.jpg "André de Ridder - Courtesy of English National Opera © Hugo Glendinning") |
| André de Ridder Courtesy of English National Opera © Hugo Glendinning |
English National Opera's announcement of its 2025/26 season (good news in itself, there is a season and it is far stronger than might have been anticipated) has come along with the news that the company finally has a music director again.
German conductor André de Ridder has been appointed as ENO music director with his first engagement as music director designate in February 2026.
The good news is that the season includes 12 productions and concerts across London and Manchester, including five new productions, with the London Coliseum still seeing a significant number of performances. The company still does not seem to be able to see a way to performing regularly in London at a smaller venue, so the season includes a number of operas more suited to medium size theatre.
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
The number of London performances are rather reduced and the announced season takes us only to February in London so London opera goers (and those for whom Manchester is harder to get to), need to get the dates in their diaries. However, less of the moaning.
André de Ridder previously conducted for ENO the premieres of Gerald Barry’s The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant in 2005 [see my review], and Michel van der Aa’s Sunken Garden in 2013 [see my review]. In 2007, he led the world premiere of Damon Albarn’s and Chen Shi-Zheng’s animation opera, Monkey: Journey to the West at the Manchester International Festival, and conducted David Fielden's production of Prokofiev's The Gambler at Grange Park Opera [see my review]. He also curated the Spitalfields Festival in 2017 and 2018.
September 2025 sees a new production of Rossini's La Cenerentola opening at the London Coliseum. I might be wrong but I think that the last time the company staged the opera, Della Jones sang the title role and the production was one of those banished under David Pountney's regime. This time, Julia Burbach directs with Yi-Chen Lin making her ENO debut. Also debuting at ENO is Omani-born Canadian mezzo-soprano Deepa Johnny, performing the lead role of Angelina, plus Aaron Godfrey-Mayes, Charles Rice, Simon Bailey and David Ireland.
In October, London sees just two performances of what promises to be a terrific new production of Britten's Albert Herring, directed by Antony McDonald, conducted by Daniel Cohen with Caspar Singh in the title role, Emma Bell as Lady Billows, plus Mark LeBrocq, and Willard White. The production then transfers to the Lowry.
Annilese Miskimmon's new production of Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking will open at the London Coliseum in November 2025, conducted by Kerem Hasan and starring Christine Rice, Michael Mayes and Sarah Connolly. I think this will be the first professional UK production in a theatre, previous performances of the opera have either been semi-staged or at conservatoires. The production is being shared with Opera North and Finnish National Opera.
Jamie Manton directs a new production of Kurt Weill's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny at the London Coliseum in February 2026. André de Ridder conducts with a cast including Rosie Aldridge, Kenneth Kellogg, Mark Le Brocq and Danielle de Niese.
Angel's Bone, the 2016 opera by Chinese-born American composer and vocalist Du Yun will be receive its UK premiered in Manchester in May 2026, produced by ENO in collaboration with Factory International and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, and presented at Aviva Studios, directed by Kip Williams, with Marg Horwell as designer.
Revivals include Calixto Bieto's production of Bizet's Carmen with Niamh O'Sullivan and John Findon, the revival directed by Jamie Manton with Haruka Kuroda, conducted by Clelia Cafiero and Olivia Clarke. Christopher Alden's production of Handel's Partenope returns with both Christopher Alden and conductor Christian Curnyn returning to the production and a cast including Nardus Williams, Hugh Cutting, Rupert Charlesworth and Jake Ingbar.
Cal McCrystal's somewhat over the top production of Gilbert & Sullivan's HMS Pinafore is back with Matthew Kofi Waldren conducting and a cast including Neal Davies, John Savournin, Thomas Atkins and Henna Mun. Phelim McDermott's production of Mozart's Cosi fan Tutte is back with Dinis Sousa conducting and starring Samantha Clarke, Bethany Horak-Hallett, Joshua Blue, Darwin Prakash, Andrew Foster-Williams and Ailish Tynan. And the cast then move to Manchester for semi-staged performances conducted by Alexander Joel.
Concerts include Mozart’s Women: A Musical Journey at the London Coliseum and Opera Favourites at Bridgewater Hall, Manchester.
In celebration of opera and community football in Greater Manchester, PERFECT PITCH, co-created by ENO and Walk the Plank, presents a large-scale participation programme exploring the impact of mass singing on team performance and spectator experiences. Since January 2025, PERFECT PITCH has welcomed over 250 football fans and choir members from the boroughs of Bury, Manchester and Wigan to perform football chants and operatic repertoire. A series of large-scale mass engagement opportunities will take place over Summer 2025, with a spectacular finale performance in Spring 2026.
Further details from the ENO website.
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