Last Updated on December 31, 2023
The Garden in Bloom
2023 was a turbulent year for the arts in the UK. The government seemed hell-bent on destroying the delicate cultural infrastructure. In that context, it has been good to see the Royal Opera House responding with a punchy new season with some exciting premieres for both the Royal Opera and Royal Ballet.
2023 – Opera at the Royal Opera House, Reprise
The lack of newly composed works in the Royal Opera programme highlights the stupidity of the cultural vandalism delivered by the Arts Council on the English National Opera, which has been bringing in some excellent new repertoire and actively nurturing the younger audience who will sustain opera in the future.
So far this 2023/24 Autumn through Winter Season we have enjoyed the strong characterisations that director Barrie Kosky created in his starry dystopian take on Wagner’s Das Rheingold.
There was a welcome return for Christof Loy’s production of Verdi’s La Forza del Destino. With a stellar cast including Sondra Radvanovsky and Brian Jagde with Mark Elder conducting, Verdi’s dizzying melodrama was a sumptuous experience – see our review.
Laurent Pelly’s 1950s staging of Donizetti’s frothy, romantic confection L’Elisir d’Amore with Nadine Sierra as Adina, Liparit Avetisyan as Nemorino and Bryn Terfel as Doctor Dulcarama, was a lot of fun and feels as fresh as ever. 
Oliver Mears’ production of Rigoletto created an oppressive chiaroscuro world worthy of Caravaggio. Conducted by Julia Jones and with Stefan Pop as the Duke of Mantua, Amartuvshin Enkhbat as Rigoletto, Pretty Yende as Gilda and Gianluca Buratto as Sparafucile, this was a world-class evening of opera.
Also directed by Oliver Mears was a new staging of Handel’s epic Old Testament oratorio Jephtha. With Allan Clayton in the lead role singing some of Handel’s finest and most transcendent music, Mears has created a Jephtha for our age.
Damiano Michieletto’s Olivier Award-winning double production of Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Ruggero Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci sets both operas in a gritty Sicilian village where the two tales of love and jealousy play out – see our review.
You can catch Antony McDonald’s take on Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel until 7 January 2024. It’s family-friendly and perfect for a Christmas outing with children, grandchildren or any random children you might care to take. Anna Stéphany and Anna Devin lead the cast – see our review.
Opera at the Royal Opera House 2024
What does the New Year hold for opera fans? We are sure you will agree that 2024 brings some exciting new productions together with revivals of old favourites. What’s not to like?
Elektra
12–30 January 2024
We are looking forward to ‘Strauss’ thrilling and audacious adaptation of the Greek tragedy Elektra’ which receives a new staging by the award-winning director Christof Loy with Nina Stemme in the title role, with Antonio Pappano conducting. This is sure to be a hot ticket.
La Bohème
24 January–16 February 2024
Puccini’s opera of Bohemian passion and friendship is brought to life in Richard Jones’ vivid and evocative production of La Boheme with its delightful bustling evocations of Parisian shopping arcades in the Latin quarter, which we reviewed in 2022 .
Tosca
5 February–21 July 2024
The Flying Dutchman
29 February–16 March 2024
From its stormy overture to the climactic finale, Tim Albery’s brooding and atmospheric production of Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman situates the action in a modern coastal town. Henrik Nánási conducts Wagner’s first undisputed masterpiece, featuring Elisabet Strid as Senta, in her House debut, while Bryn Terfel returns in the lead role.
Woman & Machine
Linbury Theatre
6–16 March 2024
A ground-breaking binaural opera from Mercury-nominated artist ESKA, Woman & Machine charts her three-month experience in the neonatal unit of King’s College Hospital when her daughter was born at just 26 weeks.
Madama Butterfly
14 March–18 July 2024
Puccini’s devastating tragedy about a young geisha who falls in love with an American naval officer returns in this updated revival of Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier’s tried and tested Madama Butterfly.
Carmen
5 April–31 May 2024
Another exciting new production is Damiano Michieletto’s sizzling new production of Bizet’s Carmen with Aigul Akmetshina and Vasilisa Berzhanskaya sharing the title role. Sure to be a hot ticket, Carmen is a great introduction to Opera if you’ve never been before – and a great favourite of many opera fans!
Lucia Di Lammermoor
19 April–18 May 2024
Praised for its intelligence and searing insight, Katie Mitchell’s acclaimed production returns to The Royal Opera, bringing a bold, feminist vision to Donizetti’s setting of Walter Scott’s gothic novel.
Larmes De Couteau / Full Moon In March
Linbury Theatre
24 April–4 May 2024
Dada meets foxtrot, jazz, ragtime, and blues, in this one-act opera with echoes of Kurt Weill and café-théâtre in Bohuslav Martinu’s surreal Larmes de Couteau, paired alongside John Harbison’s adaptation of text from WB Yeats for his rarely performed piece Full Moon in March.
L’Olympiad
Linbury Theatre
13–25 May 2024
Brought to life on the intimate space of the Linbury Theatre stage, Antonio Vivaldi’s L’Olympiad is a baroque rarity from 1734 that promises invigorating feats of vocal virtuosity.
Antonio Pappano Gala
16 May 2024
A timely celebration of Antonio Pappano’s 23-year tenure as Music Director of The Royal Opera. Bravo maestro!
Andrea Chénier
30 May–11 June 2024
Jonas Kaufmann headlines David McVicar’s spectacular staging of Giordano’s historical drama that places a love affair amid the French Revolution, conducted by long-time collaborator Antonio Pappano. This should be epic!
