Articles & Interviews

The master list of news, features and interviews

Grange Park Opera in 2026 – 4 June – 12 July

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Summer at Grange Park Opera – 4 June – 12 July 2026

A quartet of opera’s grandest and greatest composers lead the bill for Grange Park Opera’s summer season, while the Royal Ballet’s Principal Dancer presents an exclusive evening of breathtaking choreography. It really is ‘all killer no filler’ at the stunning Surrey opera house in 2026…

Let Sir John Taverner, Richard Wagner, Giuseppe Verdi and Gioachino Rossini transport you into the mystic and ethereal, a world of Gods, the dark loneliness of royalty and how bribery, deception and disguise can help true love win the day.

Meanwhile Melissa Hamilton, performs and curates for Grange Park Opera an exhilarating, unmissable evening, showcasing the transcendent magic of dance.

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Longborough Festival Opera returns from 30 May to 8 August 2026 with a wide-ranging programme

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Longborough Festival Opera 2026 programme presents three new productions and a celebrated revival

The world-class opera festival in the Cotswolds presents new productions of Handel’s Orlando, Verdi’s Macbeth and Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel alongside a revival of its acclaimed 2017 Tristan und Isolde.

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News of the Waterperry Opera Festival in 2026

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UPDATE: Waterperry Opera Festival announces thrilling 2026 programme and casting

Another vibrant season of high-quality opera in English at the stunning Waterperry House & Gardens, championing young artists, welcoming new audiences, and featuring a guest recital from Roderick Williams OBE.

Waterperry Opera Festival is delighted to announce its full programme for the 2026 Festival, a richly varied summer of opera building on the festival’s record-breaking growth and reaffirming its mission to nurture the next generation of artists while widening access to the art form. The festival returns this summer from 7-16 August, under the new leadership of Artistic Director and CEO John Savournin.

Priority Booking opens from 3rd March, with General Booking opening 31st March 2026. 

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Ellen Kent’s Farewell Opera Tour featuring Opera International Kyiv, Ukraine. this Spring

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Ellen Kent’s Farewell Opera Tour brings Madama Butterfly and Carmen to Southend’s Cliffs Pavilion

Ellen Kent at the Hackney Empire

Award-winning producer Ellen Kent returns to the Cliffs Pavilion in Southend in Spring 2026 with Opera International Kyiv, Ukraine presenting stunning classical productions of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly on Tuesday 3 March and Bizet’s Carmen on Saturday 18 April. For this 2026 tour, Ellen Kent celebrates the Farewell Opera Tour, seeing the opera company embark on its last UK tour.

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La Maestra International Competition for Women Conductors – 4th Edition – 23 to 28 February 2026

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4th Edition of the biennial Maestra International Competition for Women Conductors – February 23–28, 2026

In 2020 the Paris Mozart Orchestra and the Philharmonie de Paris joined forces to create La Maestra International Competition for Women Conductors, to be held biennially at the Philharmonie de Paris. The competition is complemented by an Academy providing professional guidance and support to the laureates over a two-year period.

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William Powers named as Pittsburgh Opera’s new General Director

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Pittsburgh Opera announced the hiring of William Powers as its new General Director, effective 1 July 2026

William Powers

William Powers will succeed Christopher Hahn who has served as Pittsburgh Opera’s General Director since 2008 and is retiring at the end of the 2025-26 season. Hahn had been Pittsburgh Opera’s Artistic Director from 2000-2008, becoming the second-longest serving in the company’s 87-year history. Richard Karp, the company’s first director, held the position from 1942 to 1977.

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