In its 90th anniversary year, The Royal Ballet presents a Season that respects the past and heralds the future. Three world premieres, including Wayne McGregor’s The Dante Project, Christopher Wheeldon’s Like Water for Chocolate and a new work by American choreographer Kyle Abraham, are performed alongside much-loved 19th-century classics and heritage ballets by Frederick Ashton and Kenneth MacMillan. The Linbury Theatre hosts a raft of partnerships and co-productions including with Ballet Black, Alessandra Ferri, Yorke Dance Project and a world premiere from Company Wayne McGregor. Creative opportunities for emerging talent will also feature with Draft Works and the Next Generation Festival. The Season culminates in July 2022 with The Royal Ballet making a welcome return to international touring with a three-week tour of Japan where the Company will perform Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon and Peter Wright’s Giselle.
The Royal Opera Season will open with a new production of Verdi’s Rigoletto, directed by Oliver Mears – his first production since becoming The Royal Opera’s Director of Opera in 2017. This new production will receive its premiere in September 2021, with Royal Opera Music Director Antonio Pappano conducting the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. In its 75th year, The Royal Opera strengthens its commitment to the works of Benjamin Britten, George Frideric Handel and Leoš Janáček with new productions of Peter Grimes, Theodora and the long-awaited premiere of Jenůfa. Also given its premiere this Season is a new production of Camille Saint-Saëns’s grand-opera Samson et Dalila, while international and British talent are cast in repertory favourites including Tosca, La traviata and Così fan tutte.
The Linbury Theatre presents two opera world premieres: Laura Bowler’s The Blue Woman, directed by Katie Mitchell, and Wolf Witch Giant Fairy – a magical new family show in collaboration with Little Bulb opening in time for Christmas. Spring 2022 will see director Adele Thomas bring Vivaldi’s Bajazet to life in a new production – the first Vivaldi opera to be staged at the Royal Opera House. In June 2022 Tom Coult's Violet will be presented off site at the Hackney Empire with co-producers Music Theatre Wales and Britten Pears Arts.
Opera and Ballet for the 2021/22 Season
Rigoletto
13–29 September 2021 / 18 February–12 March 2022
The Royal Opera
Main Stage
Music Giuseppe Verdi
Sung in Italian with English surtitles
Position of Music Director Maestro Antonio Pappano generously supported by Mrs Susan A. Olde OBE. Generous philanthropic support from Sandra and Anthony Gutman, Charles Holloway, Melinda and Donald Quintin, Simon and Virginia Robertson and the Royal Opera House Endowment Fund. Supported by Rolex.
The Season opens with a new production of Verdi’s Rigoletto, directed by Oliver Mears – his first as Director of The Royal Opera. This production sees Verdi’s masterpiece as a modern morality play that pits power against innocence, beauty against ugliness, in a pitiless world of luxurious decadence, corruption and social decay. Antonio Pappano and Paul Wynne Griffiths conduct in the Autumn, with Carlos Álvarez in the title role alongside Lisette Oropesa and Liparit Avetisyan. In February, Stefano Montanari conducts a cast that includes Luca Salsi, Rosa Feola and Javier Camarena.
Creative Team
Conductors ANTONIO PAPPANO/PAUL WYNNE GRIFFITHS/STEFANO MONTANARI
Director OLIVER MEARS
Set designer SIMON LIMA HOLDSWORTH
Costume designer ILONA KARAS
Lighting designer FABIANA PICCIOLI
Movement director ANNA MORRISSEY
Cast
Rigoletto CARLOS ÁLVAREZ/LUCA SALSI
Duke of Mantua LIPARIT AVETISYAN/JAVIER CAMARENA
Gilda LISETTE OROPESA/ROSA FEOLA
Sparafucile ANDREA MASTRONI/EVGENY STAVINSKY
Maddalena RAMONA ZAHARIA/AIGUL AKHMETSHINA
Count Monterone ERIC GREENE/PHILLIP RHODES
Giovanna KSENIIA NIKOLAIEVA
Marullo DOMINIC SEDGWICK/GERMÁN E. ALCÁNTARA
Borsa EGOR ZHURAVSKII
Count Ceprano BLAISE MALABA
ROYAL OPERA CHORUS
ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
The Magic Flute
15 September–7 October 2021
The Royal Opera
Main Stage
Music Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Sung in German with English surtitles
Generous philanthropic support from Bertrand and Elisabeth Meunier
David McVicar’s spectacular production of Mozart’s comic opera returns for its tenth revival on the Royal Opera House Main Stage, transporting you to a fantastical world of dancing animals, flying machines and starry skies. This spellbinding setting provides a wonderful backdrop for Mozart’s kaleidoscopic score. McVicar’s production embraces both the seriousness and the comedy of Mozart’s opera, telling a timeless story of one man’s search for wisdom and virtue. With an enduring love story at its heart, complex villains and an unforgettable comic sidekick in Papageno, The Magic Flute weaves an enchanting tale from start to finish.
Creative Team
Conductors: HARTMUT HAENCHEN/RICHARD HETHERINGTON
Director DAVID MCVICAR
Designer JOHN MACFARLANE
Lighting designer PAULE CONSTABLE
Movement director LEAH HAUSMAN
Cast
Tamino DANIEL BEHLE/BERNARD RICHTER
Pamina SALOME JICIA/CHRISTINA GANSCH
Papageno HUW MONTAGUE RENDALL/PETER KELLNER
Queen of the Night BRENDA RAE/KATHRYN LEWEK
Sarastro KRZYSZTOF BĄCZYK/JAMES PLATT
Monostatos MICHAEL COLVIN/PETER HOARE
Papagena HAEGEE LEE/ALEXANDRA LOWE
SpeakeroftheTempleJOCHENSCHMECKENBECHER/DAVIDSOAR
First Lady ALEXANDRA LOWE/ANITA WATSON
Second Lady HANNA HIPP/RACHEL KELLY
Third Lady STEPHANIE WAKE-EDWARDS/GAYNOR KEEBLE
First Priest HARRY NICOLL
Second Priest DONALD MAXWELL
First Man in Armour ALAN PINGARRÓN
Second Man in Armour JAMES PLATT
ROYAL OPERA CHORUS
ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
Jenůfa
28 September–12 October 2021
The Royal Opera
Main Stage
Music Leoš Janáček
Sung in Czech with English surtitles
Generous philanthropic support from Hamish and Sophie Forsyth and Simon and Virginia Robertson
The Royal Opera continues its series of Janáček operas with the first production of Jenůfa at Covent Garden since 2001, by award-winning director Claus Guth. Janáček movingly captures Jenůfa’s progression from hope to despair to eventual radiant happiness, while her stepmother, the Kostelnička, is one of opera’s most complex maternal figures. The two courageous women struggle for fulfilment against the backdrop of a claustrophobic rural community.
Asmik Grigorian as Jenůfa and Karita Mattila as the Kostelnička lead a star cast with Hungarian conductor Henrik Nánási conducting a stunning score infused with traditional folk melodies of Janáček’s native Moravia.
