Palace Opera & Ballet has launched its 2026/27 season with a total of 12 operas, 10 ballets, a choral blockbuster and an intriguing backstage documentary. Included are a raft of must-see new productions while acclaimed revivals are brought to life by some of the world’s finest singers, conductors and directors.

Barrie Kosky’s Götterdämmerung. Image supplied

The final instalment of Barrie Kosky’s intensely theatrical and visually arresting new Ring Cycle arguably merits top billing. Following on from 2023’s Das Rheingold, 2025’s Die Walküre and this year’s Siegfried, it will be fascinating to see how the Australian director concludes his epic tale (as of April this year, he told Limelight that he still hadn’t quite made up his mind). Götterdämmerung, which screens in March 2027, is conducted by Antonio Pappano and will star tireless German tenor Andreas Schager, who won plaudits as the gung-ho hero earlier this year, Elisabet Strid as Brünnhilde, Mika Kares as Hagen and Christopher Purves as Alberich.

Another anticipated Covent Garden premiere will be Mozart’s Così fan tutte (April 2027) directed by the always-interesting Netia Jones. Her production reimagines Mozart’s bittersweet comedy through a contemporary lens and promises “satirical high-tech deceit”). A bright young cast stars the wonderful Louise Alder and Huw Montague Rendall, while Gerald Finley brings decades of theatrical experience to the cynical Don Alfonso.

Sticking with London and Oliver Mears’ new production of Tosca was a shock-inducing hit last year (with a controversial appearance by Anna Netrebko). It makes a welcome return next year with Aleksandra Kurzak as the doomed diva, Saimir Pirgu as Cavaradossi and Christopher Maltman as the predatory Baron Scarpia.

Ginger Costa-Jackson in Damiano Michieletto’s Carmen.

Finally, Damiano Michieletto’s attractive update of Carmen is back in December with Ginger Costa-Jackson as the femme fatale, Russell Thomas as Don José and Alexander Vinogradov as the swaggering toreador, Escamillo.

Michieletto is also the director for La Scala’s new Otello conducted by incoming Music Director Myung-whun Chung. It’s the company’s always anticipated season opener and screens in January 2027. American tenor Brian Jagde sings the Moorish general with the magnificent Eleonora Buratto as Desdemona and Luca Salsi as the scheming Iago.

Verdi is clearly Milan’s composer of choice since it includes revivals of its classic La traviata with the radiant Nadine Sierra in the title role and Piero Pretti as Alfredo. There’s also a concert performance of the Requiem with Anna Netrebko and Ekaterina Gubanova and a documentary filmed over four months as the company raced to stage a new production of La forza del destino. Riccardo Chailly presides over the 250-year-old house as tensions rise, not to mention the arrival of a starry international cast including Anna Netrebko, Brian Jagde and Ludovic Tézier.

Boris Pinkhasovich and Ruzan Mantashyan in Opéra de Paris’ Eugene Onegin . Photo © Guergana Damianova

Another bit of essential viewing in June 2027 will be Opéra de Paris’ Eugene Onegin filmed live during an 11-performance sold-out Paris run in January 2026. Conducted by Semyon Bychkov – an old hand with Tchaikovsky’s richly romantic score – it featured the admirably restrained operatic directorial debut of Ralph Fiennes.

Paris also offers a new Don Giovanni starring the outstanding Peter Mattei with Joshua Bloom as Leporello, Jacquelyn Stucker as Donna Elvira, Amitai Pati as Don Ottavio and Kwanchul Youn as the Commendatore.

A trio of Opera di Roma premieres includes Tancredi, directed by the visionary Emma Dante and with Carlo Vistoli in the lead, and Falstaff with Luca Salsi as Shakespeare’s fat knight, Maria Agresta as Mistress Ford, George Petean as her jealous husband and the legendary Violeta Urmana as Mistress Quickly.

Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress also boasts an impressive cast including Lawrence Brownlee as Tom Rakewell, Alex Esposito as the villainous Nick Shadow and Jennifer Larmore as the bearded lady, Baba the Turk.

Finally, Davide Livermore creates a new production of Verdi’s underrated Luisa Miller for Naples with Piotr Beczała in the tenor lead.

Yasmine Naghdi in the Royal Ballet’s Manon. Image supplied

There may be no new productions, but ballet fans should certainly be looking forward to a revival of Roland Petit’s take on Victor Hugo’s gothic Notre-Dame de Paris with music by Maurice Jarre (a mix of neo-classical and music hall) and costumes by Yves Saint Laurent. Amandine Albisson dances Esmerelda with Hugo Marchand as Quasimodo (the role taken by Petit himself at the premiere), Pablo Legasa as the conniving priest Frollo and Antonio Conforti as the dashing Phoebus.

Other proven Royal Ballet hits include Kenneth Macmillan’s Manon with Yasmine Naghdi as Manon and William Bracewell as Des Grieux and Liam Steel’s take on the Royal Ballet’s classic Swan Lake.

From Paris Opera Ballet comes Nureyev’s production of Minkus’s La Bayadère and his Romeo and Juliet with Paul Marque and Sae Eun Park as the hapless lovers. Then there’s Giselle from La Scala Ballet in Yvette Chauviré’s refined version of the famous Coralli-Perrot choreography.

Encore screenings include a Christmas outing for Peter Wright’s evergreen The Nutcracker (filmed 2025), Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet, and a pair of Nureyev stagings: Swan Lake (filmed 2024) and Romeo and Juliet.

Finally, there’s Covent Garden’s magical Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (recorded in 2024) with music by Joby Talbot and evocative designs by Bob Crowley. Francesca Hayward stars as Alice with William Bracewell as the Knave of Hearts and Steven McRae as the Mad Hatter.

For more information, visit palaceoperaandballet.com.au