Mannes Opera Reveals 2025–2026 Season Led by Women Composers and Directors

Mannes Opera has unveiled its 2025–2026 season featuring a majority of women composers, conductors, and directors. Highlights include Saariaho’s La Passion de Simone, Korngold’s U.S. premiere The Silent Serenade, and an Opera in Concert program with Busoni’s Turandot and Unsuk Chin’s Puzzles and Games. The season also continues Mannes’ reputation as a leader in new work incubation with faculty-led workshops in partnership with Opera Saratoga and Wolf Trap Opera.

Managing Artistic Director Emma Griffin said, “The upcoming season is a real arrival for Mannes Opera. At a time when many companies are retreating from programming women’s work, we are presenting a season with a majority of women composers, conductors, and directors. All of these pieces are musically gripping and expansive, delivering the sonic thrill that makes opera such a compelling art form.”

LA PASSION DE SIMONE

Mannes Opera will present the fully staged chamber version of Kaija Saariaho’s extraordinary oratorio La Passion de Simone on October 10 and 11, 2025, at Baruch Performing Arts Center. Conducted by Micah Gleason and directed by Emma Griffin, the production will mark an important continuation of Mannes Opera’s close relationship with the late composer, who served as resident artist at The New School in 2018. The work, which examines the life and writings of philosopher Simone Weil, will be performed in French with English supertitles.

OPERA IN CONCERT: TURANDOT & PUZZLES AND GAMES

The Opera in Concert series will return on November 20, 2025, at Alice Tully Hall, pairing Ferruccio Busoni’s rarely performed Turandot with Unsuk Chin’s fantastical Puzzles and Games. Conducted by Tong Chen and directed by Mikhaela Mahony, the program will feature the Mannes Orchestra and highlight the company’s commitment to presenting unusual and adventurous repertoire.

THE SILENT SERENADE

On March 13 and 14, 2026, Mannes Opera will stage the long-overdue U.S. premiere of Korngold’s The Silent Serenade (Die Stumme Serenade) at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater. Conducted by Cris Frisco and directed by Emma Griffin, the romantic farce blends mistaken identities, amorous intrigue, and the sparkling melodies of a composer best known for his Hollywood film scores. Originally intended for Broadway in the late 1940s, the operetta-revue hybrid slipped into obscurity and will now return in a fully staged English-language premiere.

NEW WORK INCUBATION

Mannes Opera will also continue its role as a leading incubator of new work. On October 4, 2025, the company will host a workshop of Drift, composed by Alyssa Weinberg with a libretto by J. Mae Barizo, in partnership with Opera Saratoga. On April 3, 2026, a workshop of House of Yes, an orchestral opera by Kamala Sankaram with Kathleen Kelly and Michael Kelly, will take place in partnership with Wolf Trap Opera. These workshops will not be open to the public but will provide students with invaluable opportunities to collaborate with professional creators.