
15 September–3 October 2026

Handel dominated the London opera scene in his lifetime, with many of his productions staged at the Covent Garden site. It is completely fitting that The Royal Opera continues to mine this rich seam of repertory with a return of Richard Jones’ Olivier Award-winning production starring soprano Lisette Oropesa, mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo and soprano Mary Bevan. We said, “Whilst there are lots of lovely moments, Jones’ postmodern take on Alcina doesn’t quite resonate with the underlying structures that seem to demand a more unified approach.” See our review.

Parsifal
1–17 October 2026

Evgeny Titov’s new production of Parsifal, Wagner’s final opera, has been described as being “bold, dreamlike and disturbing.” With Jakub Hrůša in the pit and a stellar cast including Stanislas de Barbeyrac, Ekaterina Gubanova, Christian Gerhaher and Brindley Sherratt, be prepared to fight to get a ticket!

Carmen
29 October–21 November 2026

After last year’s triumphant Damiano Michieletto production of Bizet’s classic opera with Russian mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina and Freddie di Tommaso starring, this year it is the turn of Italian-American mezzo-soprano Ginger Costa-Jackson to take on the title role with Russell Thomas as Don José. Costa-Jackson is no stranger to the role, having performed it at the Hamburg State Opera, Shenzhen Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège, Vancouver Opera, Manitoba Opera, English National Opera and the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, so she should be on top of it! We described the staging as “innovative and entrancing.” See our review.

Un ballo in maschera
30 November–18 December 2026

A surreal new production of Verdi’s political drama Un ballo in maschera, directed by Philipp Stölzl, has Jakub Hrůša conducting and features Charles Castronovo, Malin Byström, Aleksei Isaev, Anita Rachvelishvili, and Kseniia Nikolaieva in the leading roles.

The Magic Flute
13 December 2026–17 February 2027

David McVicar’s classic production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute is back with Dalia Stasevska and Julia Jones conducting. We said, “this production still delights; it has retained its magic for me, and added a layer of intellectual intrigue.” See our review.

Götterdämmerung
21 January–7 February 2027

Barrie Kosky’s Götterdämmerung, the final opera of Wagner’s epic Ring cycle and probably the season highlight, is located “in a contemporary world of dream-like turmoil.” Antonio Pappano conducts with a cast that includes Elisabet Strid, Andreas Schager and Mika Kares. We’ve reviewed some of the previous Kosky Ring Cycle and are anticipating another sell-out production! If you want a taste of what’s to come, check out our feature on Rheingold.

In parallel to the main house, the Linbury Theatre continues to function as a laboratory for smaller-scale and contemporary work.

Linbury Theatre

4.48 Psychosis
17–25 October 2026

We enjoyed director Ted Huffman’s “powerful if bleak” recent new production of Tosca at Glyndebourne. His take on Philip Venables’s operatic adaptation of Sarah Kane’s visceral play 4.48 Psychosis debuts on the Linbury Stage with Naomi Woo conducting. I’ll be there!

Good Sometimes Queen
23–29 January 2027

Lotte Betts-Dean and Jennifer France star in Brett Dean’s two dramatic song cycles in a new staging by Ola Ince that explore “the fates of Mary, Queen of Scots and Shakespeare’s Ophelia”. With the Doric String Quartet providing accompaniment, this is selling fast!
Tickets and information regarding the Royal Opera are available here.

Royal Opera House, Bow Street, London, WC2E 9DD

English National Opera at the London Coliseum

Arts Council England and ENO have created a new business model for the company, with a new base in Manchester, while continuing to own, manage, and produce work at the London Coliseum. As well as creating a regional presence for the company, ENO’s Artistic Director Annilese Miskimmon has created a season that features four operas by contemporary female composers to try to redress the gender inequalities in the art form.

The season opens in London with Angel’s Bone in October 2026, and includes Tosca, La Traviata, Iphigénie en Tauride, Trial by Jury paired with The Zoo, and Breaking the Waves, delivering a blend of new work with classics.
 
Angel’s Bone
16 – 31 October

Grammy-nominated composer Du Yun and librettist Royce Vavrek’s Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Angel’s Bone “combines genres and musical styles into a story of exploitation, as a struggling couple imprison two wounded angels for their own gain.” Starring Scottish mezzo-soprano Allison Cook and British baritone Rodney Earl Clarke with the Kantos Chamber Choir and the Orchestra of ENO, this is a must-see for fans of contemporary opera.

Tosca
30 October – 11 December
Annilese Miskimmon’s new production features Grammy Award winner Axelle Fanyo as Tosca, Chaz’men Williams-Ali as her lover Cavaradossi and Christopher Purves, a brilliant Alberich in the Royal Opera’s Das Rheingold, as the evil Scarpia. Ben Glassberg conducts after his successful La bohème in 2022. Miskimmon has located the opera in a “concert hall in an unidentified European state overtaken by civil conflict.”

Iphigénie en Tauride
6 – 14 November
Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride comes to the ENO for the first time in a new production by Olivier Award-winning director Lyndsey Turner, performed in its original French. An excellent cast features Christine Rice as Iphigénie and Jacques Imbrailo as her brother Oreste. With Baroque specialist David Bates conducting and making his ENO debut, this is one for fans of early music.

