The Royal Opera - Live Broadcast 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…

  The Royal Ballet - Recorded Broadcast 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 opportunity 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…

  The Royal Opera - Recorded Broadcast 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…

  The Royal Opera - Live Broadcast 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, Kristina Mkhitaryan,…

  The Royal Ballet - Live Broadcast The Royal Ballet’s sumptuous production of Swan Lake returns to the Royal Opera House stage after its 2020 revival was interrupted 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…