Royal Ballet and Opera announces 2025/26 Cinema Season
The Royal Ballet and Opera will bring nine productions from London to 1,500 cinema screens in 50 countries for 2025/26.
Director of The Royal Ballet, Kevin O’Hare, said, “Our upcoming Cinema Season is a thrilling kaleidoscope of intense and vibrant emotion across some of our most compelling narrative works. From the unalloyed joy of La Fille mal gardée, through to the poetry of Giselle and Woolf Works.” Director of The Royal Opera, Oliver Mears, added, “It is going to be a fantastic Season on the big screen. I’m particularly delighted that our new production of Tosca, the first production with our new Music Director Jakub Hrůša, will be shared with worldwide audiences. The reaction to Die Walküre last season was astonishing and I’m sure Siegfried will be just as breathtakingly imaginative. Other titles include La traviata and The Magic Flute, which are perfect for those just discovering opera as the visceral and all-encompassing art form it is.’
2025/26 Cinema Season
New Production
Tosca | The Royal Opera
In cinemas: Wednesday 1 October 2025
Opening the Season, new Music Director Jakub Hrůša and Director of Opera Oliver Mears will mount a new production of Puccini’s Tosca. Modern-day Rome in the devastation of war provides the backdrop for this gripping new production. The star-studded cast includes Anna Netrebko in the title role, Freddie De Tommaso as Cavaradossi, and Gerald Finley as Baron Scarpia.
La Fille mal gardée | The Royal Ballet
Live in cinemas: Wednesday 5 November 2025
Escape to the countryside with The Royal Ballet’s Founder Choreographer, Frederick Ashton‘s ballet about a capricious girl who hopes to marry her love. Brimming with humour and choreographic invention, La Fille mal gardée is the perfect ballet for all the family.
Cinderella | The Royal Ballet
In cinemas: Tuesday 25 November 2025
This enchanting ballet by The Royal Ballet’s Founder Choreographer Frederick Ashton is a theatrical experience for all the family and will transport you into an ethereal world where a sprinkling of fairy dust makes dreams come true.
The Nutcracker | The Royal Ballet
Live in cinemas: Wednesday 10 December 2025
Nothing says Christmas quite like The Nutcracker, and this year, The Royal Ballet celebrates the festive season with Peter Wright‘s beloved ballet. Since its premiere in 1984, this much-loved production has become a Christmas classic. With Tchaikovsky’s stunning score and Julia Trevelyan Oman’s sumptuous designs, this festive favourite is a treat for the whole family, bringing the spirit of the original fairy-tale to life.
La traviata | The Royal Opera
Live in cinemas: Wednesday 14 January 2026
Ermonela Jaho sings the role of Violetta in one of the most performed operas in the repertoire: La traviata. Verdi’s memorable score makes it perfect for first timers and a favourite among regular opera-goes; it contains the famous ‘Brindisi’ chorus, also known as the Drinking Song, Violetta’s introspective ‘Ah fors’è lui’ (Could it be him) and ‘Sempre libera’ (I must always be free). Antonello Manacorda conducts Richard Eyre’s opulent production which captures the world of seductive grandeur as well as the tender and devastating beauty at the centre of Verdi’s opera.
Woolf Works | The Royal Ballet
Live in cinemas: Monday 9 February 2026
Wayne McGregor‘s acclaimed triptych Woolf Works returns to the Royal Opera House stage. Receiving its premiere in 2015, Woolf Works was McGregor’s first full-length work for The Royal Ballet and subsequently won both the 2016 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production and the 2015 Critics’ Circle National Dance Award for Best Classical Choreography. Woolf Works recreates the emotions, themes and fluid style of three of Virginia Woolf’s celebrated novels, Mrs. Dalloway, Orlando, and The Waves, as well as elements of her autobiographical writings that echo aspects of her eventful life. The ballet is presented as a series of multi-sensory collages and is set to a specially commissioned score from Max Richter.
Giselle | The Royal Ballet
Live in cinemas: Tuesday 3 March 2026
The peasant girl Giselle has fallen in love with Albrecht. When she discovers that he is actually a nobleman promised to another, she kills herself in despair. Her spirit joins the Wilis: the vengeful ghosts of women hell-bent on killing any man who crosses their path in a dance to the death. Wracked with guilt, Albrecht visits Giselle’s grave, where he must face the Wilis – and Giselle’s ghost.
Peter Wright’s 1985 production of this quintessential Romantic ballet is a classic of The Royal Ballet repertory. Set to Adolphe Adam’s evocative score and with atmospheric designs by John Macfarlane, Giselle conjures up the earthly and otherworldly realms in a tale of love, betrayal and redemption.
New Production
Siegfried | The Royal Opera
Live in cinemas: Tuesday 31 March 2026
Following the sell-out 5* run of Die Walküre, Barrie Kosky returns for the triumphant third chapter of Wagner’s Ring cycle: Siegfried. With Conductor Laureate Antonio Pappano leading from the podium, Andreas Schager sings the title role alongside Peter Hoare (Mime), Christopher Maltman (Der Wanderer), Elisabet Strid (Brünnhilde), Christopher Purves (Alberich) and Soloman Howard (Fafner).
The Magic Flute | The Royal Opera
In cinemas: Tuesday 21 April 2026
Mozart’s fantastical opera glitters in David McVicar‘s enchanting production, conducted by French conductor Marie Jacquot in her Covent Garden debut. Julia Bullock and Amitai Pati lead the cast as the captured Princess Pamina and Prince Tamino who sets out to rescue her with the help of Papageno, sung by Huw Montague Rendall. The rest of the world-class cast includes Kathryn Lewek (Queen of the Night) and Soloman Howard (Sarastro).
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.