Creative Team
Conductor HENRIK NÁNÁSI
Director CLAUS GUTH
Set designer MICHAEL LEVINE
Costume designer GESINE VÖLLM
Lighting designer JAMES FARNCOMBE
Choreographer TERESA ROTEMBERG
Video designer ROCAFILM
Dramaturg YVONNE GEBAUER
Cast
Jenůfa ASMIK GRIGORIAN
KostelničkaKARITAMATTILA
LacaKlemeňNICKYSPENCE
Števa Buryja ANDREW STAPLES
Grandmother Buryjovka ELENA ZILIO
Foreman DAVID STOUT
Mayor JEREMY WHITE
Mayor’s wife HELENE SCHNEIDERMAN/ CLARISSA MEEK
Karolka JACQUELYN STUCKER
Herdswoman ANGELA SIMKIN
Barena APRILKOYEJO-AUDIGER
Jano YARITZA VÉLIZ
ROYAL OPERA CHORUS
ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
Jette Parker Young Artists 20th Anniversary
27 September 2021–23 July 2022
The Royal Opera
Jette Parker Young Artists
The Jette Parker Young Artists Programme this Season celebrates its 20th anniversary. In October, Meet The Young Artists Week offers a chance to hear live many of the artists who joined last year and whose performances you may only have seen on screen. The wonderful acoustic of the Linbury Theatre offers the perfect environment for a rich programme of song, piano music, operatic arias and ensembles, curated by the Programme’s founder and Artistic Director David Gowland.
In the Linbury in May, they mark the centenary of Stravinsky’s one-act opera Mavra, in a mixed programme with Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire. And throughout the year you can catch returning JPYA alumni and graduates of the Link Artist programme joining the Anniversary Company for roles on both stages and recital performances.
The anniversary year culminates on 23 July in a special performance on the Main Stage marking the Programme and its artists’ achievements across two decades with Antonio Pappano who also celebrates 20 years with The Royal Opera.
Generously supported by Oak Foundation
Recitals at Lunch, Crush Room
27 September 2021 ALEXANDRA LOWE
8 November 2021 KSENIIA NIKOLAIEVA
29 November 2021 NEW WORK RECITAL INCLUDING JPYA ALUMNI
24 January 2022 EGOR ZHURAVSKII
7 February 2022 NEW WORK RECITAL
14 February 2022 MICHAEL PAPADOPOULOS and MICHAEL SIKICH
14 March 2022 BLAISE MALABA
11 April 2022 ANDRÉS PRESNO
25 April 2022 THANDO MJANDANA
Meet the Young Artists Week, Linbury Theatre
5–9 October 2021
5 October, 7.45pm JUKE BOX 1
6 October, 1pm LUNCHTIME RECITAL | 7.45pm INSIGHT: WAGNER AT THE PIANO
7 October, 7.45pm BRITTEN SONG CYCLES
8 October, 7.45pm JUKEBOX 2
9 October, 7.45pm ALUMNI CONCERT
Mavra and Pierrot Lunaire
12–28 May 2022
The Royal Opera
Jette Parker Young Artists
Linbury Theatre
As part of their 20th anniversary celebrations, the Jette Parker Young Artists present a mixed programme in the Linbury Theatre, bringing together Igor Stravinsky’s rarely performed Mavra, 100 years after its 1922 premiere, and Arnold Schoenberg’s 1912 Pierrot Lunaire. Stravinsky’s one-act opera is based on a narrative poem by Pushkin, in which a Hussar disguises himself as a cook in an attempt to spend more time with his lover. Schoenberg’s formally wide-ranging, atonal score, pre-dating the 12-tone technique for which he is celebrated, transforms into Sprechstimme the texts of poems by Albert Giraud on subjects ranging from love, sex and religion to violence, crime and blasphemy.
Creative Teams and Casts
Conductor MICHAEL PAPADOPOULOS
Director ANTHONY ALMEIDA
Designer ROSANNA VIZE
MAVRA
Music Igor Stravinsky
Performed in Russian with English surtitles
Orchestration PAUL PHILLIPS
Libretto BORIS YEVGEN’YEVICH KOCHNO after the narrative poem The Little House at Kolomna by ALEXANDER PUSHKIN
Parasha APRIL KOYEJO-AUDIGER
The Hussar/Mavra EGOR ZHURAVSKII
The Mother KSENIIA NIKOLAIEVA
PIERROT LUNAIRE
Music Arnold Schoenberg
Performed in German with English surtitles
Libretto ALBERT GIRAUD Poems from Pierrot Lunaire
Soprano ALEXANDRA LOWE
Performed in German with English surtitles
20th Anniversary Summer Performance
Main Stage
23 July 2022
Jette Parker Young Artists and guests
Sopranos ALEXANDRA LOWE
Mezzo-sopranos KSENIIA NIKOLAIEVA
Tenors ALAN PINGARRÓN, ANDRÉS PRESNO, EGOR ZHURAVSKII
Baritone CHUMA SIJEQA
Bass BLAISE MALABA
Conductors ANTONIO PAPPANO and MICHAEL PAPADOPOULOS
Romeo and Juliet
5–24 October 2021 / 10 January–25 February 2022
The Royal Ballet
Main Stage
Choreography KENNETH MACMILLAN
Music SERGEY PROKOFIEV
Generous philanthropic support from SUSAN and JOHN BURNS, SIR LLOYD and LADY DORFMAN, KENNETH and SUSAN GREEN, SANDRA and ANTHONY GUTMAN, the JEAN SAINSBURY ROYAL OPERA HOUSE FUND and the ROYAL OPERA HOUSE ENDOWMENT FUND
Since its 1965 premiere with The Royal Ballet, Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet has become a great modern ballet classic of the world repertory. The nuanced and detailed choreography gives dancers in the lead roles a wealth of opportunities for differing interpretations of the doomed lovers. Evocative designs by Nicholas Georgiadis bring the colour and action of Renaissance Verona, where a busy market all too quickly bursts into sword fighting and a family feud leads to tragedy for both the Montagues and the Capulets. Prokofiev’s ravishing score sweeps this dramatic ballet towards its inevitable, emotional end.
Creative Team
Designer NICHOLAS GEORGIADIS
Lighting designer JOHN B. READ
Conductors KOEN KESSELS /ALONDRA DE LA PARRA/JONATHAN LO
ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
The Dante Project
14–30 October 2021
The Royal Ballet
Main Stage
Choreography WAYNE MCGREGOR
Music THOMAS ADÈS
A co-production between THE ROYAL BALLET and PARIS OPERA BALLET
Music co-commission with LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC, GUSTAVO DUDAMEL, Music and Artistic Director
Generous philanthropic support from SIR LLOYD and LADY DORFMAN and THE FRIENDS OF COVENT GARDEN
Presented as part of the 700th anniversary celebrations of the poet’s death, Dante’s epic journey through the afterlife, The Divine Comedy, is realised in a major artistic collaboration between trailblazing forces of the contemporary arts scene. In an inaugural co-production with Paris Opera Ballet and music co-commission with the LA Phil, Wayne McGregor’s ground-breaking choreography comes together with a virtuoso new score by one of the most influential musicians of the 21st Century, composer conductor Thomas Adès, and designs by the acclaimed artist Tacita Dean, celebrated for her pioneering and poetic work across film and other mediums. With esteemed lighting designer Lucy Carter and dramaturg Uzma Hameed, the creative team unite in this three-part work for the full Company to illuminate the extraordinary vision of Dante. Inspired by the agony of Dante’s own exile, the poem traces his path from crisis to revelation guided by his literary hero Virgil and his lost love Beatrice, through the horrifying drama of Inferno and its damned, the lyrical mysticism of pilgrims on mount Purgatorio and the dazzling spheres of Paradiso with their endless configurations of light.
