London opera 2017: romance, tragedy – and world-class singing

By Claudia Pritchard on 21/12/2016

Great works by Handel, Puccini and Wagner are joined by two exciting new must-sees

Germany's got talent in Wagner's singing contest. Photograph: ROH

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Royal Opera House

Just as some of the best films are about showbusiness, so some of the best operas are about music-making itself. And towering above them all is Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Wagner’s masterpiece about master singers, which features the ultimate singing contest.

WHEN

11 Mar 2017 – 31 Mar 2017, times vary; 7 performances, running time 5hr 30min

WHERE

Royal Opera House
Bow Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9DD

Rory Kinnear will direct Ryan Wigglesworth's opera The Winter's Tale

The Winter's Tale, English National Opera

Shakespeare's bittersweet fable The Winter's Tale is staged for the first time as an opera, with the multitalented actor, playwright and musician Rory Kinnear making his debut as an opera director

WHEN

27 Feb 2017 – 14 Mar 2017, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM

WHERE

English National Opera
London Coliseum, St Martin's Lane, London, WC2N 4ES

An elegant after-show party turns sinister in The Exterminating Angel. Photograph: ROH

The Exterminating Angel, Royal Opera House

Thomas Adès is one of the most innovative and exciting contemporary composers, and all eyes will be on the British premiere of his new opera, The Exterminating Angel, inspired by surrealist Luis Buñuel's 1962 film El Angel Exterminador

WHEN

24 Apr 2017 – 08 May 2017, six performances; 7pm start 6 May

WHERE

Royal Opera House
Bow Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9DD

Partenope at English National Opera is set in 1920s Paris. Photograph: Catherine Ashmore

Partenope, English National Opera

We're off to the heady, glamorous Paris of the 1920s for a production of Handel's comic opera Partenope, making a welcome return to the English National Opera at the Coliseum.

WHEN

15 Mar 2017 – 24 Mar 2017, 7:00 PM – 10:30 PM

WHERE

English National Opera
London Coliseum, St Martin's Lane, London, WC2N 4ES

Elizabeth Llewellyn sings the role of the dazzling Magda. Photograph: Shirley Suarez

La Rondine, Opera Holland Park

Like the swallow of the title, Puccini’s heroine Magda is a free spirit, wheeling unfettered through society. This new production of the opera, 100 years after its premiere, is set in fashionable Paris and on the riviera

WHEN

01 Jun 2017 – 23 Jun 2017, eight performances

WHERE

Opera Holland Park
Stable Yard, Holland Park, London , W8 6LU