Feature: English National Opera announces its 2024/25 London Coliseum Season
The ENO continues its commitment to London audiences with eight world-class productions and concerts
English National Opera (ENO) today announces the programme for its 2024/25 London Coliseum season running from 26 September 2024 to 22 February 2025.
This season stars some of the opera world’s finest British and international talent, including 6 world-class female conductors.
With a mission of creating extraordinary encounters with opera in a welcoming and inclusive environment, ENO presents productions sung in English and provides a range of opportunities to access them, including signed performances, relaxed performances (The Elixir of Love and The Pirates of Penzance), and family performances (Babyopera).
Annilese Miskimmon, Artistic Director of ENO, says:
‘We are delighted to make this announcement today, reaffirming our commitment to great opera for our London audiences at the London Coliseum. At ENO, opera is for everyone and I hope both new and current audiences will join us for this compelling and entertaining season.’
Read more about the new season, or use the button below for on-sale information and booking dates.
New Productions at the London Coliseum
Suor Angelica
Marking 100 years since Giacomo Puccini’s death, a new semi-staged concert performance of the rarely performed Suor Angelica (Sister Angelica) is presented at the London Coliseum. The ENO last performed this opera in 1998.
Suor Angelica is the second part in Puccini’s Il trittico (The Triptych; Il tabarro, Suor Angelica, and Gianni Schicchi), three one-act operas. It is a tragic story about Angelica, the daughter of an aristocratic family, who had a child out of wedlock and now lives in a convent. Years later, Angelica’s tale comes to a heartbreaking end when she is reunited with her aunt, The Princess.
This semi-staged concert will be directed by Annilese Miskimmon, ENO’s Artistic Director, following her gripping productions of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Dead City (Die tote Stadt). Conducting the award-winning ENO Orchestra is Corinna Niemeyer, who is making her ENO debut.
#ENOSuorAngelica
The Turn of the Screw
Benjamin Britten’s chilling chamber opera, based on Henry James’ 1898 novella of the same name, The Turn of the Screw opens at the London Coliseum this October. This spine-tingling operatic masterpiece will be designed and directed by Isabella Bywater, following her staging of Symphony of Sorrowful Songs in 2023.
Britten’s The Turn of the Screw tells the story of a newly appointed governess in the imposing Bly House, who is desperate to protect the two orphaned children in her care from the evil that lurks within the grounds. In the remote country estate, strange encounters, apparitions and phantoms create an unsettling atmosphere.
#ENOTurnOfTheScrew
The Elixir of Love
Gaetano Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love (L’elisir d’amore) returns to the London Coliseum for a new production. This romantic comedy is one of Donizetti’s most frequently performed operas and is a favourite with opera houses worldwide. Leading this production is director Harry Fehr and conductor Teresa Riveiro Böhm, who are both making their ENO debuts.
Fehr’s production is set in England during World War II, and the story follows Adina, a popular landowner, who is courted by both Belcore and Nemorino. In an attempt to win her affections after being rejected, Nemorino buys a love potion from the pseudo doctor, Dulcamara, unaware he has only bought a bottle of wine. In this tale of misguided confidence and romance, will Adina and Nemorino find true love for one another?
#ENOElixir
Mary, Queen of Scots
Closing the 2024/25 London Coliseum Season is the semi-staged concert performance of Thea Musgrave’s Mary, Queen of Scots. This rarely performed twentieth century operatic masterpiece by one of Scotland’s leading composers makes its ENO premiere this season. Originally premiered in 1977, the libretto is based on Amalia Elguera’s play Moray.
Mary, Catholic Queen of Scotland and widowed Queen of France, has been invited by the Protestant Lords to return and assume the Scottish crown. The story follows Queen Mary’s tumultuous relationships with her half-brother James Stewart, Earl of Moray, her husband Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, and her seducer James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell.
#ENOMaryQueenOfScots
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Revival Productions at the London Coliseum
La bohème
Opening the 2024/25 Season at the London Coliseum and presented consecutively alongside Suor Angelica to commemorate 100 years since Puccini’s death, is Jonathan Miller’s much-loved production of La bohème. This iconic production has travelled to stages around the world since its premiere in 2009.
Set in inter-war Paris, La bohème tells of impoverished Parisian poet Rodolfo’s doomed love for seamstress Mimì. Miller’s staging of Puccini’s best-loved opera is designed by his long-time collaborator Isabella Bywater.
#ENOBoheme
Rigoletto
Returning in the autumn is Jonathan Miller’s reimagined Rigoletto. Originally premiered at the ENO in 1982 and last seen in 2017, Miller’s celebrated retelling of Giuseppe Verdi’s timeless story of jealousy, love and betrayal is played out against the backdrop of New York’s Little Italy in the 1950’s.
The tragic story revolves around the licentious Duke of Mantua, his court jester Rigoletto, and Rigoletto’s beautiful daughter Gilda. The opera’s original title, La maledizione (The Curse), refers to the curse placed on both the Duke and Rigoletto by a courtier whose daughter had been seduced by the Duke with Rigoletto’s encouragement. The curse comes to fruition when Gilda likewise falls in love with the Duke with catastrophic consequences.
#ENORigoletto
The Pirates of Penzance
Mike Leigh’s rollicking production of The Pirates of Penzance will return for its second revival in December. With its comic hi-jinks, the acclaimed film and theatre director’s 2015 operatic debut proved a great hit with audiences. Internationally renowned conductor Natalie Murray Beale makes her ENO debut.
One of Gilbert and Sullivan’s most popular comic operas, this production features swashbuckling pirates, flat-footed policemen, razor-sharp satire and memorable melodies. The Pirates of Penzance tells the story of the pirate apprentice Frederic and his love for Mabel, the daughter of Major-General Stanley.
#ENOPirates
The Marriage of Figaro
In December, Joe Hill-Gibbins’ engrossing production of The Marriage of Figaro returns for its first revival following its critically acclaimed premiere in 2020. This intimate production puts the magnifying glass over Mozart’s characters, sharing their thoughts, emotional journey and flaws with the audience.
The Marriage of Figaro is a comedic story set in a single crazy day - the wedding day of Figaro and Susanna. In a whirlwind of mistaken identities, deception and general mayhem, the couple try to elude their employer - a philandering and promiscuous Count - teaching him a lesson in fidelity he’ll never forget.
#ENOFigaro
Free tickets for under 21s are available for every performance and at every level of the theatre, with substantial discounts for under 35s. Ticket prices for everyone begin at £10.