Tchaikovsky, Puccini, Wagner and lots of Verdi – a guide to English opera festivals. Summer 2025

Glyndebourne, East Sussex
May 16-August 24, 2025

In 2025, the Glyndebourne Festival will once again open its doors to opera fans, offering a vibrant mix of new productions and beloved classics. One of the highlights of the season will be Wagner’s Parsifal – performed for the first time in the festival’s history. Director Jetske Meinssen and conductor Robin Tichiati offer a modern take on the epic philosophical drama. Recent productions also include Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro read by Mariama Clément.

Among the returning productions are Rossini’s timeless “Barber of Seville” in Annabel Arden’s version, with Rory MacDonald at the conductor’s desk, and Handel’s “Saul” under Jonathan Cohen. “Verdi’s Falstaff with Renato Girolami in the title role remains a gem of the repertoire, and the program concludes with Janáček’s tragic and poignant Katja Kabanová, directed by Damiano Micchieletto, where powerful female drama and subtle psychological direction once again come to the fore.

The Grange Festival, Hampshire
June 4 – July 6, 2025

The Grange Festival, which annually transforms the picturesque Northington Manor in Hampshire into a center of musical art, promises to be no less important event of the summer season. The centerpiece of the program will be Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata, which has remained relevant for more than a century and a half, in a new interpretation by director Maxine Braham.

For lovers of light genres, the festival will offer Johann Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus II, an operetta directed by Paul Karran, which is always associated with fun and witty plots. And the unexpected surprise of the season will be a performance of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes, a baroque opera not often seen on modern stages. Moreover, The Grange Festival offers a number of concert programs that will definitely not leave indifferent fans of jazz and popular music.

Opera Holland Park, London
May 27-August 2, 2025

Opera Holland Park, one of London’s most democratic musical events, promises colorful open-air performances. The main sensation of the season will be Richard Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, the first Wagner in the festival’s history. Director Julia Burbach and conductor Peter Seluin are aiming for an epic but personal reading of the myth of the cursed captain.

Jonathan Dove’ s Itch, an opera based on Simon Mayo’s young adult novel about a boy obsessed with the search for new chemical elements, will bring modernity to the stage. In addition, festival guests will be treated to a new production of Franz Lehar’s The Wedding March and Gilbert and Sullivan’s sparkling miniatures – a satire on English society and operatic eccentricity at its best. Traditional opera drama is also presented in a big way: Gaetano Donizetti’sLucia di Lammermoor will be presented in a new production by Cecilia Stinton. In contrast isVerdi’s La Traviata, already a favorite of the public, but with a new cast.

Garsington Opera, Buckinghamshire
May 29 – July 22, 2025

Garsington Opera Festival in Buckinghamshire will offer four important operas in 2025. One of the highlights will be Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades, with staging by Jack Furness and musical direction by Douglas Boyd. This story of passion, madness and the search for lost happiness will feature some of Britain’s strongest voices, including Aaron Cowley as Herman and Laura Wild as Lisa.

For lovers of baroque opera, Garsington offers Handel’s Rodelinda, one of his most impressive and dramatic works. Also on the program is Donizetti’s Die Fledermaus, an opera about love and fidelity directed by Christopher Luscombe with a vibrant cast including Madison Leonard and Oleksiy Palchikov, and Beethoven’s Fidelio, which will be performed under the direction of conductor Gerard Corsten.

Grange Park Opera, Surrey
June 4 – July 9, 2025

Grange Park Opera Festival 2025 will offer audiences rare operas and groundbreaking projects. One of the highlights of the season will be Verdi’ s Simon Boccanegra, with baritone Simon Quinlisaid in the title role. The orchestra will be conducted by Gianluca Marciano.

Also on the program are Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, the tragic love story of a Japanese geisha and an American sailor, a rare performance of Tchaikovsky’s Mazeppa, and Nishat Khan’s groundbreaking opera Taj Mahal, a unique blend of Western and Indian music that will be presented in the UK for the first time.