Creative Team
Design TACITA DEAN
Lighting design (part 1) LUCY CARTER/ SIMON BENNISON
Lighting design (parts 2 and 3) LUCY CARTER
Dramaturgy UZMA HAMEED
Conductors THOMAS ADÈS / KOEN KESSELS
ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
L’Heure exquise
Inspired by Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days
15–23 October 2021
Linbury Theatre
Choreography MAURICE BÉJART
Music ANTON WEBERN/GUSTAV MAHLER/WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART/FRANZ LEHAR
ALESSANDRA FERRI and CARSTEN JUNG
Co-production with AF DANCE, RAVENNA FESTIVAL and THE ROYAL BALLET
Performed by courtesy of FOUNDATION MAURICE BÉJART
Special thanks to LADY ANGELA BERNSTEIN CBE
Official pointe shoe sponsor Freed of London
Supported by Intesa Sanpaolo
World-renowned ballerina and former Royal Ballet Principal Alessandra Ferri returns to the Linbury Theatre following TRIO Concertdance and Chéri, as well as recent guest appearances with The Royal Ballet in Woolf Works and Marguerite and Armand on the Main Stage. Maurice Béjart’s L’Heure exquise (The Exquisite Hour) was inspired by Samuel Beckett’s play Oh! les beaux jours (Happy Days). Béjart created this piece for Carla Fracci and Micha Van Hoecke in 1998, after a solo piece made on Mathilde Souverbie. From its breath-taking opening, with the dancer submerged to the waist in a mountain of over 2,000 pointe shoes, to the stunning variations that capture her past in fragments, this is an unmissable opportunity to celebrate the 40th anniversary milestone of Alessandra Ferri’s association with The Royal Ballet and her remarkable artistic journey.
Creative Team
Original set designs ROGER BERNARD
Costume designer LUISA SPINATELLI
Staging MAINA GIELGUD/ MICHA VAN HOECKE
La traviata
27 October–17 November 2021/ 2 April–18 April 2022
The Royal Opera
Main Stage
Music Giuseppe Verdi
Sung in Italian with English surtitles
Generous philanthropic support from Sir Mick and Lady Barbara Davis
Six sopranos take the role of Violetta this Season in two runs of Richard Eyre’s time-honoured production of Verdi’s La traviata. Verdi’s beautiful score contains some of his most inspired arias and duets, including Violetta’s joyous ‘Sempre libera’, and her poignant and passionate encounters with Alfredo and Germont. The superficial glamour of 19th-century Paris contrasts with scenes of great intimacy, culminating in the memorable, heart-breaking final act. The Royal Opera welcomes Lisette Oropesa, Ekaterina Bakanova, Anush Hovhannisyan, Pretty Yende, Angel Blue and Hrachuhí Bassénz to sing the favourite role of star sopranos in the most performed opera in the world.
Creative Team
Conductors ANTONELLO MANACORDA/PAUL WYNNE GRIFFITHS/GIACOMO SAGRIPANTI/RENATO BALSADONNA
Director RICHARD EYRE
Designer BOB CROWLEY
Lighting designer JEAN KALMAN
Director of movement JANE GIBSO
Cast
Violetta Valéry LISETTE OROPESA/EKATERINA BAKANOVA/ANUSH HOVHANNISYAN/PRETTY YENDE/ANGEL BLUE/HRACHUHÍ BASSÉNZ
Alfredo Germont LIPARIT AVETISYAN/FRÉDÉRIC ANTOUN/STEPHEN COSTELLO/DMYTRO POPOV
Giorgio Germont CHRISTIAN GERHAHER/CHRISTOPH POHL/DIMITRI PLATANIAS/VLADIMIR STOYANOV
Annina RENATA SKARELYTE/SARAH PRING/KSENIIA NIKOLAIEVA/GAYNOR KEEBLE
Doctor Grenvil BLAISE MALABA/SIMON SHIBAMBU/DAVID SHIPLEY
Flora Bervoix STEPHANIE WAKE-EDWARDS/HONGNI WU/ANGELA SIMKIN/RACHEL KELLY
Baron Douphol YURIY YURCHUK/JAMES CLEVERTON/GERMÁN E. ALCÁNTARA
Gastone de Letorières EGOR ZHURAVSKII/THANDO MJANDANA/ANDRÉS PRESNO
Marquis d’Obigny JEREMY WHITE
ROYAL OPERA CHORUS
ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
The Waiting Game / Then or Now
Ballet Black
3–7 November 2021
Linbury Theatre
Choreography MTHUTHUZELI NOVEMBER (The Waiting Game), WILL TUCKETT (Then or Now)
Music ETTA JAMES/WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART/MTUTUHUZELI NOVEMBER; HEINRICH IGNAZ FRANZ VON BIBER/DANIEL PIORO
Ballet Black celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Cassa Pancho’s company of Black and Asian classical ballet dancers continue their long association with the Linbury Theatre with a programme of dance very much of the here and now. Two new works by Olivier-award-winning choreographers provide a showcase for the unique character of this leading dance company: The Waiting Game by Mthuthuzeli November (supported by The Linbury Trust) and Then or Now by Will Tuckett, a co-commission with the Barbican.
Creative Team
Costume designer PETER TODD
Lighting designer DAVID PLATER
Vocal recordings BALLET BLACK
Recording DANIEL PIORO
Costume designer YUKIKO TSUKAMOTO
Lighting designer DAVID PLATER
Poetry ADRIENNE RICH
Poetry recordings HAFSAH BASHIR/NATASHA GORDON/MICHAEL SHAEFFER
Giselle
4 November–3 December 2021
The Royal Ballet
Main Stage
Choreography MARIUS PETIPA after JEAN CORALLI and JULES PERROT
Music ADOLPHE ADAM edited by LARS PAYNE
Generous philanthropic support from the PAUL FERGUSON MEMORIAL FUND, AUD JEBSEN, SIMON AND VIRGINIA ROBERTSON, THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE ENDOWMENT FUND and the PATRONS OF COVENT GARDEN
Giselle is the classic ballet of the Romantic era – and, for the dancer performing the title role, one of the greatest challenges in the repertory. Peter Wright’s production, a classic itself, perfectly achieves the dual aspects of the ballet, moving from the naivety of young love between Giselle and Albrecht in the village setting of Act I to the ethereal Wilis in Act II’s eerie moonlit forest. Rich in vivid character detail and poignant depth of feeling, Giselle is a reminder of ballet’s power to move and thrill.
Creative Team
Scenario THÉOPHILE GAUTIER after HEINRICH HEINE
Production and additional choreography PETER WRIGHT
Designer JOHN MACFARLANE
Original lighting JENNIFER TIPTON re-created by DAVID FINN
Conductor BORIS GRUZIN
ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
Past Present
Yorke Dance Project
12–18 November 2021
Linbury Theatre
Choreography YOLANDE YORKE-EDGELL/ROBERT COHAN/MARTHA GRAHAM/KENNETH MACMILLAN
Music NATHANIEL DETT/NILS FRAHM/NATHANIEL DETT/NILS FRAHM/ÓLAFUR ARNALDS/ZOLÁN KODÁLY/ANTON WEBERN/BOSHUSLAV MARTINU
Yorke Dance Project will juxtapose past and present with works by choreographers who have shaped dance today. Martha Graham’s iconic Lamentation is performed alongside the premiere of Robert Cohan’s final work Afternoon Conversations with Dancers, created during lockdown. Cohan trained and performed with Graham, one of the seminal forces of modern dance. Kenneth MacMillan’s Sea of Troubles follows and the programme is completed with the premiere of a new work by Artistic Director Yolande Yorke-Edgell, with music by Nathaniel Dett, sharing the company’s dedication to past and present contemporary dance.
