The Royal Opera
MANON

LIVE: Tuesday 27th October 2026, 19:15 GMT
ENCORE: Sunday 1st November 2026, 14:00 GMT
Approximate runtime: 3h 10min / 190min, Two Intervals

Cast:

To be confirmed

Creatives:
Choreography KENNETH MACMILLAN
Music JULES MASSENET
Orchestration MARTIN YATES
Conductor KOEN KESSELS
Designer NICHOLAS GEORGIADIS
Lighting Designer JACOPO PANTANI

Synopsis:
In the seedy underbelly of 18th-century Paris, money is king. Nothing is sacred – even love itself can be bought for the right price. A native of this hedonistic underworld, Manon is caught between twin desires when she falls in love with the student Des Grieux. Steadfast and devoted, he offers the possibility of an honourable life. Yet, the riches promised by the world of Parisian society remain tempting…
Manon’s inner turmoil and struggle for survival lie at the devastating heart of Kenneth MacMillan’s 1974 adaptation of Abbé Prévost’s novel. In this signature work of The Royal Ballet, MacMillan’s nuanced understanding of human psychology makes for an unflinching look into the moral degradation of Manon’s Paris, while all its decadence and decay are brought to life through Jules Massenet’s score and Nicholas Georgiadis’s designs.

The Royal Opera
CARMEN
LIVE: Tuesday 10th November 2026, 19:00 GMT
ENCORE: Sunday 15th November 2026, 14:00 GMT
Approximate runtime: 3h 35min / 215min, One Interval
Sung in French with English subtitles.

Cast:
Carmen GINGER COSTA-JACKSON
Don José RUSSELL THOMAS
Micaëla ADRIANA GONZÁLEZ
Escamillo ALEXANDER VINOGRADOV
Zuniga BARNABY REA

Creatives:
Music GEORGES BIZET
Libretto HENRI MEILHAC, LUDOVIC HALÉVY
Conductor SESTO QUATRINI
Director DAMIANO MICHIELETTO
Set Designer PAOLO FANTIN
Costume Designer CARLA TETI
Lighting Designer ALESSANDRO CARLETTI
Dramaturg ELISA ZANINOTTO

Synopsis:
Under the oppressive heat of the Spanish sun, the fiercely independent Carmen attracts the attention of Don José. She warns him not to fall in love with her, but his obsession knows no bounds. Damiano Michieletto’s searing production returns, casting scorching light on the lust, violence and destructive desire of Bizet’s ever-popular opera.
An all-star cast brings this white-hot drama to life, with Ginger Costa-Jackson in the fiery title role, alongside Russell Thomas as the jealous and despairing Don José. Following his 2023 Royal Opera debut, Sesto Quatrini returns to conduct Bizet’s electrifying and sensual score.

The Royal Ballet
THE NUTCRACKER 
AS LIVE: Tuesday 1st December 2026, 19:15 GMT
ENCORE: Sunday 13th December 2026, 14:00 GMT
Approximate runtime: 2h 20min / 140min, One Interval

Cast:

The Sugar Plum Fairy MAYARA MAGRI
The Prince REECE CLARKE
Herr Drosselmeyer JAMES HAY
Clara MARIANNA TSEMBENHOI
Hans-Peter/The Nutcracker TAISUKE NAKAO

Creatives:

Choreography PETER WRIGHT after LEV IVANOV
Music PYOTR IL’YICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Conductor CHARLOTTE POLITI
Original Scenario MARIUS PETIPA after E.T.A. HOFFMANN
Production and Scenario PETER WRIGHT
Designer JULIA TREVELYAN OMAN
Lighting Designer MARK HENDERSON
Production Consultant ROLAND JOHN WILEY

Synopsis:
At a cosy Christmas party, young Clara meets the mysterious magician Drosselmeyer, who gives her a nutcracker doll. When the guests have departed and the house is asleep, Clara sneaks downstairs in search of the doll. Instead, she finds Drosselmeyer, who whisks her away on a journey into a whole world of enchantment: fantastical landscapes of flurried snow and glittering confection where toys come alive and the magic never stops.
Peter Wright’s production of this festive family favourite sparkles to the wondrous swell of Tchaikovsky’s orchestral score, alongside the glow and grandeur of Julia Trevelyan Oman’s period designs.

The Royal Opera
GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG [New Production]
LIVE: Wednesday 3rd February 2027, 16:45 GMT
ENCORE: Sunday 7th February 2027, 14:00 GMT
Approximate runtime: 5h 50min / 350min, Two Intervals
Sung in German with English subtitles.

