Opera in the East Midlands 2026 - 2027
From Mozart and Rossini to Gilbert & Sullivan and Beethoven - where you can see opera and operetta performed in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire, including fully staged, semi-staged and concert versions of complete operas.
Locations covered include Buxton, Derby, Leicester, Lincoln, Northampton and Nottingham.
Henry Purcell's King Arthur
Wyke ManorPershore WR10 3NS
25th Jun 2026
Building on the tremendous success of our earlier semi-staged Purcell performances, we return with his opera reimagined in true Armonico Consort style - fresh, vibrant, and alive for today's audiences.
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The Pirates of Penzance
Chapel Town HallMarket Street, Chapel-en-le-Frith, High Peak SK23 0HP
27th Jun 2026
Utopia Unlimited proudly presents The Pirates of Penzance, Gilbert and Sullivan?s beloved tale of loyal pirates, plucky maidens, and one very confused apprentice, all brought to life by our vibrant youth cast.
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Buxton International Festival
Buxton Opera HouseWater Street, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 6XN
9th Jul 2026 to 26th Jul 2026
The festival returns to Buxton for 2026, including The Merry Widow, Le dernier sorcier, La Traviata and La liberazione di Ruggiero.
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The Marriage of Figaro
Doddington Hall & GardensMain Street, Doddington, Lincoln, LN6 4RU
31st Jul 2026
Bursting with glorious melodies - from the fizzing overture to the heart-stopping beauty of 'Dove sono' and the jubilant finale - The Marriage of Figaro is Mozart at his most brilliant. Presented by Wild Arts.
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32nd International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival
Buxton Opera HouseWater Street, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 6XN
1st Aug 2026 to 15th Aug 2026
An annual feast of Gilbert and Sullivan packed with their popular operas. From professional and amateur productions, concerts and talks, it is everything for G&S fans.
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The Flying Dutchman
St James the Greater ChurchLondon Road, Leicester, LE2 1NE
12th Sep 2026 to 19th Sep 2026
A semi-staged production of Richard Wagner's The Flying Dutchman in the atmospheric setting of Leicester's St James the Greater Church.
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Ruddygore
Castle TheatreCastle Way, Wellingborough NN8 1XA
15th Oct 2026 to 17th Oct 2026
A sparkling new production of the Gilbert & Sullivan's gothic opera.
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Ariadne / Dido & Aeneas
Buxton Opera HouseWater Street, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 6XN
24th Oct 2026
A double bill of Ariadne, where Elena Langer sets Glyn Maxwell's Poem Ariadne to Theseus, and Dido and Aeneas, in which Elena Langer sets Glyn Maxwell's Poem Ariadne to Theseus, based on Virgil's epic poem The Aeneid.
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Orpheus & Eurydice
Buxton Opera HouseWater Street, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 6XN
24th Oct 2026
A timeless story of love and loss is brought to life in ETO's new production of Orpheus & Eurydice, celebrating the myth of Orpheus through the power of the voice and profound theatricality.
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The Sorcerer
Lady Hawkins' Community Leisure CentreChurch Road, Kington, HR5 3AG
29th Oct 2026 to 31st Oct 2026
Alexis believes love should transcend all social classes. He hires a sorcerer to create a love potion for the villagers. The potion causes everyone to fall in love with the first person they see, leading to humorous and chaotic romantic entanglements.
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The Gondoliers
Iveshead School TheatreForest Street, Shepshed, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE12 9DB
11th Nov 2026 to 14th Nov 2026
Christchurch G & S Society present The Gondoliers, Gilbert & Sullivan's comic satire on the class and the institution of the monarchy.
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Eugene Onegin
Theatre Royal NottinghamTheatre Square, Nottingham, NG1 5ND
18th Nov 2026 to 21st Nov 2026
Tchaikovsky adapted Pushkin's great verse novel for the stage and set it to music that displays his gift for unforgettable melody. The result is a deeply affecting portrait of love, regret and missed chances.
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Rigoletto
Theatre Royal NottinghamTheatre Square, Nottingham, NG1 5ND
19th Nov 2026 to 20th Nov 2026
This bold, award-winning production by leading UK theatre artist Feme Elufowoju Jr is opera at its most gripping: a thrilling tale of power, love and revenge that includes one of opera's most famous aria, 'La donna e mobile'.
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Don Giovanni
Theatre Royal NottinghamTheatre Square, Nottingham, NG1 5ND
17th Mar 2027 to 19th Mar 2027
Mozart's darkest, craziest opera. Sparkling music, vivid characters and dramatic bite combine to create a work that is both endlessly entertaining and profoundly unsettling.
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Dead Man Walking
Theatre Royal NottinghamTheatre Square, Nottingham, NG1 5ND
20th Mar 2027
Based on the memoir by Sister Helen Prejean, Dead Man Walking is one of the most widely acclaimed and frequently performed operas of the past 25 years.
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Orpheus
De Montfort HallGranville Road, Leicester LE1 7RU
18th Apr 2027
Jasdeep Singh Degun's thrilling reimagining of Monteverdi's beautiful baroque masterpiece in a union of uniquely talented singers and musicians from both the South Asian and western classical traditions.
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Tristan und Isolde
Royal Concert HallTheatre Square, Nottingham, NG1 5ND
13th May 2027
A hymn to a love that transcends death, set to some of the most sheerly sensuous music ever composed - and the frank eroticism of the score still has the power to shock. This is the latest in Opera North?s sequence of award-winning concert stagings.
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