15 November 2021
Special celebratory event in memory of SIR ROBERT COHAN with the company and guest artists performing some of his rare and cherished works.
Creative Team
Lighting designer ZEYNEP KEPEKLI
Sea of Troubles Designer DEBORAH MACMILLAN
Macbeth
16–30 November 2021
The Royal Opera
Main Stage
Music Giuseppe Verdi
Sung in Italian with English surtitles
Supported by Rolex
For Verdi, Shakespeare was a long-standing passion and Macbeth (the first of his three Shakespearean masterpieces) is widely seen as a major step forward in his artistic development. First seen in 2002, Phyllida Lloyd’s production encapsulates the sinister quality of the piece, with striking designs by Anthony Ward. Conducted by Daniele Rustioni, Simon Keenlyside returns to the title role, which he first performed at Covent Garden in 2011, with Italian soprano Anna Pirozzi returning as Lady Macbeth. Austrian bass Gunther Groissbock sings the role of Macbeth’s erstwhile friend Banquo and South Korean tenor David Junghoon Kim sings the role of Macbeth’s enemy and eventual nemesis, Macduff.
Creative Team
Conductor DANIELE RUSTIONI
Director PHYLLIDA LLOYD
Designer ANTHONY WARD
Lighting designer PAULE CONSTABLE
Choreographer MICHAEL KEEGAN-DOLAN
Cast
Macbeth SIMON KEENLYSIDE
Lady Macbeth ANNA PIROZZI
Banquo GÜNTHER GROISSBÖCK
Macduff DAVID JUNGHOON KIM
Lady-in-waiting APRIL KOYEJO-AUDIGER
Malcolm EGOR ZHURAVSKII
Doctor BLAISE MALABA
ROYAL OPERA CHORUS
ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
Wolf Witch Giant Fairy
17 December 2021–3 January 2022
A Royal Opera and Little Bulb production, in association with Farnham Maltings
Linbury Theatre
Sung in English
*All performances are Relaxed Performances
Generous philanthropic support from the Paul Hamlyn Education Fund
In the far-away land of fairy tales is a magical wood full of fantastical creatures, enchanted folk and tall pines stretching as far as the eye can see. Here, the trees see wonders as numerous as their branches – lovers in peril, witches on broomsticks, wolves in disguise... you never know what you might find. We all know the famous fairy tales and how they end... or do we? Wolf Witch Giant Fairy, a wild folk opera of music, mischief and magic, is a new collaboration between The Royal Opera and the always innovative Little Bulb, who return to the Linbury Theatre in this new family-friendly show for Christmas.
Company
LITTLE BULB
ALEXANDER SCOTT
DOMINIC CONWAY
CLARE BERESFORD
Cast
PETER BRATHWAITE
CLAIRE WILD
Tosca
5–22 December 2021 / 8–22 February 2022
The Royal Opera
Main Stage
Music Giacomo Puccini
Sung in Italian with English surtitles
Generous philanthropic support from Aud Jebsen, the Friends of Covent Garden and the Royal Opera House Endowment Fund
Three outstanding casts bring alive the excitement of one of the best-loved operas in the repertory: Puccini’s Tosca. From the demonic chords with which it famously begins to the violent twist of its shock ending, the tension never lets up for a moment. Into the romantic world of an idealistic painter, Cavaradossi, and his sensuous lover Tosca comes the malevolence of Baron Scarpia, Chief of Police, with fatal results. Jonathan Kent’s taut and intense production with Paul Brown’s historically charged designs wonderfully evokes the dangerous atmosphere of Rome in 1800, where love and evil come – thrillingly – face to face.
Creative Team
Conductors OKSANA LYNIV/ FRANCESCO IVAN CIAMPA/MARCO ARMILIATO
Director JONATHAN KENT
Designer PAUL BROWN
Lighting designer MARK HENDERSON
Cast
Floria Tosca ELENA STIKHINA/ANNA PIROZZI/ANGELA GHEORGHIU
Mario Cavaradossi BRYAN HYMEL/FREDDIE DE TOMMASO/STEFAN POP
Baron Scarpia ALEXEY MARKOV/ CLAUDIO SGURA/MICHAEL VOLLE
Spoletta HUBERT FRANCIS/ALED HALL
Cesare Angelotti YURIY YURCHUK/CHUMA SIJEQA
Sacristan JEREMY WHITE/ALEXANDER KÖPECZI
Sciarrone JIHOON KIM/SIMON WILDING
ROYAL OPERA CHORUS
ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
Nabucco
20 December 2021–23 January 2022
The Royal Opera, co-production with La Scala, Milan, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona
Main Stage
Music Giuseppe Verdi
Sung in Italian with English surtitles
Generous philanthropic support from Mrs. Alfiya Askar Abulkhair and Timur Kuanyshev and Melinda and Donald Quintin.
The tragic story of a desperate father’s descent into madness, his two daughters torn apart by their love for the same man, is set against the epic biblical backdrop of the Israelites’ exile from their homeland in Verdi’s early masterpiece. The opera was an instant success at its 1842 premiere, with the famed Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves (‘Va, pensiero’) taking on an anthemic political resonance that lasts to this day. For this revival of Daniele Abbado’s 2013 production, Daniel Oren conducts Enkhbat Amartuvshin as Nabucco (Nebuchadnezzar) King of the Babylonians, Anna Netrebko as the scheming princess Abigaille (sharing the role with Liudmyla Monastyrska) and Alexander Vinogradov as the high priest Zaccaria.
Creative Team
Conductor DANIEL OREN
Director DANIELE ABBADO
Associate Director BORIS STETKA
Designer ALISON CHITTY
Lighting designer ALESSANDRO CARLETTI
Video designer LUCA SCARZELLA
Movement director SIMONA BUCCI
Cast
Nabucco (Nebuchadnezzar) ENKHBAT AMARTUVSHIN
Abigaille LIUDMYLA MONASTYRSKA/ANNA NETREBKO
Zaccaria ALEXANDER VINOGRADOV
Fenena VASILISA BERZHANSKAYA
Ismaele NAJMIDDIN MAVLYANOV
High Priest of Baal BLAISE MALABA
Anna APRIL KOYEJO-AUDIGER
Abdallo ANDRÉS PRESNO
ROYAL OPERA CHORUS
ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
The Marriage of Figaro
9–27 January 2022
The Royal Opera
Main Stage
Music Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Sung in Italian with English surtitles
Position of Music Director Maestro Antonio Pappano generously supported by Mrs Susan A. Olde OBE
From the headlong rush of the overture, Mozart’s timeless comedy is a breathless journey through one very eventful day in the life of an 1830s château. Figaro and his bride Susanna conspire to foil the unwanted advances of Count Almaviva, while the Countess has her heart stolen by a cross-dressing pageboy. Mozart’s music unfolds with beautiful solos and ensembles to amplify the deep emotions behind the seemingly farcical surface. Music Director of The Royal Opera Antonio Pappano brings his specialist perspective to Mozart’s effervescent score, sharing the baton with Christopher Willis. A young and predominantly Italian cast perform this revival of David McVicar’s sumptuous and hugely popular period staging.