Cast:

Siegfried ANDREAS SCHAGER
Gunther THOMAS LEHMAN
Hagen MIKA KARES
Alberich CHRISTOPHER PURVES
Brünnhilde ELISABET STRID
Gutrune AMANDA MAJESKI
Waltraute ANNIKA SCHLICHT
First Norn NOA BEINART
Second Norn CLAIRE BARNETT-JONES
Third Norn CATHARINE WOODWARD
Woglinde SARAH BRADY
Wellgunde NIAMH O’SULLIVAN
Flosshilde SIAN GRIFFITHS

Creatives:

Music RICHARD WAGNER
Conductor ANTONIO PAPPANO
Director BARRIE KOSKY
Set Designer RUFUS DIDWISZUS
Costume Designer VICTORIA BEHR
Lighting Designer ALESSANDRO CARLETTI

Synopsis:
An earth in ruin. The twilight of the Gods.
Deception leads to treachery, then devastation, when Siegfried is tricked into betraying Brünnhilde. Learning the truth of her beloved’s innocence, Brünnhilde at last returns the ring to the Rhinemaidens, before ordering that Valhalla be swallowed in flames. For the long-awaited finale of Wagner’s epic saga, director Barrie Kosky situates the rich apocalyptic drama in a contemporary world of dream-like turmoil. Antonio Pappano, Conductor Laureate of The Royal Opera, returns to take on the impassioned, otherworldly music – including Siegfried’s transporting Funeral March and Brünnhilde’s electrifying Immolation Scene. The brilliant cast is led by Elisabet Strid, Andreas Schager and Mika Kares, who together with the full forces of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and the Royal Opera Chorus bring opera’s greatest journey to its shattering end.

The Royal Opera
COSÌ FAN TUTTE [New Production]
LIVE: Tuesday 23rd February 2027, 18:45 GMT
ENCORE: Sunday 28th February 2027, 14:00 GMT
Approximate runtime: 3h 30min / 210min, One Interval
Sung in Italian with English subtitles.

Cast:

Fiordiligi LOUISE ALDER
Dorabella SIMONE MCINTOSH
Ferrando MINGJIE LEI
Guglielmo HUW MONTAGUE RENDALL
Don Alfonso GERALD FINLEY
Despina EMILY POGORELC

Creatives:

Music WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
Conductor THOMAS HENGELBROCK
Director NETIA JONES
Set Designer HYEMI SHIN
Costume Designers NETIA JONES, HYEMI SHIN
Lighting Designer LUCY CARTER
Movement Director ANNA MORRISSEY

Synopsis:
Spurred on by a bet, two young men hatch a plan to test the fidelity of their girlfriends. What follows is a slippery game of seduction and power, the four lovers plunging into a dizzying world of shifting reality, where truth becomes increasingly unstable.
Così fan tutte has lost none of its sting since it first scandalised audiences in 1790. In her Main Stage debut, Netia Jones, Associate Director of The Royal Opera, reimagines Mozart’s comedy of manners through a sharp contemporary lens, where 18th-century romantic trickery meets deeply satirical high-tech deceit. Taking on the roles of the lovers is an exciting young cast led by Louise Alder, Simone McIntosh, Mingjie Lei and Huw Montague Rendall, with Gerald Finley as their manipulative game-master Don Alfonso and Emily Pogorelc as Despina. Thomas Hengelbrock conducts, bringing out the exquisite melodies that underpin the provocative, and resolutely modern, themes at the heart of the opera.

The Royal Ballet
ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND 
AS LIVE: Tuesday 23rd March 2027, 19:15 GMT
ENCORE: Sunday 28th March 2027, 14:00 BST
Approximate runtime: 2h 50min / 170min, Two Intervals

Cast:
Alice FRANCESCA HAYWARD
Jack/The Knave of Hearts WILLIAM BRACEWELL
Lewis Carroll/The White Rabbit JAMES HAY
Mother/The Queen of Hearts LAUREN CUTHBERTSON
Father/The King of Hearts BENNET GARTSIDE
Magician/The Mad Hatter STEVEN MCRAE
Rajah/ The Caterpillar NICOL EDMONDS
The Duchess GARY AVIS

Creatives:
Choreography CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON
Music JOBY TALBOT
Conductor KOEN KESSELS
Orchestration CHRISTOPHER AUSTIN, JOBY TALBOT
Designer BOB CROWLEY
Scenario NICHOLAS WRIGHT
Lighting Designer NATASHA KATZ
Projection Designers JON DRISCOLL, GEMMA CARRINGTON
Original Sound Designer ANDREW BRUCE

Synopsis:
At a garden party on a sunny afternoon, Alice is surprised to see her parents’ friend Lewis Carroll transform into a white rabbit. When she follows him down a rabbit hole, events become curiouser and curiouser…As Alice journeys through Wonderland, she encounters countless strange creatures. She’s swept off her feet by the charming Knave of Hearts, who’s on the run for stealing the tarts. Confusion piles upon confusion. Then Alice wakes with a start. Was it all a daydream?
Christopher Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland burst onto the stage in 2011 in an explosion of colour, stage magic and inventive, sophisticated choreography. Joby Talbot’s score combines contemporary soundworlds with sweeping melodies that gesture to ballet scores of the 19th century. Bob Crowley’s wildly imaginative, eye-popping designs draw on everything from puppetry to projections to make Wonderland wonderfully real. The result shows The Royal Ballet at its best, bringing together world-class dance with enchanting family entertainment and ingenious music and design.

