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Opera
Das Rheingold, The Royal Opera
11 – 29 September
Main Stage
Antonio Pappano conducts Barrie Kosky’s bold new imagining of Wagner’s Das Rheingold, which marks the start of a new Ring cycle for The Royal Opera. Performed by an outstanding cast including Christopher Maltman (Wotan) and Christopher Purves (Alberich).
When a precious hoard of gold is stolen from the river Rhine, it unleashes a chain of destructive events, pitting gods and mortals against one another for generations. Wagner’s Ring cycle boasts some of the greatest music ever written for the opera stage. Join us as we embark on a spectacular journey into the world of myth, dream and memory, with the figure of Erda – Mother Earth herself – at its centre.
Picture a day like this, The Royal Opera
22 September – 10 October
Linbury Theatre
Following the success of Written on Skin (2013) and Lessons In Love and Violence (2018), George Benjamin and Martin Crimp return to the Royal Opera House with their 5-star new operatic fable, Picture a day like this staged in the Linbury Theatre. Corinna Niemeyer (The Rape of Lucretia) conducts a dynamic young cast, co-directed by Daniel Jeanneteau and Marie-Christine Soma.
An ordinary day. A terrible event. The death of her infant child sets in motion one woman’s search for a life-restoring miracle. All she needs to do – in the course of a single day – is find one genuinely happy human being. But when every encounter ends in disappointment, she turns finally to the mysterious owner of a magnificent garden…
Jephtha, The Royal Opera
8 – 24 November
Main Stage
Continuing our odyssey into Handel’s Covent Garden works, this gripping new staging by Oliver Mears sheds powerful new light on a timeless biblical tale. Allan Clayton (Peter Grimes) returns to Covent Garden in the title role, joined by a largely British cast including Alice Coote, Brindley Sherratt and Jennifer France, with musical direction from baroque specialist Laurence Cummings.
Wolf Witch Giant Fairy, Little Bulb and The Royal Opera
11 December – 6 January
Linbury Theatre
After winning the Olivier Award in 2021 for Best Family Show across the whole West End, this ‘enchantingly staged’ folk opera returns to the Linbury Theatre. Red Riding Hood is tasked with delivering bread to her grandmother, deep in the heart of the fairy-tale forest. But en route, Red meets a cunning Wolf who tricks her into taking a different path. Along the way, Red stumbles into a colourful cast of characters, including a scary witch, a talking cat and a rather persuasive Peddler. Join our ragtag band of wild musicians as they guide all the family through this famous tale with new twists, turns, magic and song.
Hansel and Gretel, The Royal Opera
16 December – 7 January
Main Stage
Antony McDonald’s exquisite production of Humperdinck’s fairytale masterpiece returns in time for Christmas, sung in a lively and accessible new English translation by Kelley Rourke. A fabulous cast including Anna Stéphany and Hanna Hipp (Hansel) and Anna Devin and Lauren Fagan (Gretel), performing under conductor Mark Wigglesworth, present this gorgeous opera – the perfect treat for families and operatic newcomers.
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Ballet
The Limit, The Royal Ballet
20 – 28 October
Linbury Theatre
The average person speaks more than 123 million words in a lifetime. But what if there were a limit?
Fusing dialogue, dance and music in its depiction of a couple riding the waves of unimaginable change, The Limit is a love story, an exploration of how we relate to one another, and a vivid theatrical experiment. Principals Francesca Hayward and Alexander Campbell feature as one of the leading casts.
Adapted with Sam Steiner from his award-winning play Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons, director Ed Madden and choreographer Kristen McNally reimagine this modern classic as a bold, playful and romantic work of dance-theatre with an original score by Isobel Waller-Bridge.
Anemoi / The Cellist, The Royal Ballet
20 October – 2 November
Main Stage
This mixed programme revives two recent one-act ballets created for the Company which both garnered Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards for Best Classical Choreography.
Anemoi was created by First Soloist Valentino Zucchetti in 2021, emerging out of lockdown in energetic swathes of classical movement. Inspired by the Greek wind gods, Anemoi exemplifies the homegrown choreographer’s sophisticated contemporary style.
Cathy Marston’s flair for emotive storytelling shines through in The Cellist, a lyrical memoir of cellist Jacqueline du Pré’s life, which was tragically cut short by multiple sclerosis. Rich, poignant, joyous and tragic, the ballet is set to an exquisite score, itself a homage to the cello.
The Dante Project, The Royal Ballet
18 November – 2 December
Main Stage
Trailblazing forces of the contemporary dance, music and art scene combined in 2021 to breathe new life into Dante Aligheri’s Divine Comedy. Imaginative, poetic and introspective, The Dante Project follows the poet’s journey as he traverses through the shifting spheres of the afterlife.
Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor, composer Thomas Adès, artist Tacita Dean, lighting designer Lucy Carter and dramaturg Uzma Hameed present a monumental reinvention of Dante’s vision, by turns terrifying, lyrical and dazzling, in this compelling award-winning ballet.
Traces Through Time, Fallen Angels Dance Theatre
4 November
Linbury Theatre
The award-winning Fallen Angels Dance Theatre makes its debut at the Linbury Theatre, presenting a new work. Led by Artistic Director Paul Bayes Kitcher, former Royal Ballet School student and Birmingham Royal Ballet soloist, the award-winning Fallen Angels Dance Theatre supports those recovering from addiction or mental health adversity, helping them to transform their lives and share their recovery journey, through dance, performance and creativity.
This work also marks the first collaboration between Fallen Angels and New Note Orchestra, a Brighton-based collective of 18 musicians in recovery.