Royal Opera House Ballet and Opera season 2022-2023 in brief
jump to OPERA SEASON 2022-2033
jump to BALLET SEASON 2022-2033
- 20 new productions, 9 world premieres and 3 UK premieres
- 13 co-productions, co-commissions and partnerships with global companies
- Diverse programming from The Royal Ballet, with classic and contemporary masterpieces, bold choreography, and a brand-new production of a classic, full-length Frederick Ashton ballet
- World premieres by internationally renowned choreographers Pam Tanowitz, Crystal Pite and Wayne McGregor
- A celebration of British talent and female creatives from The Royal Opera, including composers Bushra El-Turk and Kaija Saariaho, and conductors Corinna Niemeyer and Susanna Mälkki
- An outstanding roster of returning international artists, including Elīna Garanča, Lisette Oropesa and Jonas Kaufmann
ROYAL OPERA HOUSE – BALLET SEASON 2022-2033
Mayerling
5 October–30 November 2022
Main Stage
Dangerous desires, family secrets and political intrigues – a true story told through ballet.
General booking opens on 27 July 2022
New Crystal Pite
18 October–3 November 2022
Main Stage
Crystal Pite returns to the Royal Opera House, transforming her critically acclaimed ballet Flight Pattern into a full-length world premiere.
General booking opens on 27 July 2022
Say It Loud / Black Sun
19–23 October 2022
Linbury Theatre
Ballet Black returns to the Royal Opera House to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
General booking opens on 27 July 2022
Mathilde Lambert, Andrew Tomlinson, Carlotta Pini, Lydia Holt and Darragh Hourrides in Ugly Duckling, Northern Ballet. Photo Brian Slater
Ugly Duckling
29–30 October 2022
Linbury Theatre
Follow Ugly Duckling on her journey as she overcomes her troubles and realises, in the end, that she was beautiful all along.
General booking opens on 27 July 2022
Three Short Ballets
1–3 November 2022
Linbury Theatre
Northern Ballet presents a trio of new short ballets on the Linbury stage.
The Royal Ballet: A Diamond Celebration
16–19 November 2022
Main Stage
A dazzling showcase marking 60 years of the Friends of the Royal Opera House.
General booking opens on 27 July 2022
New Lost Dog
1–31 December 2022
Linbury Theatre
Lost Dog returns to the Royal Opera House with a witty re-imagining of the Greek myth of Medea – an alternative festive show.
General booking opens on 27 July 2022
The Nutcracker
6 December 2022–14 January 2023
Main Stage
Discover the enchantment of ballet with this sparkling festive treat for the whole family.
The Sleeping Beauty
16 January–6 June 2023
Main Stage
Magic and fairytale characters are brought to life through ballet – a family favourite.
General booking opens on 26 October 2022
Spectrum
23–30 January 2023
Linbury Theatre
Acosta Danza returns to the Linbury Stage in a showcase of virtuosity encompassing classical, contemporary, and Cuban influences.
General booking opens on 26 October 2022
Everyone Keeps Me / New Pam Tanowitz
4–16 February 2023
Linbury Theatre
Pam Tanowitz returns to the Linbury Theatre, following her acclaimed creation for The Royal Ballet, Everyone Keeps Me.
General booking opens on 26 October 2022
Woolf Works
1–23 March 2023
Main Stage
Wayne McGregor’s award-winning ballet triptych is inspired by the writings of Virginia Woolf, with an original score by Max Richter.
General booking opens on 26 October 2022
Cinderella
27 March–3 May 2023
Main Stage
A new production of the much-loved Royal Ballet fairytale classic.
General booking opens on 25 January 2023
International Draft Works 2023
3–6 April 2023
Linbury Theatre
The Royal Ballet, together with international companies give audiences an opportunity to see the direction choreography is taking around the world.
The Dark Crystal: Odyssey
13 May–4 June 2023
Linbury Theatre
A team of world-class collaborators, led by director and choreographer Wayne McGregor, bring the puppets from The Jim Henson Company to new life.
General booking opens on 25 January 2023
New Wayne McGregor / Corybantic Games / Anastasia Act III
9–17 June 2023
Main Stage
The Royal Ballet presents British-made works old and new, from Kenneth MacMillan, Christopher Wheeldon and Wayne McGregor.
ROYAL OPERA HOUSE – OPERA SEASON 2022-2033
Don Giovanni
8–26 September 2022
Main Stage
Mozart’s great opera of seduction, betrayal and retribution.