The Royal Ballet
SWAN LAKE
LIVE: Thursday 22nd April 2027, 19:15 BST
ENCORE: Sunday 25th April 2027, 14:00 BST
Approximate runtime: 3h 25min / 205min, Two Intervals

Cast:

To be confirmed

Creatives:

Choreography MARIUS PETIPA, LEV IVANOV
Additional Choreography LIAM SCARLETT, FREDERICK ASHTON
Music PYOTR IL’YICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Conductor KOEN KESSELS
Production LIAM SCARLETT
Designer JOHN MACFARLANE
Lighting Designer DAVID FINN

Synopsis:
Princess Odette is bound by a curse, turned into a swan by the evil sorcerer Von Rothbart. The spell can only be broken by a pledge of eternal love. When she meets Prince Siegfried, he is immediately enamoured by her fragile beauty and pledges to free her. But freedom is not promised for Odette as Von Rothbart conspires to thwart the lovers’ plans.
Liam Scarlett’s production for The Royal Ballet brings together Tchaikovsky’s towering score and John Macfarlane’s picturesque designs to create an enduring ballet spectacle of love, treachery and forgiveness.

The Royal Opera
TOSCA
LIVE: Wednesday 5th May 2027, 19:00 BST
ENCORE: Sunday 9th May 2027, 14:00 BST
Approximate runtime: 3h 15min / 195min, Two Intervals
Sung in Italian with English subtitles.

Cast:

Floria Tosca ALEKSANDRA KURZAK
Mario Cavaradossi SAIMIR PIRGU
Baron Scarpia CHRISTOPHER MALTMAN
Spoletta ALED HALL
Cesare Angelotti PAWEŁ HORODYSKI
Sacristan JONATHAN LEMALU
Sciarrone SAM HIRD

Creatives:

Music GIACOMO PUCCINI
Conductor DANIEL OREN
Director OLIVER MEARS
Set Designer SIMON LIMA HOLDSWORTH
Costume Designer ILONA KARAS
Lighting Designer FABIANA PICCIOLI
Movement Director ANNA MORRISSEY

Synopsis:
Floria Tosca and Mario Cavaradossi live for each other and for their art. But when Cavaradossi helps an escaped prisoner, the lovers make a deadly enemy in the form of Baron Scarpia, Chief of Police. At the mercy of Scarpia’s twisted desires, Tosca is forced to make a horrific bargain: sleeping with the man she hates, in order to save the man she loves. Can she find a way out?
Oliver Mears’s acclaimed production returns, setting Puccini’s operatic thriller in a contemporary, war-torn Rome. Daniel Oren conducts Aleksandra Kurzak, who returns to the title role, joined by Saimir Pirgu as Cavaradossi and Christopher Maltman as Baron Scarpia.

The Royal Ballet
ROMEO AND JULIET 
AS LIVE: Tuesday 25th May 2027, 19:15 BST
ENCORE: Sunday 30th May 2027, 14:00 BST
Approximate runtime: 2h 50min / 170min, Two Intervals

Cast:

Juliet FUMI KANEKO
Romeo VADIM MUNTAGIROV
Mercutio FRANCISCO SERRANO
Tybalt RYOICHI HIRANO
Benvolio GIACOMO ROVERO
Paris LUKAS B. BRÆNDSRØD
Lord Capulet BENNET GARTSIDE
Lady Capulet CHRISTINA ARESTIS
Escalus, Prince of Verona HARRIS BELL
Rosaline ANNETTE BUVOLI
Nurse OLIVIA COWLEY
Friar Laurence THOMAS WHITEHEAD
Lord Montague THOMAS WHITEHEAD
Lady Montague LARA TURK

Creatives:

Choreography KENNETH MACMILLAN
Music SERGEY PROKOFIEV
Conductor KOEN KESSELS
Designer NICHOLAS GEORGIADIS
Lighting Designer JOHN B. READ
Staging and Artistic Supervisor to the MacMillan Estate LAURA MORERA

Synopsis:
The Capulets and Montagues are sworn enemies. Yet it is love at first sight for Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet when they meet each other at the Capulet ball, into which Romeo has snuck. The two fall in love and they profess their devotion to each other at Juliet’s balcony. They secretly get married.
The stakes are raised for the young couple when Romeo avenges the death of his friend Mercutio who has been killed by Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin. For this, Romeo is exiled from Verona. Meanwhile, Juliet’s parents are forcing her to marry another suitor. In order to be together, Romeo and Juliet must risk it all.