Tom Stoppard’s Olivier Award-winning new play Leopoldstadt is a passionate drama of love, family and endurance. At the beginning of the 20th century, Leopoldstadt was the old, crowded Jewish quarter of Vienna, Austria. But Hermann Merz, a factory owner and baptised Jew now married to Catholic Gretl, has moved up in the world. We follow his family’s […]

Set twelve years before the epic His Dark Materials trilogy, this gripping adaptation revisits Philip Pullman’s fantastical world in which waters are rising and storms are brewing. Two young people and their dæmons, with everything at stake, find themselves at the centre of a terrifying manhunt. In their care is a tiny child called Lyra Belacqua, and […]

In a pitiless world of luxurious decadence, corruption and social decay, Director of The Royal Opera Oliver Mears sets his scene. In his first work for his own Company, Mears brings Verdi’s masterpiece into the modern world. Verdi’s thrilling Rigoletto pits power against innocence, beauty against ugliness, conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano. This special anniversary […]

Presented by Speakers from the Edge “What on earth do you do after that?” is the usual question once you climb a new route up Everest, reaching the top alone and without oxygen.  For Stephen Venables, that historic success was just a cue for different experiences – new Himalayan peaks, arctic dog-sledging, film-making, desert journeys […]

19th-century Paris is a place of contrasts; glamour and superficiality, love and lust, life and death. Courtesan Violetta sings some of Verdi’s most acclaimed arias including the joyous ‘Sempre libera’, in her poignant and passionate encounters with Alfredo and Germont. Richard Eyre’s production for The Royal Opera recently celebrated 25 years on the Royal Opera […]

Kit Harington (Game of Thrones) plays the title role in Shakespeare’s thrilling study of nationalism, war and the psychology of power. Fresh to the throne, King Henry V launches England into a bloody war with France. When his campaign encounters resistance, this inexperienced new ruler must prove he is fit to guide a country into war. Captured live […]

Inspired by the story of the mythical wizard, Northern Ballet’s ‘Merlin’ will take audiences on a sweeping epic adventure of heartbreak, hope and more than a little magic. Choreographed by Olivier Award-winning Drew McOnie (Broadway’s King Kong and Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom), expect an enchanting spectacle. Don’t miss the legend reawakened through Northern Ballet’s blend […]

This classic fairytale represents the battle between good and evil, and the attempt of love to conquer all. The magic of the lakes, forests and palaces is brought to life with glittering designs by John Macfarlane and a sublime score by Tchaikovsky. The Royal Ballet’s sumptuous production of Swan Lake returns to the Royal Opera […]

Ralph Fiennes (Antony & Cleopatra) leads the cast in David Hare’s (Skylight) blazing account of the most powerful man in New York, a master manipulator whose legacy changed the city forever. For forty uninterrupted years, Robert Moses exploited those in office through a mix of charm and intimidation. Motivated at first by a determination to improve the lives […]

The Soveida Ensemble was first established in 2014. Based on a long since forgotten form of Classical Persian music, the Soveida Ensemble performs on some of the oldest instruments created by man, including the Tanbour, Setar, Tar, Daf, Tombak and Ney. This particular style of music called Taghti’i-Igha’i was formulated and classified for the first […]