English National Opera in 2022-23

The English National Opera (ENO) announces their 2022/23 Main Stage Season

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• The ENO’s 2022/23 Season features nine main stage productions at the London Coliseum: seven new productions and two revivals.
• This varied programme of opera encompasses a range of bold and relevant stories, both new and well-known.
• Offering new productions of rarely staged pieces, as well as broad-reaching work, we are creating a spectrum of operatic experiences for every member of our wide and diverse audience.
• Christof Loy’s production of Puccini’s Tosca makes its UK debut at the ENO, with Sinéad Campbell-Wallace in the title role, conducted by Leo Hussain.
• Jo Davies directs the first production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Yeomen of the Guard in the company’s history.
• Jake Heggie’s opera of classic film It’s a Wonderful Life receives its UK premiere, conducted by Nicole Paiement, with Danielle de Niese making her ENO operatic debut.

• Richard Jones’s Ring cycle continues, with the first in Wagner’s epic saga, The Rhinegold, conducted by the ENO Music Director Martyn Brabbins.
• The ENO’s Artistic Director Annilese Miskimmon directs her second production for the company, Korngold’s The Dead City (Die tote Stadt), starring Allison Oakes and Rolf Romei in their company debuts.
• Jeanine Tesori’s contemporary opera about police violence against African American communities, Blue, receives its UK premiere. Conducted by former ENO Mackerras Fellow Mathew Kofi Waldren, Tinuke Craig makes her operatic directorial debut.
• A new production of Górecki’s Symphony of Sorrowful Songs is staged, directed and designed by Isabella Bywater and conducted by Lidiya Yankovskaya.
• Revivals are Phelim McDermott’s acclaimed Akhnaten, conducted by Karen Kemensek and with Anthony Roth Costanzo returning to the eponymous role, and Calixto Bieito’s Carmen, conducted by Kerem Hasan. Ginger Costa-Jackson makes her ENO debut as titular Carmen, with Sean Panikkar reprising the role of Don Jose.
• The opera season in the Coliseum stars some of the opera world’s finest British and international talent.
• Three new ENO Harewood Artists are announced, each taking main stage roles in the upcoming season: Ossian Huskinson (bass-baritone), Zwakele Tshabalala (tenor) and Innocent Masuku (tenor).
• The ENO’s work on the London Coliseum stage is just one element of the work we do nationally, all year round. Further plans for the year will follow.
• Two new opportunities are created for singers who are disabled to join our award-winning Chorus, and a commitment is made to hire more individuals who are Deaf or disabled for Front of House roles to better reflect the London population.
• The ENO’s successful free ticket offer for under 21s, for all ENO operas at every level of the house, continues, as do substantial discounts for under 35s.
• Ticket prices for everyone still begin at £10, and their availability is increased.
• The ENO’s relaxed performance programme on the main stage with full Chorus and Orchestra, will be extended to 3 productions this season: The Yeomen of the Guard, It’s a Wonderful Life and
• The ENO is working with disability-led charity Attitude Is Everything on a range of initiatives including disability equality training and work placements to support aspiring professionals who are Deaf, disabled or neurodivergent and/or have a physical or mental health condition.
• Beginning in August, ENO Engage, our learning and participation department, will launch a new Creative Residency programme, inviting artists from disciplines outside opera to bring diverse perspectives to the artform.
• The ENO announces the national rollout of ‘Finish This…’. The creative music making programme for primary, secondary, and SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability) school learners moves from 14 pilot schools to becoming available to schools across the country.
• The ENO will also release a one-off 45 minute family comedy-musical-drama ‘Abracadopera’, designed to introduce young viewers to opera. It will be available to watch on Sky Kids, Sky Arts and streaming service NOW in June 2022.
• This summer, ENO Engage will partner with Sky Arts on their Access All Arts Programme, a nationwide arts week for primary schools from 6-10 June.
• ENO Engage will be launching a new membership scheme for secondary schools across the country, including access to free and discounted tickets, events, teacher training online and in-school workshops.

CEO of the ENO, Stuart Murphy says: ‘The value of the ENO goes way beyond our pioneering artistic work. The ENO’s transformation in the past few years means that now over 50% of all ENO attendees are first time bookers. Our radical access schemes, proactive diversity recruitment, industry training and award-winning national engagement work – such as ENO Breathe – means the ENO is now truly the gateway opera company for the country, and therefore a fundamental part of the national arts ecology.’

Artistic Director of the ENO, Annilese Miskimmon says: ‘We are so pleased to present this unique and bold season of artistic plans and announcements, stretching from our home at the London Coliseum and across the country via our new engagement projects with national reach. As a truly 21st century opera company, it’s our mission to offer a combination of both beautiful escapism, and forward-thinking, ambitious work. We have designed this season to deliver just that – fresh, relevant stories which entertain, astound, and make you think.’

Music Director of the ENO, Martyn Brabbins says: ‘This is an ENO season to celebrate and to look forward to. Music and drama unite to bring our audience a heady mix of new discoveries and familiar operatic masterpieces which we continue to look at afresh. The ENO Orchestra and Chorus, on sparkling form, will embrace and inhabit this wide and stimulating array of repertoire, delivering performances that move and inspire.’

Director of Strategy and Engagement, Jenny Mollica says:‘As the national opera company for everyone, we are thrilled to be launching a number of new partnerships and programmes across this next season that continue to widen opportunities for people and communities across the country to develop their creative skills and potential. From partnerships with the NHS, schools, and broadcast partners, we continue to grow our work at both a regional and national level to create new possibilities for opera in people’s lives.‘