General booking opens on 27 July 2022
Salome
9 September–1 October 2022
Main Stage
A tale of lust, power and revenge, starring Malin Byström as the insatiable heroine.
General booking opens on 27 July 2022
Aida
25 September 2022–1 June 2023
Main Stage
Love and duty collide and nations clash in Verdi’s political drama, starring Elena Stikhina and Angel Blue and conducted by Antonio Pappano and Mark Elder.
General booking opens on 27 July 2022
Last Days
7–11 October 2022
Linbury Theatre
Based on the film Last Days, this haunting world premiere brings a modern tale of self-destruction to the opera stage.
General booking opens on 27 July 2022
La bohème
14 October–17 November 2022
Main Stage
Puccini’s opera of passion, friendship and heartbreak features a star-studded cast, conducted by Kevin John Edusei, Evelino Pidò and Paul Wynne Griffiths.
General booking opens on 27 July 2022
Alcina
8–24 November 2022
Main Stage
Wild fantasies and dark desires come to life in Richard Jones’s intoxicating new staging of Handel’s fantastical opera.
General booking opens on 27 July 2022
The Rape of Lucretia
13–22 November 2022
Linbury Theatre
In a world brutalised by conflict, one woman’s experience of horrific violence becomes the defining moment of an era.
General booking opens on 27 July 2022
Tosca
28 November–21 December 2022
Main Stage
Set in Rome, 1800, Puccini’s sweeping operatic thriller combines romance, Revolution, and a devastating twist.
The Magic Flute
16 December 2022–28 January 2023
Main Stage
A spectacular Queen of the Night, a chattering bird-man, and a quest for love and enlightenment.
Least Like the Other: Searching for Rosemary Kennedy
15–19 January 2023
Linbury Theatre
A thought-provoking work about Rosemary Kennedy, the older sister of President John F. Kennedy, presented by Irish National Opera.
General booking opens on 26 October 2022
Tannhäuser
29 January–16 February 2023
Main Stage
Tim Albery’s playfully theatrical production follows the disenchanted knight, Tannhäuser as he embarks on a quest for redemption and love.
General booking opens on 26 October 2022
The Barber of Seville
2 February–6 March 2023
Main Stage
With vocal fireworks, scheming lovers and one very busy barber, Rossini’s comic opera is packed with fun and mischief.
General booking opens on 26 October 2022
Rusalka
21 February–7 March 2023
Main Stage
This poetic, contemporary new staging of Dvořák’s lyric fairy tale reveals our uneasy relationship with the natural world and humanity’s attempts to own and tame it.
General booking opens on 26 October 2022
Turandot
10 March–13 April 2023
Main Stage
Puccini’s final opera is a glorious pageant of rich colour, dance and drama in Andrei Serban’s classic staging.
General booking opens on 26 October 2022
Innocence
17 April–4 May 2023
Main Stage
Kaija Saariaho’s shattering new opera makes its long-awaited UK debut, directed by Simon Stone.
General booking opens on 25 January 2023
Arminio
20 April–6 May 2023
Linbury Theatre
The Jette Parker Artists take to the stage with their production of this brilliant opera by Handel.
General booking opens on 25 January 2023
Wozzeck
19 May–7 June 2023
Main Stage
Award-winning director Deborah Warner creates a vivid new staging of Berg’s opera, starring Christian Gerhaher and conducted by Antonio Pappano.
General booking opens on 25 January 2023
Il trovatore
2 June–2 July 2023
Main Stage
A devastating curse rises from the ashes in Verdi’s monumental tale of superstition and rivalry.
General booking opens on 25 January 2023
Werther
20 June–4 July 2023
Main Stage
Antonio Pappano conducts Massenet’s opera of grand passion and devastating tragedy.
General booking opens on 13 April 2023
Woman at Point Zero
28–30 June 2023
Linbury Theatre
A story of two women who share their memories, experiences and secrets.
General booking opens on 13 April 2023
Don Carlo
30 June–15 July 2023
Main Stage
Nicholas Hytner’s production of Verdi’s epic historical opera evokes the passion, violence and religious repression of Renaissance Spain.
General booking opens on 13 April 2023
History of the Present
2 July 2023
Linbury Foyer
Maria Fusco’s groundbreaking film tells the story of ordinary lives still dominated today by the looming presence of the Belfast peacelines.
The Marriage of Figaro
8–22 July 2023
Main Stage
Director David McVicar brings out the revolutionary elements in Mozart’s great comic opera of intrigue, misunderstanding and forgiveness.
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 Italian ballerina 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.
