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Celebrating the return of Opera Holland Park this summer
Corruption, seduction and toxic masculinity in the court of Mantua. A gingerbread house that conceals a terrible secret. Passion and precarity in the Quartier Latin. The world premiere of an explosive new opera, and the ghostly curse of the Murgatroyd family.
Opera Holland Park’s 2023 Season opens on Tuesday 30 May with new productions of Verdi’s gripping tragedy, Rigoletto, Humperdinck’s cautionary fairytale, Hansel and Gretel (sung in German), Puccini’s bittersweet portrait of love and friendship, La bohème, and the world premiere of Jonathan Dove’s new opera, Itch, commissioned by Opera Holland Park. In its third co-production with Opera Holland Park, Charles Court Opera returns with a new staging of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comedy of ancestral ghosts, obligatory wickedness and falsified tax returns, Ruddigore. The City of London Sinfonia returns as resident orchestra for all five productions. The Opera in Song series returns with a programme of three recitals in July curated by Julien Van Mellaerts and Dylan Perez.
General booking opens for all performances as part of the 2023 Season on Wednesday 5 April. Booking for pre-season events only opens on Monday 13 March.
If you'd like to take advantage of priority booking, consider becoming a Supporter of Opera Holland Park.
We offer a range of exclusive benefits for each of our Supporter tiers, from priority booking, £8 discount on tickets, private recitals and discussions, to events in which you can meet the artists and creatives involved in our productions, screenings of our films, access to our private bar and more.
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Rigoletto Giuseppe Verdi 30 May – 24 June
Verdi’s propulsive tragedy of toxic masculinity and unfettered power unfolds at breakneck speed, as Rigoletto attempts to shield his daughter from the court of Mantua and a Duke whose greed for pleasure knows no bounds.
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Hansel and Gretel Engelbert Humperdinck 10 June - 23 June
Deep in the forest, a gingerbread house conceals a terrible secret. Sent to forage for berries, Hansel and Gretel cannot resist a taste of sugar and spice, but will they escape the clutches of The Gingerbread Witch?
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La bohème Giacomo Puccini 19 July - 5 August
Puccini’s evergreen portrait of passion and precarity in the Quartier Latin returns to Holland Park in a new production. Two sets of lovers break up, make up, then break up again in an opera that captures the exuberance of youth and the romance of Paris.
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Itch Jonathan Dove 22 July - 4 August
The world premiere of an explosive new opera from composer Jonathan Dove and librettist Alasdair Middleton. Adapted from Simon Mayo’s best-selling novels, Itch and Itch Rocks. Join the teenage element-hunter Itchingham Lofte as he attempts to outsmart a vengeful science teacher and an evil corporation, and return the mysterious element 126 to the earth.
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Opera in Song
29, 30, 31 July
Curated by Julien Van Mellaerts and Dylan Perez, the Opera in Song series returns with a programme of three recitals to include a celebration of contemporary British art song, a portrait of songs by Puccini, Verdi, Debussy, Strauss and Schönberg and a wicked retelling of Hansel and Gretel as told by the witch.
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Ruddigore W.S Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan 9 - 12 August
A witch’s curse, a thwarted courtship, an assumed identity and the irksome business of committing daily acts of wickedness fuel Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera, Ruddigore. Opera Holland Park and Charles Court Opera reunite for a scintillatingly silly co-production.
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An exclusive onscreen encore for Puccini’s supernatural thriller, Le Villi, launches a series of online and in person events as we look forward to the 2023 Opera Holland Park Season. At the heart of the series, Prelude returns to the newly restored Leighton House, with a full programme of music from our principal artists, including the first public performance of an aria from Jonathan Dove’s opera, Itch.
From gingerbread cookies to bitter curses, the creation of new work and a reassessment of the classics, Opera Holland Park’s panel events offer insight, entertainment and stimulating debate from a range of creatives, performers, critics and cultural historians, with live music from our principal artists, generous hospitality, and the opportunity to put your questions to the panel.
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Le Villi on screen Giacomo Puccini 20 March - 21 March
To celebrate the return of Spring, and to look forward to the 2023 Season, we will be broadcasting the film of Puccini’s Le Villi at 7pm on 20 March to Opera Holland Park’s Members and Supporters via our website, and at 7pm on 21 March to the general public.
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Pari siamo: power and powerlessness in Rigoletto Wed 5 April Italian Cultural Institute, 39 Belgrave Square, SW1X 8NX
Director Cecilia Stinton, John Allison, editor of Opera magazine, and cultural historian Fay Bound Alberti, author of This Mortal Coil: The Human Body in History and Culture, join Opera Holland Park’s Anna Picard to explore the themes in Verdi’s propulsive tragedy, with music from Stephen Gadd and Fran Hills.
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Inside the gingerbread house: Hansel & Gretel Wed 26 April Biscuiteers Belgravia, 14-15 Eccleston Yards, 21 Eccleston Pl, London SW1W 9AZ
Cultural historian Gavin Plumley, food historian Angela Clutton, director John Wilkie and Professor Mererid Puw Davies join Anna Picard to discuss the Grimm Brothers’ fairytale.
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Prelude: A celebration of opera from our principal artists Tue 9 May Leighton House
The return of our most popular annual pre-Season event sees Opera Holland Park’s principal artists convene in the beautifully restored setting of Leighton House for an evening of musical performances and a sparkling reception.
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From page to stage: introducing Itch Tue 16 May Opera Holland Park Theatre, Ilchester Place
Ahead of the world premiere of Itch, composer Jonathan Dove, librettist Alasdair Middleton, director Stephen Barlow and Opera Holland Park’s CEO and Director of Opera James Clutton join Anna Picard in a conversation about transforming the narrative of a best-selling adventure story into an opera, with music from countertenor James Laing.
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Romance and realism: Puccini’s La bohème Mon 26 June Opera Holland Park Theatre, Ilchester Place
Director Natascha Metherell, conductor George Jackson, critic Robert Thicknesse and cultural historian Claire Lozier join Anna Picard to discuss Puccini’s portrait of life in the Quartier Latin, the history of Paris as a place of romance, and the curious life of Henri Murger, whose stories inspired the opera, with music from Barnaby Rea and Stuart Wild.
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Ancestral ghosts: an insider’s guide to Ruddigore Mon 24 July Opera Holland Park Theatre, Ilchester Place
Singer and director John Savournin, pianist and conductor David Eaton, critic Robert Thicknesse and singer Stephen Gadd settle in with Opera Holland Park’s Anna Picard to trade tales about things that go bump in the night, daily acts of wickedness, Gothic sensibilities and the lasting appeal of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic operas.
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