From September to February, the company stages nine productions at the Coliseum, among them revivals of operas by Puccini and Verdi which were big hits for Jonathan Miller – his 1930s Parisian La Bohème (26 Sept to 19 Oct) and his New York mob-style Rigoletto (30 Oct to 19 Nov).
Also returning are a frisky Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, The Pirates of Penzance (2 Dec to 21 Feb), and a starry Mozart comedy, The Marriage of Figaro (5-22 Feb), which first opened in February 2020 and was seen by few at the time, as Covid precautions kicked in.
Soprano Nadine Benjamin sings Mimì in La Bohème. Photo: Devon Cass
The new productions of Donizetti's The Elixir of Love (15 Nov to 5 Dec), and of Britten's The Turn of the Screw (13-31 Oct) are joined by a new semi-staging of Puccini's heartbreaking Suor Angelica and two concert performances on Thea Musgrave's Mary, Queen of Scots.
ENO believes in encouraging new, young audiences, with free and reduced tickets. This season they start them really young, with opera for babies and young children (19-22 Nov). Babyopera – Orpheus' Comfort and Amor's Ease will be staged in one of the Coliseum's front of house areas.
Casts to look out for include Nadine Benjamin as Mimì in La Bohème, Sinéad Campbell-Wallace as the nun with a tragic secret in the title role of Suor Angelica, and Alish Tynan as the mystified new governess in The Turn of the Screw.
Mary Bevan sings Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro. Photo: Victoria Cadisch
Innocent Masuku is the lovesick Nemorino in The Elixir of Love, pining for Rhian Lois's Adina. Further laughter is guaranteed when Richard Suart and John Savournin play the 'modern major-general' and the Pirate King in Mike Leigh's production of The Pirates of Penzance.
A very glamorous Marriage of Figaro features Mary Bevan as resourceful maid Susanna, with David Ireland as Figaro, Hanna Hipp as Cherubino, Nardus Williams as the Countess and US baritone Cody Quattlebaum as the Count.
Courtiers to Mary, Queen of Scots include Nicky Spence, Alex Otterburn and Darren Jeffrey. And a notable six women conductors will be in the pit, over the course of the short season.
Spoilt for choice? Culture Whisper's top three: The Turn of the Screw, The Elixir of Love and Suor Angelica.
General public booking opens at 12 noon on Wed 5 June. Click here for priority booking through the Friends of ENO scheme
| What | English National Opera 2024/25: new stagings and old favourites |
| Where | English National Opera, London Coliseum, St Martin's Lane, London, WC2N 4ES | MAP |
| Nearest tube | Embankment (underground) |
| When |
26 Sep 24 – 22 Feb 25, Nine productions: start and running times vary |
| Price | £TBC |
| Website | Click here for details and booking |