The latest news on performances of Opera in UK / West End.
Guest Blog: 'She Was More Than Just a Singer': Soprano Nadine Benjamin on the Legacy of 'La Divina' and 7 DEATHS OF MARIA CALLAS
by Guest Author - November 08, 2023
Maria Callas, an extraordinary force in the world of opera, possessed a mesmerising ability to convey authentic emotion through her singing. Her dramatic coloratura style was nothing short of a revelation, captivating audiences worldwide. ...
Guest Blog: 'This is a Happy Ending': J Spooner of Unlimited Theatre on Closing the Touring Company and Their Upcoming unAwards
by Guest Author - November 06, 2023
27 years ago, in 1997, I co-founded a theatre company with five friends. The artists and founders of Unlimited Theatre were all graduates from the Workshop Theatre at the University of Leeds who had been inspired by incredible artists who'd come before us....
Review: 7 DEATHS OF MARIA CALLAS, London Coliseum
by Franco Milazzo - November 04, 2023
Celebrated performance artist Marina Abramović is very much in town: as well as a huge exhibition of her works at the Royal Academy, this “opera project” in London’s largest West End theatre sees her explore the life, works and final moments of the diva’s diva Maria Cal...
Review: RIP VAN WINKLE, Hoxton Hall
by Franco Milazzo - October 29, 2023
London company Gothic Opera returns to Hoxton Hall for their fifth outing and their take on French composer Robert Planquette's Rip Van Winkle....
Review: LA TRAVIATA, London Coliseum
by Franco Milazzo - October 24, 2023
Much shorter than Richard Eyre’s three-hour plus version for the ROH, Peter Konwitschny’s La Traviata perhaps should be renamed La Trav or L’ Abbreviata. Its breathless sprint over 105 uninterrupted minutes takes more than it gives but there’s an admirable boldness to it all....
VIDEO: Watch A Spooky Tour of The Royal Opera House
by Blair Ingenthron - October 22, 2023
Watch a spooky tour complete with opera ghost stories in this video from the Royal Opera House here!...
ENO Adds Additional Performance of 7 DEATHS OF MARIA CALLAS
by Stephi Wild - October 18, 2023
The English National Opera has announced that there will be an additional performance of 7 Deaths of Maria Callas on Wednesday 8 November 2023 at 19.30....
ENO's Musical Director Martyn Brabbins Resigns Over Cuts
by Aliya Al-Hassan - October 16, 2023
British conductor and the ENO's Musical Director Martyn Brabbins has resigned from the company in response to cuts to the orchestra. ...
Review: RIGOLETTO, Royal Opera House
by Michael Higgs - October 13, 2023
Mears’s production demonstrates a keen feel for drama and a genuinely brilliant reading of Verdi’s opera; when juxtaposed with a musical interpretation as potent as this, it’s a production not likely to be forgotten....
International Opera Awards 2023 Shortlist Revealed
by Stephi Wild - October 11, 2023
The International Opera Awards has announced the shortlist for this year's Awards, which will be held at Teatr Wielki, Polish National Opera, Warsaw on Thursday 9 November....
Review: IOLANTHE, London Coliseum
by Franco Milazzo - October 09, 2023
If a revival is akin to colouring in someone else’s artwork, Cal McCrystal’s Iolanthe for the ENO does so with every shade under the sun....
Marina Abramović's Opera Project 7 DEATHS OF MARIA CALLAS Makes UK Premiere
by Stephi Wild - October 05, 2023
In an exciting UK premiere, this November the English National Opera (ENO) presents celebrated performance artist Marina Abramović making her ENO debut with her production of 7 Deaths of Maria Callas at the London Coliseum. Learn more about the production and how to get tickets here!...
Review: PICTURE A DAY LIKE THIS, Royal Opera House
by Alexander Cohen - September 28, 2023
George Benjamin's slick new opera plays at the Royal Opera House after a critically acclaimed run at Festival d'Aix-en-Provence...
National Theatre Wales Receives 100% Cut from Arts Council of Wales
by Aliya Al-Hassan - September 28, 2023
National Theatre Wales has had its funding completely cut in the latest Wales funding review....
Review: L'ELISIR D'AMORE, Royal Opera House
by Gary Naylor - September 24, 2023
Liparit Avetsiyan lends emotional weight to an opera that veers a little too close to pantomime on occasion...
Review: PETER GRIMES, London Coliseum
by Alexander Cohen - September 22, 2023
Deftly balances psychological thrill with morality as murky as the North Sea...
LA TRAVIATA Returns to the London Coliseum in October.
by Stephi Wild - September 21, 2023
Returning to the London Coliseum this October is Peter Konwitschny’s production of La traviata. Romantic and heartbreaking in equal parts, Verdi’s most famous opera tells the story of the doomed love between the courtesan, Violetta, and the gentleman, Alfredo. Learn more about the opera and fin...
Review: LA FORZA DEL DESTINO, Royal Opera House
by Gary Naylor - September 20, 2023
Sondra Radvanovsky, Brian Jagde and Etienne Dupuis lead a wonderful cast and orchestra in a near-overwhelming production that fully justifies its four hours running time...
Review: THE MIKADO, Grimeborn, Arcola Theatre
by Michael Higgs - September 20, 2023
It maintains the opera’s timeless charm, strong wit, and with a cast that never takes itself seriously, leads to an evening that has the audience roaring with laughter....
Review: DAS RHEINGOLD, Royal Opera House
by Alexander Cohen - September 12, 2023
Given his political radicalism and fervent romanticism, it is more than fair to wonder if Richard Wagner would be partial to Just Stop Oil. Sporting his iconic beret, would he, if he were around today, brandish banners and block cars on the M1? Barrie Kosky may think so. He thrusts Wagner’s ecolog...