Adriana Mater
28 November – 12 December

Kaija Saariaho’s opera, Adriana Mater, is a collaboration between Saariaho and the writer and war correspondent Amin Maalouf in an “exploration of resilience, healing, and what it means to be free.” The score brings together traditional orchestration with electronics, and with ENO’s Music Director Designate André de Ridder collaborating with Annilese Miskimmon on the new production, it may well be a precursor of ENO’s new artistic trajectory.

Making her ENO debut in the title role is Kristina Stanek, with Caspar Singh bringing his affecting tenor voice to the role of Adriana’s son, Yonas. We loved Leigh Melrose’s Alberich in The Rhinegold, and in this production he takes on the role of the militia leader, Tsargo.

To Die For [A Comedy]
29 November

British-Russian composer Elena Langer’s subversive black farce is a “witty satire of celebrity obsession” and, in a collaboration with the Nederlandse Reisopera, the ENO presents its UK premiere for one night only.

Originally commissioned by the Stanislavsky Theatre in Moscow, the opera was cancelled after the invasion of Ukraine, deemed insufficiently patriotic.

Directing is Sam Brown, Artistic Director of the Nederlandse Reisopera, and conducting is English conductor Adrian Kelly, Artistic Director of the Buxton International Festival.
 
Tickets and information regarding the ENO are available here.

London Coliseum, St Martin’s Lane, London WC2N 4ES

English Touring Opera at the Hackney Empire

ETO are back at their Hackney Empire London base with a couple of interesting-looking productions.

Orpheus & Eurydice
16 October

Director Jenny Ogilvie’s take on the classic Orpheus & Eurydice myth has a new orchestration from composer Leo Grant, with William Morgan and Galina Averina in the title roles

Dido and Aeneas/Ariadne
17 October

A double bill telling the tale of two abandoned women featuring Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and Elena Langer’s new Ariadne and starring Samantha Price and Jessica Cale. Bring your hankies!

Tickets and information regarding the ETO are available here

Hackney Empire, 291 Mare St, London, E8 1EJ

Glyndebourne Autumn Season

Glyndebourne is in East Sussex rather than London, but because it is so close, we like to include the autumn season in our round-up! It’s a great way to have some of the Glyndebourne experience at a much reduced price. The autumn season runs from 14 October to 13 December with revivals of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. Glyndebourne is also presenting the world premiere of Spark, a new youth opera by composer Lucy Armstrong and librettist Olivia Bell.

The Marriage of Figaro
14 October – 08 November

We really enjoyed director Mariame Clément’s Figaro last summer, with the French director being the first woman to direct the opera at Glyndebourne. Conductor Bertie Baigent leads a fresh team of singers for this outing of the opera with four season debuts. Prize-winning Uzbekistani bass Jasurbek Khaydarov is in the title role; Chinese soprano Mei Gui Zhang plays Susanna. American soprano Olivia Boen sings the Countess with Russian baritone Anton Beliaev as the Count.

We said, “With elegantly designed revolving sets that guide the audience from chamber to garden, the production offers a visually rich, room-by-room journey that stays true to tradition. In an era of constant reinvention, this faithful approach feels surprisingly fresh.”

See our review.

The Barber of Seville
15 October – 07 November

Last year’s revival of Annabel Arden’s 2016 production with director Sinéad O’Neill at the helm “hit the operatic sweet spot.”

This production has Chinese mezzo Hongni Wu as Rosina, Dr Bartolo sung by Italian baritone Fabio Capitanucci, Chinese tenor Anle Gou as Count Almaviva and Catalan baritone Lluis Calvet i Pey as Figaro. Watch out for Irish soprano Ailish Tynan who returns as housekeeper Berta!

We said “a cast and band singing and playing their socks off and clearly having fun with a production that has found its feet.”
See our review.

Spark
14 – 15 November

Directed by Fiona Dunn, Spark is a “heartwarming tale of loss, friendship and keeping the spark of imagination alive.” For this world premiere by composer Lucy Armstrong and librettist Olivia Bell, professional soloists and the Glyndebourne Sinfonia are joined by the Glyndebourne Youth Opera.

Glyndebourne, Lewes, East Sussex, BN8 5UU

Tickets and information regarding the Glyndebourne Autumn Season
are available here.

Waterperry Opera Festival at Wilton’s Music Hall

The Elixir of Love
8 – 19 September

John Wilkie’s new English adaptation of the Donizetti favourite stars Madeline Robinson as Adina, Xavier Hetherington as Nemorino, Matthew Kellett as Dulcamara, James Geidt as Belcore and Maria Wotherspoon as Giannetta. Performed with piano accompaniment in the intimacy of Wilton’s Music Hall, this will be “an intimate staging of one of opera’s most enduring romantic comedies.”

Wilton’s Music Hall, Graces Alley, London E1 8JB

Tickets and information regarding the Waterperry Opera Festival at Wilton’s Music Hall
are available here.

Oxford International Opera at the New Theatre

Tosca
24 and 26 September

In an ambitious strategic move, the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra has created Oxford International Opera with the first production bringing Puccini’s drama to the New Theatre in Oxford. It’s something of a coup to have booked a cast featuring stars such as Sir Bryn Terfel, Carmen Giannattasio and Saimir Pirgu. Definitely worth a trip down the M40!

New Theatre, 24-26 George St, Oxford OX1 2AG

Tickets and information regarding the Oxford International Opera at the New Theatre
are available here.

The autumn/winter London opera season this year has a blend of new and classic works that showcase the diversity of the art form. Hope to see you at some of these productions!