Creative Team
Conductors ANTONIO PAPPANO/CHRISTOPHER WILLIS
Director DAVID MCVICAR
Designer TANYA MCCALLIN
Lighting designer PAULE CONSTABLE
Movement director LEAH HAUSMAN
Cast
Figaro RICCARDO FASSI
Susanna GIULIA SEMENZATO
Count Almaviva DAVIDE LUCIANO
Countess Almaviva FEDERICA LOMBARDI
Cherubino HANNA HIPP
Don Basilio GREGORY BONFATTI
Marcellina MONICA BACELLI
Bartolo GIANLUCA BURATTO
Antonio JEREMY WHITE
Barbarina ALEXANDRA LOWE
Don Curzio ALASDAIR ELLIOTT
ROYAL OPERA CHORUS
ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
Theodora
31 January–16 February 2022
The Royal Opera, co-production with Teatro Real, Madrid
Main Stage
Music George Frideric Handel
Sung in English with English surtitles
Generous philanthropic support from Charles Holloway, Crevan O’Grady and Jane McClenahan and Susan and John Singer.
The Royal Opera continues its celebration of the operas and oratorios Handel wrote for Covent Garden with a new production of his late masterpiece, Theodora, in which love transcends political tyranny. Theodora is persecuted for her religious beliefs, but her virtue inspires the devotion of one of her oppressors. Joyce DiDonato and rising stars Julia Bullock and Jakub Józef Orliński lead an international cast of baroque specialists with some of Handel’s greatest choruses, matched in brilliance by arias and duets of profound dignity and humanity. Director Katie Mitchell views the story through the lens of contemporary religious terrorism, and gives a modern, feminist context to a work not heard at Covent Garden since 1750.
Creative Team
Conductor HARRY BICKET
Director KATIE MITCHELL
Set designer CHLOE LAMFORD
Costume designer SUSSIE JUHLIN-WALLÉN
Lighting designer JAMES FARNCOMBE
Movement director SHELLEY MAXWELL
Cast
Theodora JULIA BULLOCK
Irene JOYCE DIDONATO
Didymus JAKUB JÓZEF ORLIŃSKI
Septimus ED LYON
Valens GYULA ORENDT
Messenger THANDO MJANDANA
ROYAL OPERA CHORUS
ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
Bajazet
4–12 February 2022
The Royal Opera, co-production with Irish National Opera
Linbury Theatre
Music Antonio Vivaldi
Sung in Italian with English surtitles
Generous philanthropic support from Culture Ireland
A recent revival of interest in Vivaldi’s operas has introduced modern audiences to the adrenalin rush of his instrumentally virtuosic vocal writing. His opera Bajazet, first performed in Verona in 1735, is an extraordinary thriller set in a dark, tense, claustrophobic environment. Powerful men and strong women negotiate their relationships as desires of the heart clash with rank and duty. The drama is brought to life in the intimate setting of the Linbury Theatre by director Adele Thomas, experienced in this repertory. The Royal Opera and Irish National Opera, whose production of Vivaldi’s Griselda made waves in 2019, join forces for this wonderful opportunity to discover Vivaldi – and Baroque opera – anew.
Creative Team
Conductor PETER WHELAN
Director ADELE THOMAS
Set and costume designer MOLLY O’CATHAIN
Lighting designer SINÉAD WALLACE
Cast
Bajazet GIANLUCA MARGHERI
Tamerlano JAMES LAING
Asteria NIAMH O’SULLIVAN
Andronicus ERIC JURENAS
Irene RACHEL KELLY
Idaspe AOIFE MISKELLY
Irish Baroque Orchestra
Draft Works
The Royal Ballet
15–16 February 2021
Linbury Theatre
Generous philanthropic support from AUD JEBSEN
Draft Works gives audiences an opportunity to see new creative processes at work. Encouraging fresh thinking and giving insights into rising talent, two programmes bring together a sample of new choreographic ideas from Royal Ballet dancers and guest collaborators as well as from the newly appointed Royal Ballet Emerging Choreographer. The intimacy of the Clore Studio allows audiences to see movement at the choreographic cutting edge up close.
The Nutcracker
23 November 2021–8 January 2022
The Royal Ballet
Main Stage
Choreography PETER WRIGHT after LEV IVANOV
Music PYOTR IL’YICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Generous philanthropic support from SIR LLOYD and LADY DORFMAN, KENNETH and SUSAN GREEN, LINDSAY and SARAH TOMLINSON, MELINDA and DONALD QUINTIN and THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE ENDOWMENT FUND
Production supported by Van Cleef & Arpels.
The Nutcracker has long been one of the most delightful ways to discover the enchantment of ballet and makes for a sparkling festive treat for the whole family. Tchaikovsky’s much-loved music is matched to a story of magic on Christmas Eve, and the journey of Clara and her Nutcracker to the Land of Sweets brings with it some of the most familiar of all ballet moments. Peter Wright’s gorgeous production for The Royal Ballet keeps true to the spirit of this Russian ballet classic, and the many solo roles and ensembles show the world-class skills of the Company at its best.
Creative Team
Original scenario MARIUS PETIPA after E.T.A HOFFMANN’S Nussknacker und Mausekonig
Production and scenario PETER WRIGHT
Designer JULIA TREVELYAN OMAN
Lighting designer MARK HENDERSON
Production consultant ROLAND JOHN WILEY
Conductors BARRY WORDSWORTH/JONATHAN LO/KOEN KESSELS
ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
Swan Lake
1–25 March 2022 / 4–28 May 2022
The Royal Ballet
Main Stage
Choreography MARIUS PETIPA and LEV IVANOV
Music PYOTR IL’YICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Generous philanthropic support from DOUG and CERI KING, SUSAN and JOHN BURNS, RICKI GAIL and ROBERT CONWAY, KENNETH and SUSAN GREEN and THE J P JACOBS CHARITABLE TRUST.
Supported by Boodles
The Royal Ballet’s sumptuous production of Swan Lake returns to the Royal Opera House stage after its 2020 revival was cut short by the pandemic’s closure of theatres. The reimagining of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov’s towering masterpiece by Liam Scarlett is testament to the late choreographer’s abiding love of classicism and innate musicality which shine through the production. With its sublime score by Tchaikovsky and glittering designs by John Macfarlane, an irresistible mix of spectacle, mystery and passion infuses this audience favourite, one of the best-loved works in the 19th-century classical ballet canon.
Creative Team
Production LIAM SCARLETT
Additional choreography LIAM SCARLETT and FREDERICK ASHTON
Designer JOHN MACFARLANE
Lighting designer DAVID FINN
Conductors KOEN KESSELS/PAVEL SOROKIN
ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels Festival
9–24 March 2022
Linbury Theatre
Choreography ANNE TERESA DE KEERSMAEKER: ROSA/LYON OPERA BALLET/OLA MACIEJEWSKA
Music STEVE REICH/GAVIN GORDON
Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels Festival is an exciting new partnership with the High Jewellery Maison, a devotee of dance ever since its foundation. A showcase of modern and contemporary choreographic repertory, featuring both established and new work, aims to support dance creation today. The initiative will be inaugurated in the form of a festival in London developed in partnership with other cultural institutions. Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s Fase: Four Movements to the Music of Steve Reich and Ola Maciejewska’s Bombyx Mori will be among the works presented.
