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Semyon Bychkov is Appointed Music Director of Paris National Opera from 2026 and Music Director from 2028

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Alexander Neef, Director General of the Paris Opera, announces the appointment of Semyon Bychkov as Music Director, effective 1 August 2028, for four seasons.

From 1 August 2026, Semyon Bychkov will accompany the musical ensembles of the Paris National Opera as Appointed Music Director. 

Semyon Bychkov and Alexander Neef © James Bort

A leading figure on the international music scene, Semyon Bychkov is renowned for his mastery of both the symphonic and operatic repertoires and for the importance he attaches to the dialogue between orchestra, voices and stage. His appointment marks a new chapter in the artistic project of the Paris Opera, under the direction of Alexander Neef.

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English Touring Opera’s The Gondoliers, Pagliacci and a new opera for children in Spring 2026

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English Touring Opera present debut production of Gilbert And Sullivan’s The Gondoliers alongside Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci for Spring 2026

New opera for children – Ada and the Code Crusaders – to reach thousands of students across the country 

Visiting: Sheffield, Cheltenham, London, Buxton, Norwich, Chester, Canterbury, Cambridge, Truro, and Durham from 20 March – 21 May 2026

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Ballet Icons Gala 2026 celebrates 20 years at the London Coliseum on 15 February

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BALLET ICONS GALA at the London Coliseum – 15 February 2026, 7pm

BALLET ICONS GALA 2026 celebrates 20 years at the London Coliseum with a dazzling anniversary tribute to the art of ballet honouring distinguished ballet personalities and bringing awareness to the environmental crisis 

Celebrate the magic of live ballet – tickets are available through the London Coliseum website here  or via the London Coliseum box office. 

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Elgar’s The Kingdom with two choirs under David Temple at the Royal Festival Hall on 29 January

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Elgar’s choral masterpiece

Firmly rooted in the belief that The Kingdom is the greatest of Elgar’s oratorios, David Temple, Music Director of Crouch End Festival Chorus and Hertfordshire Chorus, has long been a champion of the work. With its beautiful, gentle conversational sections, astonishing dramatic passages, iridescent colours and some of Elgar’s finest orchestral writing, Temple believes that ‘it is a gem from the first note to the last’.

The two choirs, under Temple, will join forces with soloists Francesca Chiejina, Dame Sarah Connolly, Benjamin Hulett and James Platt for a performance at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall on Thursday 29 January 2026.

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Winners of International Opera Awards 2025 announced

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The 12th International Opera Awards – the opera world’s most prestigious accolade – lit up the Stavros Niarchos Hall of the Greek National Opera (GNO) in Athens tonight in a landmark celebration of the global opera community. Live-streamed worldwide, the event underscored the artform’s enduring power to inspire audiences and transform communities across borders.

Agnes Baltsa accepts Lifetime Achievement Award in the Greek National Opera’s Stavros Niarchos Hall in Athens © GNO/Andreas Simopoulos

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