German tenor Kaufmann appears as hero Florestan in Beethoven's Fidelio (1-17 March), and ever-popular mezzo-soprano DiDonato sings the title role in Handel's Agrippina (23 Sept to 11 Oct). Both are new productions.
Joyce DiDonato returns to Covent Garden to sing Agrippina
Other new productions include two Britten works, following on from the success of Billy Budd. In Death in Venice, about a dying man's infatuation with a boy (21 Nov to 6 Dec), Mark Padmore sings the role of the writer Gustav von Aschenbach. The other new Brittten is The Turn of the Screw (3 to 13 June, Linbury Theatre).
A tremendous production of Cavalleria Rusticana returns to Covent Garden in April. Photo: Catherine Ashmore
Families will flock to Gerald Barry's Alice's Adventures Under Ground (3 to 9 Feb). Booking for that opens at 9AM on 24 October. Also ideal for youngsters is Mozart's magical Die Zauberflöte (1 to 27 Nov).
Other landmark operas include a new production of Donizetti's comedy Don Pasquale with baritone Bryn Terfel (14 Oct to 2 Nov) and the return of Verdi's Otello (9 to 22 Dec) and La Traviata (17 Dec to 23 March). Puccini's La Bohème also returns (10 Jan to 27 May) as do Cavalleria Rusticana and I Pagliacci (11 April to 2 May).
Louise Alder sings Zerlina in Don Giovanni at the Royal Opera House
The season opens with a new production of Mozart's Don Giovanni, with the baritone Erwin Schrott, a sensation in Faust, returning in the title role. Soprano Louse Alder sings Zerlina.
Women fight back in Richard Strauss's Elektra (29 May to 18 June) and Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor (10 June to 8 July). And listen out for more drama in new productions of Janacek's Jenufa (24 March to 9 April) and Verdi's Don Carlo (29 June to 19 July), and in the revival of Puccini's Tosca (6 to 15 July).
Among other welcome returning artists are soprano Ermonela Jaho, reprising her heartbreaking Madama Butterfly (some performances, 22 Jun to 17 July), and baritone Jacques Imbrailo, singing Albert in the revival of Werther (17 Sept to 5 Oct).
In this very strong season opera-lovers will pick from classic revivals and exciting new productions. Fidelio and the Britten operas will fly off the shelf first. Diaries at the ready....
Booking for the Royal Opera House 2019//20 is in four seasonal blocks. General booking for the Autumn season opens 9AM, 7 Aug; the Winter Season books from 9AM, 24 Oct; Spring opens 9AM, 29 Jan; Summer opens 9AM, 15 April. Click here for further details. For live Cinema relays,click here.
| What | Opera at Covent Garden 2019/20 |
| Where | Royal Opera House, Bow Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9DD | MAP |
| Nearest tube | Covent Garden (underground) |
| When |
13 Sep 19 – 19 Jul 20, times vary |
| Price | £TBC |
| Website | Click here for more information and booking |