The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, has announced its 2018/19 season.

Among the many highlights, Deborah Warner’s highly acclaimed production of Billy Budd comes to Covent Garden for the first time, with original cast-members Toby Spence, Brindley Sherratt, David Soar and Duncan Rock reprising the roles they created in Madrid. They are joined by Jette Parker Young Artist and AH Rising Star Dominic Sedgwick, who appears in several productions throughout the 2018/19 season.

Both Antonello Manacorda and Edward Gardner make their Royal Opera debuts; Antonello conducting the 25^th anniversary revival of Richard Eyre’s La traviata, while Edward leads a new production of Katya Kabanova, directed by Richard Jones.

Several singers will make role debuts during the season, including Alan Oke (Loge Das Rheingold), Andrew Staples (Tichon Katya Kabanova), Christopher Maltman (Don Carlo di Vargas La forza del destino), Christine Rice (Bersi Andrea Chénier), and Matthew Rose (Pimen Boris Godunov).

Angela Gheorghiu and Kristine Opolais share the role of Tosca in a revival of Jonathan Kent’s 2006 production, while Ailyn Pérez and Kristina Mkhitaryan share the role of Micaëla in the Summer performances of Bizet’s Carmen.

The season also features Dame Sarah Connolly (Fricka Das Rheingold, Die Walküre), Alexander Vinogradov (Escamillo Carmen), James Rutherford (Father Hansel and Gretel), Christina Gansch (Dew Fairy Hansel and Gretel), Sir Thomas Allen (Don Alfonso Così fan tutte), Robert Lloyd (Marchese di Calatrava La forza del destino), Simon Keenlyside (Count Almaviva The Marriage of Figaro), Jean-Paul Fouchécourt (Don Basilio The Marriage of Figaro) and Jonathan Lemalu (Sacristan Tosca).

Five operas will be broadcast as part of the ROH’s Live Cinema Season, and 11 will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

Selected performances are listed below. The full programme can be seen on the ROH website.

Photo © Norio NAKAYAMA via Flickr, under CC BY-SA 2.0 license 

Royal Opera debuts

• Edward Gardner
• Antonello Manacorda

The Royal Opera House Live Cinema Season (Opera)

• Die Walküre (Wagner) – 28 October 2018
• The Queen of Spades (Tchaikovsky) – 22 January 2019
• La traviata (Verdi) – 30 January 2019
• La forza del destino (Verdi) – 2 April 2019
• Faust (Gounod) – 30 April 2019

BBC Radio 3 Broadcasts

• Das Rheingold
• Die Walküre
• Siegfried
• Götterdämmerung
• Simon Boccanegra
• The Queen of Spades
• Katya Kabanova
• La forza del destino
• Billy Budd
• Andrea Chénier
• The Marriage of Figaro

WAGNER Das Rheingold
24 September to 26 October 2018

Conductor: Antonio Pappano
Director: Keith Warner

Loge: Alan Oke (role debut)
Fricka: Dame Sarah Connolly
Froh: Andrew Staples
Fafner: Brindley Sherratt

WAGNER Die Walküre
26 September to 28 October 2018

Conductor: Antonio Pappano
Director: Keith Warner

Fricka: Dame Sarah Connolly

Live cinema broadcast: Sunday 28 October 2018

WAGNER Siegfried
29 September to 31 October 2018

Conductor: Antonio Pappano
Director: Keith Warner

Fafner: Brindley Sherratt

BIZET Carmen
27 November to 22 December

Conductor: Keri-Lynn Wilson
Director: Barrie Kosky

Escamillo: Alexander Vinogradov
Moralès: Dominic Sedgwick

22 June to 20 July 2019

Conductor: Julia Jones
Director: Barrie Kosky

Micaëla: Ailyn Pérez / Kristina Mkhitaryan
Le Dancaïre: Dominic Sedgwick

HUMPERDINCK Hansel and Gretel *new production*
11 to 29 December 2018

Conductor: Sebastian Weigle
Director: Antony McDonald

Father: James Rutherford
Dew Fairy: Christina Gansch

VERDI La traviata
14 to 31 January 2019

Conductor: Antonello Manacorda (house debut)

Cast includes Ermonela Jaho and Angel Blue as Violetta; and Plácido Domingo and Charles Castronovo

Live cinema broadcast: Wednesday 30 January 2019

JANÁČEK Katya Kabanova *new production*
4 to 26 February 2019

Conductor: Edward Gardner (house debut)
Director: Richard Jones

Tichon Ivanyc Kabanov: Andrew Staples (role debut)
Kuligin: Dominic Sedgwick 

MOZART Così fan tutte
25 February to 16 March 2019

Conductor: Stefano Montanari
Director: Jan Philipp Gloger

Don Alfonso: Sir Thomas Allen

VERDI La forza del destino *production new to ROH*
21 March to 22 April 2019

Conductor: Antonio Pappano
Director: Christof Loy

Marchese di Calatrava: Robert Lloyd
Don Carlo di Vargas: Christopher Maltman (role debut)

Live cinema broadcast: Tuesday 2 April 2019

BRITTEN Billy Budd *production new to ROH*
23 April to 10 May 2019

Conductor: Ivor Bolton
Director: Deborah Warner

Captain Vere: Toby Spence
John Claggart: Brindley Sherratt
Mr Flint: David Soar
Donald: Duncan Rock
Novice’s Friend: Dominic Sedgwick

GIORDANO Andrea Chénier
20 May to 9 June 2019

Conductor: Daniel Oren
Director: David McVicar

Bersi: Christine Rice (role debut)

PUCCINI Tosca
27 May to 20 June 2019

Conductor: Alexander Joel
Director: Jonathan Kent

Tosca: Kristine Opolais / Angela Gheorghiu
Sacristan: Jonathan Lemalu

MUSSORGSKY Boris Godunov
19 June to 3 July 2019

Conductor: Marc Albrecht
Director: Richard Jones

Pimen: Matthew Rose (role debut)

MOZART The Marriage of Figaro
29 June to 21 July 2019

Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner
Director: David McVicar

Count Almaviva: Simon Keenlyside
Don Basilio: Jean-Paul Fouchécourt

Jette Parker Young Artists Summer Performance 2019
21 July 2019

Featuring: Dominic Sedgwick