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We are thrilled to share details of the new 2024/25 season at the Royal Ballet and Opera, which opens on 2 September.
Royal Ballet Productions
The Royal Ballet will be presenting an exciting season of varied productions by some of the world’s leading choreographers and creative teams.
The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party (4 – 24 September) and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (28 September – 6 July) are two fantastic introductions to ballet. The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party is a particularly fun hip-hop show.
Encounters: Four Contemporary Ballets (22 October – 16 November) sees Kyle Abraham, Pam Tanowitz, Joseph Toonga and Crystal Pite exploring human emotion through contemporary choreography. We are particularly looking forward to Joseph Toonga’s A New Work which will incorporate hip-hop.
MaddAdam (14 – 30 November) is based upon Margaret Attwood’s three book series Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood and MaddAddam. The dystopian trilogy is brought to life by Wayne McGregor with a score by Max Richter and costumes by Gareth Pugh.
Dance theatre company Lost Dog and Ben Duke will present Ruination (2 December – 4 January), which explores the Greek myth of Medea through contemporary dance and live music.
To mark the festive season, The Royal Ballet’s Founding Choreographer Frederick Ashton’s production of Cinderella will be performed from 3 December to 16 January.
Onegin (22 January – 12 June) celebrates Pushkin’s classic novel alongside the stunning music of Tchaikovsky.
Light of Passage (20 February – 12 March), created by Crystal Pite, returns with this stunning, thought-provoking performance which involves a large group of dancers moving as one.
Kenneth MacMillan’s spectacular Romeo and Juliet (4 March – 26 May) returns to the Ballet to celebrate its 60th anniversary.
A highlight of the season has to be Balanchine: Three Signature Works (28 March – 8 April), which celebrates George Blanchine’s groundbreaking style.
Ballet to Broadway: Wheeldon Works (9 – 27 May) showcases the diversity of Christopher Wheeldon’s creations in four short works. A brilliant study of his style.
Further to this, the Linbury Theatre will be presenting Legacy (29 – 31 October), International Draft Works 2025 (9 – 10 April) and the Next Generation Festival (11 June – 3 July).
Royal Opera Productions
The Royal Opera has a season bursting with a fantastic variety of productions.
The season commences with Mozart’s comedic opera The Marriage of Figaro (2 – 15 September).
Verdi’s beautiful La traviata will run from 7 – 21 September.
Eugene Onegin (24 September – 14 October), Tchaikovsky’s opera based upon the Pushkin novel, sees Ted Huffman make his Main Stage debut as director of a new staging of this romantic tale.
Fidelio (9 – 26 October), Beethoven’s only opera, follows the tale of revolution, freedom and love.
Trouble in Tahiti and A Quiet Place will run from 10 – 24 October; directed by Oliver Mears, the productions are based upon Bernstein’s celebrated semi-autobiographical pieces.
The Tales of Hoffman (7 November – 1 December) follows the love stories of four women; the fabulous cast includes Juan Diego Flórez, Leonardo Caimi, Alex Esposito and Julie Boulianne with Olga Pudova, Marina Costa-Jackson and Ermonela Jaho.
The Sound Voice Project, an installation which explores voice loss and identity, will run from 14 – 20 November.
Eun Sun Kim will make her Royal Opera debut as conductor of Jonathan Kent’s Tosca (26 November – 13 December) with a cast including Sonya Yoncheva, SeokJong Baek and Bryn Terfel.
To commemorate the centenary of Puccini’s death, La bohème will be performed from 13 December – 17 January.
A family festive treat is Hansel and Gretel which will run from 22 December until 9 January.
Jenůfa (15 January – 1 February), a revival of Claus Guth’s Olivier Award-winning production, has a stunning cast including Corinne Winters, Karita Mattila, Thomas Atkins and Nicky Spence.
Verdi’s Aida (28 January – 12 February) will be directed by Robert Carsen with set design by Miriam Buether.
Phaedra and Minotaur (6 – 11 February), two mythical tales, will be presented in collaboration with the Royal Ballet.
The Opera will be hosting the world premiere of Festen (11 – 27 February), a new work produced by Mark-Anthony Turnage, which is based upon Thomas Vinterberg’s 1998 film of the same name which explores abuse and generational trauma.
Il Trovatore (26 February – 19 July), Verdi’s opera exploring obsession and superstition, will be directed by Adele Thomas.
Turandot will run from 19 March until 19 April. Puccini’s opera of love and revenge is directed by Andrei Șerban with choreology by Tatiana Novaes Coelho.
Carmen (9 April – 3 July), Bizet’s stunning opera, will be directed by Damiano Michieletto with sets by Paolo Fantin and costumes by Carla Teti.
Wagner’s second chapter of the Ring cycle, Die Walküre, will run from 1 – 17 May and will feature a cast of Christopher Maltman (Wotan), Elisabet Strid (Brünnhilde), Lise Davidsen (Sieglinde) and Stanislas de Barbeyrac (Siegmund).
Pimpinone (6 – 16 May), a rarely performed opera by Georg Philipp Telemann, which was debuted at Handel’s Tamerlano in 1725.
David McVicar’s stunning production of Faust will run from 23 May – 10 June.
Catch a Sea Star (3 – 7 June) is a beautiful, multi-sensory, interactive performance designed for babies and toddlers to enjoy.
Perhaps our most anticipated title of the season is Semele (30 June – 18 July) which was composed by Mayfair resident Handel. First performed in Covent Garden 280 years ago, it’s directed by Oliver Mears and Handel specialist Christian Curnyn.
Getting there
The Royal Opera House can be reached by taking the Piccadilly line from Hyde Park Corner to Covent Garden. Alternatively, it’s a half-hour walk from Hertford Street.