Così Fan Tutte
26 June–9 July 2024
Mozart’s classic opera puts love under the microscope with comic and disturbing results. This revival of Jan Phillip Gloger’s Così Fan Tutte, designed as an opera within an opera continues to entertain, while slightly confusing its audience – check our review of the last run of Cosi Fan Tutti in the summer of 2022
Round-up of 2023 with the The Royal Ballet
The Royal Ballet has had a strong season so far. We love Carlos Acosta’s sultry and romantic ballet Don Quixote
and were very happy he revived his adaptation of Cervantes’ classic novel at Covent Garden with the dream team of Marianela Nuñez as Kitri and Vadim Muntagirov as Basilio. It combines brilliant dance with true entertainment.
A double bill of two recently choreographed works which both won Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards for Best Classical Choreography. Anemoi features Mariko Sasaki, Lukas B. Brændsrød, Leticia Dias and Taisuke Nakao while The Cellist starred Lauren Cuthbertson, Marcelino Sambé and Matthew Ball. It was a must-see for lovers of new work and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house – see our review.
Adapted with Sam Steiner from his award-winning play Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons, The Limit at The Linbury Theatre explores what happens to a couple who have reached their ‘limit’ of spoken words. With an original score by Isobel Waller-Bridge, direction by Ed Madden and choreography by Kristen McNally, The Limit reaches between ballet and acting, plucking the best bits from each and creating something quite special.
The Royal Ballet’s Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor, visual artist Tacita Dean and composer Thomas Adès joined forces to create The Dante Project to celebrate the 700th anniversary of Dante’s death. This creative A-Team has delivered a major new work, a gorgeous modern spectacle that should become a mainstay of the repertoire and is a powerful model for McGregor’s ongoing revitalisation of classical ballet
It’s not too late to book a trip to see The Royal Ballet’s The Nutcracker (ends 13 January 2024). Peter Wright’s much-loved production for The Royal Ballet with gorgeous period designs by Julia Trevelyan Oman keeps true to the spirit of this festive ballet classic, combining the thrill of the fairy tale with spectacular dancing.
Royal Ballet 2024 Winter/Spring
The post-Christmas ballet productions are a mix of classics and new work with a focus on the choreography of Frederick Ashton.
Manon
17 January–8 March 2024
Torn between her desire for a life of splendour and riches and her devotion to her true love Des Grieux, the feckless and capricious Manon pays the ultimate price. With choreography by Kenneth MacMillan and a glorious score drawn from the works of Massenet, this should be a lovely evening of ballet.
Festival Of New Choreography
15–21 February 2024
The Festival of New Choreography is a series of performances and events that aim to embrace and champion new, diverse voices in choreography
Swan Lake
6 March–28 June 2024
Classical ballet’s most powerful tale of love, betrayal and forgiveness returns to the Royal Opera House stage. The Royal Ballet’s Swan Lake is a jewel in the company’s crown and is a perfect way into the art form.
Danses Concertantes / Different Drummer / Requiem
20 March–13 April 2024
The Royal Ballet celebrates the breadth of Principal Choreographer Kenneth MacMillan’s one-act ballets. This programme features MacMillan’s first major work, Danses Concertantes, followed by his balletic interpretation of Woyzeck, Different Drummer and ending with Requiem which was created in memory of John Cranko.
The Winter’s Tale
3 May–1 June 2024
Shakespeare’s profound story of love and loss, artfully adapted into a contemporary three-act narrative ballet by Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldon, returns to the Main Stage.
Message In A Bottle
30 May–2 June 2024
Everyone loves the songs of Sting, from his work with The Police, to his solo songs. The electrifying choreography of Kate Prince frames his repertoire in a new way, creating a tale of hope.
The Sarasota Ballet
4–9 June 2024
The Sarasota Ballet, one of America’s leading ballet companies, pay tribute to the Founder Choreographer of The Royal Ballet and 20th-century ballet pioneer, Frederick Ashton.
Les Rendezvous / The Dream / Rhapsody
6–19 June 2024
Three of Ashton’s most celebrated and expertly choreographed pieces are set to music by Mendelssohn, Rachmaninoff and Auber.
General booking opens on 27 March 2024
The Dream / Short Works / Rhapsody
7–22 June 2024
Frederick Ashton’s masterful Shakespearian character study The Dream and his exhilarating ballet Rhapsody come together alongside a selection of short works, including Five Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan, Hamlet and Ophelia and The Walk to the Paradise Garden performed by Sarasota Ballet.
Useful information about the Royal Opera House
Booking for the following productions is already open
Opera: Elektra, La Boheme, Tosca,
Ballet: Nutcracker, Manon.
Public Booking for the following productions opens on 11 January 2024
Opera: The Flying Dutchman, Woman & Machine, Madama Butterfly, Lucia di Lammermoor, Carmen, Larmes de Couteau
Ballet: Swan Lake, Festival Of New Choreography, Danses Concertantes / Different Drummer / Requiem
Public Booking for the remaining productions opens on 27th March 2024
The Royal Opera House has several bars and restaurants, some open only to ticket holders others open to the public. Check here for more information
In addition to the events we have listed, there are more productions, sometimes from visiting companies and a whole series of activities suitable for different ages, workshops, tours and lectures. For more information, and to book, visit: The Royal Opera House (roh.org.uk)
Royal Opera House,
Bow Street,
Covent Garden
London, WC2E 9DD