Peter Grimes
17–31 March 2022
The Royal Opera co-production with Teatro Real, Madrid, Teatro dell'Opera di Roma and L'Opéra National de Paris
Main Stage
Music Benjamin Britten
Sung in English with English surtitles
Generous philanthropic support from Peter and Fiona Espenhahn, Gini and Richard Gabbertas and the Royal Opera House Endowment Fund
Following Deborah Warner’s award-winning production of Billy Budd in 2019, The Royal Opera continues its Benjamin Britten series with her new production of Peter Grimes, which had its premiere in Madrid in April 2021. Warner’s sympathetic approach to Britten’s sombre parable foregrounds the complexity of Peter Grimes himself and the tragic conflict between the group and the individual. Mark Elder conducts a cast that includes British singers Allan Clayton, Bryn Terfel and John Tomlinson, alongside Maria Bengtsson and former Jette Parker Young Artist Jacques Imbrailo.
Creative team
Conductor MARK ELDER
Director DEBORAH WARNER
Set designer MICHAEL LEVINE
Costume designer LUIS F. CARVALHO
Lighting designer PETER MUMFORD
Movement director KIM BRANDSTRUP
Cast
Peter Grimes ALLAN CLAYTON
Ellen Orford MARIA BENGTSSON
Captain Balstrode BRYN TERFEL
Swallow JOHN TOMLINSON
Ned Keene JACQUES IMBRAILO
Auntie CATHERINE WYN-ROGERS
Mrs Sedley ROSIE ALDRIDGE
Bob Boles JOHN GRAHAM-HALL
First Niece JENNIFER FRANCE
Second Niece ALEXANDRA LOWE
Rev. Horace Adams JAMES GILCHRIST
Hobson STEPHEN RICHARDSON
ROYAL OPERA CHORUS
ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
New Kyle Abraham / Solo Echo / DGV: Danse à grande vitesse
28 March–7 April 2022
The Royal Ballet
Main Stage
Generous philanthropic support from SIR LLOYD and LADY DORFMAN and the FRIENDS OF COVENT
GARDEN DGV: DANSE À GRANDE VITESSE Artistic Associate CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON generously supported by KENNETH and SUSAN GREEN
Three of the world’s most exciting contemporary choreographers come together in an extraordinary showcase of modern ballet that includes the world premiere of a new work by Kyle Abraham, an innovative new voice in ballet. Love, loss and acceptance are at the heart of Crystal Pite’s moving and melancholic Solo Echo, inspired by Mark Strand’s poem ‘Lines for Winter’, and set to Brahms’s sonatas for cello and piano. Royal Ballet Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldon’s energetic DGV: Danse à grande vitesse, created for The Royal Ballet in 2006, is a mesmerising blend of movement and metaphor set to a compelling score by Michael Nyman., created for The Royal Ballet in 2006, is a mesmerising blend of movement and metaphor set to a compelling score by Michael Nyman.
Creative Team
World premiere
NEW KYLE ABRAHAM
Choreography KYLE ABRAHAM
SOLO ECHO
Choreography CRYSTAL PITE
Music JOHANNES BRAHMS
Scenic design JAY GOWER TAYLOR
Costume design CRYSTAL PITE / JOKE VISSER
Lighting design TOM VISSER
DGV: DANSE À GRANDE VITESSE
Choreography CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON
Music MICHAEL NYMAN
Designer JEAN-MARC PUISSANT
Lighting JENNIFER TIPTON
Conductor KOEN KESSELS
ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
The Dark Crystal: Odyssey
1–23 April 2022
Linbury Theatre
Director/ Choreographer Wayne McGregor
Music Joel Cadbury
World premiere. A co-production between THE ROYAL BALLET and STUDIO WAYNE MCGREGOR in association with THE JIM HENSON COMPANY
The Dark Crystal: Odyssey. A thousand years ago this land was green and good. Until the crystal cracked… Based on Jim Henson’s iconic 1982 movie and featuring the startling performers of Company Wayne McGregor, this is a magical coming-of-age story – the journey of a reluctant hero who must bring healing to his world. A team of world-class collaborators, led by director and choreographer Wayne McGregor includes artists Brian and Wendy Froud, composer Joel Cadbury, digital designers kontrastmoment, lighting designer Lucy Carter, dramaturg Uzma Hameed, costume designer Philip Delamore, face- and body-artist Alex Box, and a puppet narrator from The Jim Henson Company. Together they create a breath-taking, timeless myth of courage and self-sacrifice for all generations.
Creative Team
Creative consultants BRIAN and WENDY FROUD
Music JOEL CADBURY
Lighting LUCY CARTER
Dramaturg UZMA HAMEED
Animation KONTRASTMOMENT
Costume PHILIP DELAMORE
Face and body design ALEX BOX
Puppet JIM HENSON’S CREATURE SHOP
Lohengrin
19 April–14 May 2022
The Royal Opera, co-production with Opera Vlaanderen
Main Stage
Music Richard Wagner
Sung in German with English surtitles
Generous philanthropic support from Aud Jebsen and Bertrand and Elisabeth Meunier.
David Alden’s acclaimed staging of Wagner’s early masterpiece, first seen in 2018, places the opera in the timeless setting of a bombed-out city – a dystopian world threatened from outside, where the people are looking for both a sense of direction and a new leader. American heldentenor Brandon Jovanovich leads the cast as the mysterious ‘swan knight’ Lohengrin, sent to defend the accused Elsa von Brabant, under the condition that she must never ask his true identity. Former Jette Parker Young Artists Jennifer Davis and Kostas Smoriginas return to Covent Garden as Elsa and the wicked Friedrich von Telramund, while Anna Smirnova and Maida Hundeling share the role of Telramund’s evil wife Ortrud. Jakub Hrůša conducts.
Creative Team
Conductor JAKUB HRŮŠA
Director DAVID ALDEN
Set designer PAUL STEINBERG
Costume designer GIDEON DAVEY
Lighting designer ADAM SILVERMAN
Video designer TAL ROSNER
Movement director MAXINE BRAHAM
Cast
Lohengrin BRANDON JOVANOVICH
Elsa von Brabant JENNIFER DAVIS
Ortrud ANNA SMIRNOVA/MAIDA HUNDELING
Friedrich von Telramund KOSTAS SMORIGINAS
King Heinrich GÁBOR BRETZ
Herald DEREK WELTON
ROYAL OPERA CHORUS
ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
Scènes de ballet / A Month in the Country / Rhapsody
22 April–2 May 2022
The Royal Ballet
Main Stage
Choreography FREDERICK ASHTON
Music IGOR STRAVINSKY/FRYDERYK CHOPIN arranged JOHN LANCHBERY/SERGEY RACHMANINOFF
Generous philanthropic support from AUD JEBSEN and THE PATRONS OF COVENT GARDEN SCÈNES DE BALLET – Generous philanthropic support from LINDSAY and SARAH TOMLINSON
Frederick Ashton, The Royal Ballet’s founder choreographer, created a remarkable range of ballets. In this mixed programme, the detailed characters and heightened emotional drama of A Month in the Country are contrasted with the dazzling and chic Scènes de ballet. The programme finishes with the celebratory flourish of Rhapsody – Ashton’s tribute to virtuoso dance. This showcase of Ashton’s different styles presents the Company’s legacy, as today’s dancers take on celebrated heritage roles.
