English Touring Opera has announced its 2026/27 season, which “explores four timeless stories of love and grief”, encompassing music from the 17th century to the present day.

The autumn tour will open with a double bill of Elena Langer’s Ariadne and Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, two operas centred on women who upend their lives to help the man they love only to be abandoned at their most vulnerable. It will tour with a “radical” new production of Orpheus and Eurydice which will also tour in the spring alongside a new production of Puccini’s Tosca.

Robin Norton-Hale, artistic director and chief executive of English Touring Opera, said,

“we’re delighted to bring audiences a season that showcases the breadth and possibilities of opera as an art form, featuring beloved classics as well as joyful new operas for children, families and learning-disabled audiences.

“This is a season that pushes artistic boundaries for audiences of all ages, celebrating stories that have resonated down the centuries.

“We’re excited to open shows in Durham for the first time in spring 2027, reaffirming our commitment to producing and performing opera in the north of England. Whether you’re a committed opera fan or simply want to try something new, we hope you’ll find something to tempt you at ETO.”

ETO’s autumn 2026 tour will once again open at the Lyceum Theatre in the company’s home city of Sheffield.

Ariadne adapts a poem by Glynn Maxwell into a piece for soprano and offstage countertenor and an onstage quartet of oboe, violin, viola and cello. The title role of Ariadne will be sung by soprano Jessica Cale whose previous ETO credits include the roles of Monteverdi’s Poppea and Giulietta in The Capulets and The Montagues, with the offstage voice of the absent and faithless Theseus sung by countertenor Kieron Connor Valentine. Anna Morrissey will direct, with musical direction from Claudia Fuller.

Dido and Aeneas will recall the tragedy of the Queen of Carthage in a “masterpiece of baroque music”. Mezzo-soprano Samantha Price will sing the role of Dido, while baritone Michael Lafferty will make his company debut in the role of Aeneas.

Isabelle Atkinson will play Dido’s companion Belinda and Lydia Shariff will be the sorceress. Rebecca Meltzer will make her ETO directorial debut and Alex Robinson will lead the ETO orchestra from the harpsichord, performing on period instruments. The double bill will be designed by Alex Berry.

Throughout the 2026/27 season, ETO will tour Gluck’s Orpheus and Eurydice in a new production from Jenny Ogilvie, returning to ETO after her 2023 production of Cinderella. The production will feature a new orchestration by Leo Grant. The production will be recognisably Gluck’s opera while also incorporating new electronic sound worlds to depict Orpheus’ grief and descent into the underworld.

Singing the role of Orpheus will be tenor William Morgan who returns to ETO after his performance in the 2025 production of The Rape of Lucretia while Joe Doody will take over the role in the spring. Soprano Galina Averina will sing Eurydice in her first role for ETO since 2018 while soprano Rosie Lomas will also return to ETO to sing the role of Amore. Isabelle Atkinson, Alexandra Meier, Guy Elliott and Jonathan Eyers will complete the cast.

Iwan Davies, head of music at Buxton Festival, will make his ETO conducting debut. Noemi Dabocz will be set and costume designer for Orpheus, with Joe Hornsby lighting all three productions in the season.

ETO’s mythical theme will continue in the autumn with Mimi and the Golden Touch, a new sensory-friendly commission for SEND pupils and family audiences from writer Malaika Kegode and composer Vaha Salorian. Co-created with students at Briarwood School in Bristol, Mimi and the Golden Touch updates the myth of King Midas to tell the story of a girl coming to terms with who she is and how to relate to the world. It will be directed by Lucy Bradley and designed by Sascha Gilmour. It will tour to SEND schools, libraries and Garsington Opera.

The autumn season opens on Friday 9 October and tours until Saturday 28 November, performing in Sheffield, London, Buxton, Snape, Barnstaple, Malvern and Saffron Walden.

Norton-Hale will direct Puccini’s Tosca in the spring. She previously directed other Puccini works and won an Olivier Award for La bohème with OperaUpClose. ETO music director Gerry Cornelius will conduct, with sets and costumes by designer Madeleine Boyd.

The spring tour will open at Gala Theatre, Durham on Friday 5 March with Orpheus and Eurydice. It will then take in Norwich, London, Bath, Cambridge, Chester, Poole, Canterbury, Cheltenham, Sheffield, Exeter and Truro.

All the dates are available at the ETO web site.

British Theatre Guide - news

Message History

Delivery option(s)