Best opera at Covent Garden in Autumn 2023

Covent Garden's autumn opera season opens with the first production in a new staging of Wagner's massive Ring cycle by the highly inventive director Barrie Kosky. Das Rheingold, in which the indomitable Rheinmaidens defend treasure that is beyond price features several of the country's finest singers today, including Christopher Maltman and Christopher Purves, plus American tenor Sean Panikkar (seven performances, 11 to 29 Sept).

The first of two Verdi revivals, La Forza del Destino, directed by Christof Loy, stars Sondra Radvanovsky and Brian Jagde in a story of love and loyalty in troubled times (six performances, 19 Sept to 9 Oct).

Audiences can relax after such drama with Donizetti's intoxicating comedy, L'Elisir d'Amore. Lots of delightful nonsense about a love potion prompts fizzing music from the Italian master. The cast in this revival of Laurent Pelly's light-as-air staging includes Brynn Terfel, Nadine Sierra, Liparit Avetisyan and rising star Sarah Dufresne (five performances, 22 Sept to 10 Oct).

Covent Garden's sunny L'Elisir d'Amore returns

Away from the main stage, an exciting new piece in the Linbury Theatre comes from composer George Benjamin and writer Martin Crimp. Anything can happen when this innovative duo collaborate, but total originality is on the cards Picture a Day Like This, described as a musical fable, has 12 performances, from 22 Sept to 10 Oct.

There are plenty of chances to see the season's second Verdi revival, Rigoletto, with two casts across 13 performances. This powerful production by Covent Garden's director of opera, Oliver Mears, makes much of the Duke of Mantua's wealth and power; innocent Gilda, daughter of the duke's jester, is the victim of his amorous games. British baritone Simon Keenlyside sings the Duke from 11 Nov (13 performances, 12 Oct to 28 Nov).

Finally in this booking period, a new production of Handel's dramatic oratorio Jephtha, staged by Mears again. The cast in this nail-biting family drama, in which Jephtha must make a terrible choice between faith and fatherhood, includes Allan Clayton, Jennifer France, Alice Coote, Cameron Shahbazi, and Brindley Sherratt (six performances, 8 to 24 Nov).

If you could only choose three operas? Culture Whisper's pick would be Das Rheingold, Picture a Day Like This and Jephtha (with a slug of the elixir of love, L'Elisir d'Amore, for light relief).

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Operas are sung in the original languages, with English surtitles. Das Rheingold is screened at cinemas across London and worldwide on 20 Sept, with an Encore screening on 24 Sept; L'Elisir d'Amore is screened on 5 Oct and 8 Oct. Click here for screening details