Creative Team
SCÈNES DE BALLET
Designer ANDRÉ BEAUREPAIRE
Lighting designer JOHN B. READ
A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY
Designer JULIA TREVELYAN OMAN
Original lighting designer WILLIAM BUNDY
Lighting designer JOHN CHARLTON
RHAPSODY
Set designer FREDERICK ASHTON
Costume designs WILLIAM CHAPPELL re-created by NATALIA STEWART
Lighting designer PETER TEIGEN
Conductor EMMANUEL PLASSON
ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
Insight ASHTON REDISCOVERED
Date TBC
Linbury Theatre
The 10th anniversary of the Frederick Ashton Foundation is marked with an unmissable Insight into the genius of Ashton. Find out more about the master choreographer’s work and legacy in an evening of live performance and specially commissioned film.
Don Pasquale
3–20 May 2022
The Royal Opera co-production with Opéra National de Paris and Teatro Massimo, Palermo
Main Stage
Music Gaetano Donizetti
Sung in Italian with English surtitles
Donizetti’s comedic tale of trickery and deception has delighted and surprised audiences for centuries. The witty story of a middle-aged man whose supposed young wife runs rings around him, with her own ulterior romantic purpose in mind, in combination with Donizetti’s sparkling score remains as fun and full of life as ever. Returning after a successful run in 2019, Damiano Michieletto’s exhilarating production shows how contemporary the characters still are and how immediate and touching the story remains.
Creative Team
Conductor GIACOMO SAGRIPANTI
Director DAMIANO MICHIELETTO
Set designer PAOLO FANTIN
Costume designer AGOSTINO CAVALCA
Lighting designer ALESSANDRO CARLETTI
Video designer ROCAFILM
Cast
Don Pasquale ILDEBRANDO D’ARCANGELO
Norina PRETTY YENDE/ZUZANA MARKOVÁ
Ernesto XABIER ANDUAGA
Malatesta ANDRZEJ FILOŃCZYK
ROYAL OPERA CHORUS
ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
Samson et Dalila
26 May–19 June 2022
The Royal Opera
Main Stage
Music Camille Saint-Saëns
Sung in French with English surtitles
Position of Music Director Maestro Antonio Pappano generously supported by Mrs Susan A. Olde OBE. Generous philanthropic support from Gini and Richard Gabbertas, Alan and Caroline Howard, Aud Jebsen, Trifon and Despina Natsis and Simon and Virginia Robertson.
Pious restraint comes face to face with sensuous hedonism in Camille Saint-Saëns’s grand-opera retelling of the Bible story of Samson and Delilah. Multi-Olivier Award winning director Richard Jones returns to The Royal Opera to stage this spectacular fin-de-siècle masterpiece, not performed at Covent Garden in over 40 years. Elīna Garanča stars as the Philistine Dalila, Nicky Spence as the inspiring Jewish hero Samson and Antonio Pappano conducts the full forces of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. With superb singing in solos and duets of great intimacy and fervour, gorgeous music with thrilling orchestral interludes, and splendid choral numbers for the Royal Opera Chorus – this will be an opera evening to remember.
Creative Team
Conductor ANTONIO PAPPANO
Director RICHARD JONES
Set designer HYEMI SHIN
Costume designer NICKY GILLIBRAND
Lighting designer ANDREAS FUCHS
Movement director LUCY BURGE
Cast
Samson NICKY SPENCE
Dalila ELĪNA GARANČA
High Priest of Dagon LUKASZ GOLINSKI
First Philistine ALAN PINGARRÓN
Second Philistine CHUMA SIJEQA
Philistine Messenger THANDO MJANDANA
ROYAL OPERA CHORUS
ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
The Royal Ballet presents Next Generation Festival
1–21 June 2022
The Next Generation Festival celebrates a wealth of emerging artists from junior companies and premier dance schools drawn from the UK, across Europe and around the world. Across the festival, there will be performances by many companies to create a great occasion for both performers and audiences. Enjoy dance of today and see something of the art form’s fantastic potential and vibrant future.
Guest companies to be announced.
Like Water for Chocolate
1–17 June 2022
The Royal Ballet
Main Stage
Choreography CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON
Music JOBY TALBOT
World premiere
THE ROYAL BALLET
A co-production between THE ROYAL BALLET and AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE
Artistic Associate CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON generously supported by KENNETH and SUSAN GREEN Generous philanthropic support from RICHARD and DELIA BAKER, SUSAN and JOHN BURNS, SUE BUTCHER, SIR LLOYD and LADY DORFMAN, CHARLES HOLLOWAY, LINDSAY and SARAH TOMLINSON and THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE ENDOWMENT FUND
A modern Mexican classic of magic realism provides the basis for The Royal Ballet’s new full-length work, reuniting Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldon with the creative team who transformed Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and The Winter’s Tale into dance, composer Joby Talbot and designer Bob Crowley. Journey into Laura Esquivel’s captivating family saga where the central character’s emotions spill out through cooking to influence everyone around her in startling and dramatic ways. In this co-production with American Ballet Theatre, Mexican conductor Alondra de la Parra acts as musical consultant for Talbot’s newly commissioned score, with Wheeldon working closely with Esquivel to reshape her richly layered story as an entertaining and engrossing new ballet.
Creative Team
Designer BOB CROWLEY
Lighting designer NATASHA KATZ
Video designer LUKE HALLS
Music consultant ALONDRA DE LA PARRA
Inspired by the book by LAURA ESQUIVEL
Conductor ALONDRA DE LA PARRA
ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
Madama Butterfly
14 June–6 July 2022
The Royal Opera, co-production with Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona
Main Stage
Music Giacomo Puccini
Sung in Italian with English surtitles
The clash of Eastern and Western cultures proves the downfall of a young geisha in one of the most popular of all Italian operas. Lianna Haroutounian takes the title role in four performances of this revival of Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier’s elegant production for The Royal Opera, inspired by 19th-century European images of Japan. From the radiant happiness of Cio-Cio-San’s ‘Ancora un passo’, to the devastating pathos of ‘Un bel dì vedremo’ as she longs for the ‘fine day’ when her husband will return, Puccini’s music evokes the shifting perspectives within the Japanese setting: sensual and seductive at the outset, yet brutal and heartbreaking by the end. Further casting for the title role to be announced.
Creative team
Conductor DAN ETTINGER
Directors MOSHE LEISER/PATRICE CAURIER
Set designer CHRISTIAN FENOUILLAT
Costume designer AGOSTINO CAVALCA
Lighting designer CHRISTOPHE FOREY
Cast
Cio-Cio-San LIANNA HAROUTOUNIAN
Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton FREDDIE DE TOMMASO/GIANLUCA TERRANOVA
Sharpless LUCAS MEACHEM/GYULA NAGY
Suzuki KSENIIA NIKOLAIEVA
Goro ALEXANDER KRAVETS
The Bonze JEREMY WHITE
Kate Pinkerton RACHAEL LLOYD
Prince Yamadori ALAN PINGARRÓN
ROYAL OPERA CHORUS
ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
Violet
23 June 2022
The Royal Opera in association with Hackney Empire a co-commission and co-production by music Theatre Wales, Britten Pears Arts and The Royal Opera
Hackney Empire
Music Tom Coult
Sung in English with English surtitles
In a muddied nightdress, in a country kitchen, Violet finally smiles. For years, her tired daily routine has been dictated by the inescapable chime of the Clock Tower, until one night she feels time quicken. Suddenly an hour is lost – every day. As the hours disappear, long-held certainties evaporate and ordered society falls into disarray. With the townspeople in crisis, can Violet finally escape? Presented at Hackney Empire and combining the acclaimed talents of playwright Alice Birch, known for her powerful female-centered writing, and rising star composer Tom Coult, this is opera for now and about now.
