Royal Opera House new season booking guide

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Royal Opera House

Just as some of the best films are about showbusiness, so some of the best operas are about music-making itself. And towering above them all is Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Wagner’s masterpiece about master singers, which features the ultimate singing contest.

The Royal Ballet, Jewels at Covent Garden

“Literally’ is a much abused word… but in this case its use is full justified: Balanchine’s Jewels literally sparkles. Inspired by the beauty of gemstones the choreographer saw in the display windows of the New York jewellers Van Cleef and Arpels, this full-length ballet in three movements is Balanchine’s tribute to emeralds, rubies and diamonds.

The Exterminating Angel, Royal Opera House

Thomas Adès is one of the most innovative and exciting contemporary composers, and all eyes will be on the British premiere of his new opera, The Exterminating Angel. Inspired by the film 1962 film El Angel Exterminador by the famed surrealist Luis Buñuel, the opera is a chilling dystopic allegory about the bourgeois condition: guests are trapped at a elegant party thrown after a night at the opera and atmosphere soon grows dark.

The Royal Ballet, Mayerling at Covent Garden

Mayerling, Kenneth Macmillan’s dark and complex tale of political intrigue, madness and death in the Austro-Hungarian court, returns. Many consider it MacMillan’s masterpiece. With his genius for portraying complex events and feelings in often extremely graphic choreography, the choreographer plunges his audience right into the Austro-Hungarian court, with its opulence, political intrigue and sexual excess.

L'Elisir d'Amore, Royal Opera House

In a crowded field of silly operas, L’Elisir d’Amore is as daft as they come – it’s all unrequited love, love potions, trickery …. and a happy ending. But the great joy of this piece is Donizetti's bubbling score. And director Laurent Pelly’s desirable Italy is a rerun of 1950s La Dolce Vita, complete with Vespas, Chantal Thomas’s fizzing design complementing Pelly’s costumes.

Madama Butterfly, Royal Opera House

Puccini’s tragic opera Madama Butterfly is one of the jewels in the crown of the Royal Opera House. This production, first staged in 2003, continues to offer one of the most ravishing spectacles at Covent Garden.