Review: TURANDOT, Grimeborn Festival, Arcola Theatre
by Gary Naylor - August 26, 2023
The thrill of operatic voices singing up close and personal in a radical re-interpretation of an opera ripe for bringing into the 21st century...
Glyndebourne Reveals 2024 Season Lineup
by Aliya Al-Hassan - August 21, 2023
As the 2023 Festival draws to a close, Glyndebourne has announced the programme for 2024, when the company marks its 90th anniversary year....
Jonathan Kent's Production of Puccini's TOSCA Released on Royal Opera House Stream
by Stephi Wild - August 16, 2023
The Royal Opera House will release three exclusive recordings of The Royal Ballet’s founding choreographer Frederick Ashton’s work on Royal Opera House Stream. Available to watch from Thursday 17 August, this triple bill was recorded in 2022, uniting Ashton’s modernist Scènes de ballet, ...
Review: LOYOLA, Grimeborn Festival, Arcola Theatre
by Gary Naylor - August 12, 2023
Beautifully sung South American opera flawed a little by its overpowering religious messaging....
Review: TROUBLE IN TAHITI, Grimeborn Festival, Arcola Theatre
by Gary Naylor - August 11, 2023
Boutique opera now 72 years old but could have been written yesterday in terms of its music, its themes and its relevance, performed with verve and confidence...
Review: RUDDIGORE, Opera Holland Park
by Gary Naylor - August 10, 2023
Super show, a little slow at first, but blossoming into an escapist entertainment that can be enjoyed as much in the 2020s as it was in the 1880s...
Opera Holland Park Announces 2024 Season
by Aliya Al-Hassan - August 09, 2023
First seen at Opera Holland Park in 2008, and set in the heat, glamour and corruption of 1960s Rome, Stephen Barlow’s sensational five star production of Tosca opens the 2024 Season and is the first of two Puccini operas to mark the centenary of the composer’s death. ...
Review: NO FOR AN ANSWER, Grimeborn, Arcola Theatre
by Michael Higgs - July 28, 2023
A strong score, neat production by Mehmet Ergen and an excellent cast make it worth a watch, even if it has several plot-related issues...
Review: ITCH, Opera Holland Park
by Gary Naylor - July 27, 2023
Jonathan Dove's music underpins and enhances the tale of a teen suddenly thrust into a world of corporate power and environmental exploitation...
Review: PROM 11: HORRIBLE HISTORIES - 'ORRIBLE OPERA, Royal Albert Hall
by Kat Mokrynski - July 24, 2023
Prom 11: Horrible Histories ‘Orrible Opera is a delightful show that will amuse audiences of all ages while making opera more approachable....
Review: LA BOHÈME, Opera Holland Park
by Aliya Al-Hassan - July 22, 2023
Puccini’s masterpiece La bohème combines friendship, passion and tragedy to create one of the world’s most popular operas. Having been staged so many times, there is an understandable temptation to alter the setting, but does it work or is it change for change's sake?...
Soprano Rainelle Krause to Make Debut at the BBC Proms
by A.A. Cristi - July 07, 2023
The prestigious BBC Proms announces the highly anticipated debut of soprano Rainelle Krause at this year's 'Horrible Histories - 'Orrible Opera' performance. Set to take place on July 22, 2023, at the iconic Royal Albert Hall, this unique event offers an entertaining exploration of opera's history...
THE MERCHANT OF VENICE 1936, Daniel Kitson's MAYBE A GHOST STORY, and More Set For Wilton's Music Hall Autumn Season
by Stephi Wild - July 05, 2023
Wilton's Music Hall has announced its stunning autumn season, which sees ground-breaking productions, and collaborations with forward-thinking theatre companies. Continuing what has been an incredible year of theatre for Britain's oldest Victorian music hall, this new season is set to be one of the ...
Jonas Kaufmann Withdraws from Final Two Performances of WERTHER at Royal Opera House
by Blair Ingenthron - July 01, 2023
The Royal Opera House has announced that Jonas Kaufmann has withdrawn from the final two performances of Werther on Saturday 1 July and Tuesday 4 July due to continued illness. ...
Review: WOMAN AT POINT ZERO, Royal Opera House
by Gary Naylor - June 29, 2023
Unique production defies easy categorisation, but thrills and appals to live long in the memory...
Review: EVEREST, Barbican Theatre
by Alexander Cohen - June 26, 2023
An atmospheric story of a group of trapped explorers at the mercy of mother nature, the UK premiere of Joby Talbot’s Everest has a chillingly eerie resonance....
Review: WERTHER, Royal Opera House
by Alexander Cohen - June 21, 2023
A lacklustre central performance shifts the focus towards Charlotte's tragedy instead of Werther's....
Just Stop Oil Protesters Interrupt Glyndebourne Performance
by Aliya Al-Hassan - June 16, 2023
Just Stop Oil protesters interrupted a performance during the Glyndebourne opera festival in East Sussex by letting off glitter cannons and blowing air horns....
Guest Blog: 'My Journey Has Been Almost as Long as His!': Writer and Librettist Glyn Maxwell on Adapting Wagner's THE FLYING DUTCHMAN
by Guest Author - June 12, 2023
My journey with The Flying Dutchman has been almost as long as his. I was enthralled by the story as a child – a sailor who lost a bet with the Devil! – and then, twenty-five years ago, wrote a 10,000 line epic poem called Time’s Fool, where I substituted an endless ghost train for the cursed ...
Review: HANSEL AND GRETEL, Opera Holland Park
by Cheryl Markosky - June 12, 2023
As a first taster to opera, Opera Holland Park's Hansel and Gretel isn't a bad place to start....