Creative team
Libretto ALICE BIRCH
Conductor ANDREW GOURLAY
Director JUDE CHRISTIAN
Designer ROSIE ELNILE
Costume designer CÉCILE TRÉMOLIÈRES
Lighting designer JOSHUA PHARO
Cast
Violet ELIZABETH ATHERTON
Laura FRANCES GREGORY
Felix ELLIOTT CARLTON HINES
LONDON SINFONIETTA
Così fan tutte
25 June–9 July 2022
The Royal Opera
Main stage
Music Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Sung in Italian with English surtitles
Generous philanthropic support from the Patrons of Covent Garden
Following a bet, two young men disguise themselves and attempt to seduce each other’s girlfriends with unexpected and comical results. The lovers learn, in director Jan Philipp Gloger’s words, that ‘love is not a God-given thing, but something that we have to fight for, find, define, create and dream newly, almost every day’. Mozart’s beautiful score contains some of the composer’s most attractive arias and is packed with humour. In the 19th century many viewed its plot as immoral or even cruel. However, since the second half of the 20th century its wonderful music and Mozart and librettist Da Ponte’s witty, compassionate examination of young love have ensured its lasting popularity.
Creative team
Conductor JULIA JONES
Director JAN PHILIPP GLOGER
Set designer BEN BAUR
Costume designer KARIN JUD
Lighting designer BERND PURKRABEK
Dramaturg KATHARINA JOHN
Cast
Fiordiligi JENNIFER DAVIS
Dorabella JULIE BOULIANNE
Ferrando BOGDAN VOLKOV
Guglielmo GORDON BINTNER
Despina SERENA GAMBERONI
Don Alfonso LUCIO GALLO
ROYAL OPERA CHORUS
ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
Cavalleria rusticana / Pagliacci
5–20 July 2022
The Royal Opera, co-production with Goteborgs Operan. Opera Australia, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie
Main Stage
Music Pietro Mascagni/Ruggero Leoncavallo
Sung in Italian with English surtitles
Position of Music Director Maestro Antonio Pappano generously supported by Mrs Susan A. Olde OBE. Generous philanthropic support from Spindrift al Swaidi, Martin and Jane Houston, Aud Jebsen and the Royal Opera House Endowment Fund. Supported by Rolex.
Damiano Michieletto’s Olivier Award-winning double production draws these opera classics together in a thrillingly observed re-creation of life in a southern Italian village. Emotions erupt as a travelling theatre visits, leading to shocking events brought about by secret love and uncontrollable jealousy. Antonio Pappano conducts a star cast led by Jonas Kaufmann, in the dual roles of Turridu and Canio, alongside Royal Opera favourites Ermonela Jaho (Nedda), Anita Rachvelishvili (Santuzza) and Dimitri Platanias (Alfio/ Tonio). With intense drama and passionate, instantly recognisable melodies, ‘Cav and Pag’ distils into one wonderful evening out the enduring appeal of Italian opera in its most familiar form.
Creative Team
Conductor ANTONIO PAPPANO
Director DAMIANO MICHIELETTO
Set designer PAOLO FANTIN
Costume designer CARLA TETI
Lighting designer ALESSANDRO CARLETTI
Cast
CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA
Turiddu JONAS KAUFMANN
Santuzza ANITA RACHVELISHVILI
Alfio DIMITRI PLATANIAS
Lola AIGUL AKHMETSHINA
Mamma Lucia ELENA ZILIO
PAGLIACCI
Canio JONAS KAUFMANN
Tonio DIMITRI PLATANIAS
Nedda ERMONELA JAHO
Silvio MATTIA OLIVIERI
Beppe EGOR ZHURAVSKII
ROYAL OPERA CHORUS
ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
The Blue Woman
6–11 July 2022
The Royal Opera co-production with Britten Pears Arts
Linbury Theatre
Music Laura Bowler
Sung in English with English surtitles
The Blue Woman explores the psychological aftermath of sexual violence on women. It excavates the interior landscape of one woman, who has experienced a post-traumatic shattering of self as a consequence of being raped. It follows her as she searches a nameless city looking for what was taken. Wrapped around the central spine of the story are fragments of text, from other women of different ages, who have all been victims of sexual violence. Formally experimental, the structure of the opera mirrors the journey of fracture and reform that the Woman goes on. The Blue Woman provokes a conversation between how operas deal with violence against women and our modern day understanding of this reality.
Creative Team
Libretto LAURA LOMAS
Director KATIE MITCHELL
Cast
ELAINE MITCHENER
GWENETH ANN RAND
LUCY SCHAUFER
ROSIE MIDDLETON
Otello
12–24 July 2022
The Royal Opera
Main Stage
Music Giuseppe Verdi
Sung in Italian with English surtitles
Generous philanthropic support from the Friends of Covent Garden
Verdi’s Shakespeare-inspired penultimate opera marks the culmination of the composer’s genius, and is one of the most powerful works in the repertory. The perfect marriage of music and drama, with scenes ranging from the grand and ceremonial to those of exquisite intimacy, Otello charts the fall of an all-powerful leader from the radiance of power to the darkness of deluded jealousy. American tenor Russell Thomas takes on the title role for which he is becoming increasingly renowned, alongside Armenian soprano Hrachuhí Bassénz as Desdemona and British baritone Christopher Maltman as Otello’s nemesis Iago. Daniele Rustioni conducts this revival of Keith Warner’s brooding and insightful production.
Creative Team
Conductor DANIELE RUSTIONI
Director KEITH WARNER
Set designer BORIS KUDLIČKA
Costume designer KASPAR GLARNER
Lighting designer BRUNO POET
Movement director MICHAEL BARRY
Fight director RAN ARTHUR BRAUN
Cast
Otello RUSSELL THOMAS
Desdemona HRACHUHÍ BASSÉNZ
Iago CHRISTOPHER MALTMAN
Cassio PIOTR BUSZEWSKI
Roderigo ANDRÉS PRESNO
Emilia KSENIIA NIKOLAIEVA
Montano BLAISE MALABA
Lodovico ALEXANDER KÖPECZI
ROYAL OPERA CHORUS
ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
The Royal Ballet School Summer Performance
16 July
Main Stage
The Royal Ballet School’s annual matinee is an opportunity to catch a glimpse of the ballet stars of the future as these supremely talented young dancers demonstrate the skills and artistry they have learned at one of the world’s greatest ballet schools. The programme draws on choreography from across the repertory, with extracts from classical heritage and more contemporary works danced by students from all years in the School.
ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
Attila in Concert
19–22 July 2022
The Royal Opera
Main Stage
Music Giuseppe Verdi
Sung in Italian with English surtitles
Italian conductor Speranza Scappucci makes her Royal Opera debut conducting these special concert performances of Verdi’s second opera for La Fenice in Venice, which tells the founding story of the city itself after the destruction of Aquileia by Attila, King of the Huns. This is a rare opportunity to experience one of Verdi’s most stirring operas with a fantastic cast that includes Ildar Abdrazakov as the conquering Attila, Sondra Radvanovsky as Odabella, daughter of the Lord of the fateful Aquileia, Joseph Calleja as her lover Foresto and Simon Keenlyside as the heroic Roman General Ezio.
Conductor SPERANZA SCAPPUCCI
Attila ILDAR ABDRAZAKOV
Odabella SONDRA RADVANOVSKY
Ezio SIMON KEENLYSIDE
Foresto JOSEPH CALLEJA
Uldino EGOR ZHURAVSKII
ROYAL OPERA CHORUS
ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
