Stage Director

Production Designer

Kidnapped by pirates and sold into a harem, Konstanze and Blonde plot their escape. But when hope seems lost, help comes from an unexpected quarter. In Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) Mozart’s colourful score is perfectly matched by David McVicar’s gorgeous, tender staging, set in the sun-filled gardens and shady terraces of an 18th-century palace.

Die Entführung aus dem Serail

Glyndebourne

Moral outrage one moment, coquettish expediency the next. The intrigues of the powerful interwoven with the desperation of hapless refugees. When it comes to the gamut of human emotion and modes of behaviour, few operas of the baroque period can touch Handel’s GIULIO CESARE IN EGITTO, which premiered in London in 1724. This tale of the love affair between the ageing Roman general Julius Caesar and the young pharaoh Cleopatra was one of Handel’s greatest triumphs within his lifetime and remains his most performed opera. That is not just down to the base material – one of the best-known historically attested love stories, which has been given treatments ranging from Shakespeare to Liz Taylor and Richard Burton and “Asterix und Cleopatra” – but also to a sophisticated libretto that provided the inspiration for a string of great arias and memorable character studies, for aside from the Roman-Egyptian pairing of Caesar and Cleopatra GIULIO CESARE IN EGITTO features another pair who are busy not with flirting but with the serious business of staying alive: Cornelia, the widow of Pompeius, a murdered rival of Caesar, and her son Sesto. Both have sought refuge in Egypt but have become pawns in the scheming between Cleopatra and her brother Tolomeo.

Giulio Cesare in Egitto

Deutsche Oper Berlin

The final day of The Ring is staged with The Twilight of the Gods . This completes Sir David McVicar's directorial vision, which returns the Ring to its mythical foundations and narrative linearity, rightfully placing it among the benchmarks of the Western canon. Ancient tragedy, Baroque theater, and Elizabethan drama converge in a reading that identifies two episodes of comedy— Rheingold and Siegfried —and two episodes of tragedy, Die Walküre and, above all, Götterdämmerung , which marks the final arrival at catastrophe.

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Götterdämmerung (Der Ring des Nibelungen)

Teatro alla Scala

The third episode of the Tetralogy introduces the character of Siegfried, the son of siblings Siegmund and Sieglinde, who grew up in the lair of the treacherous Mime and was called upon to reforge the sword Nothung with which he would slay the dragon Fafner, guardian of the treasure, before freeing Brünnhilde from the spell of fire. A young man unfamiliar with fear, he is the protagonist of a fairytale plot that recurs with the sentiment of Nature and the obstacles to be overcome, culminating in his encounter with the Valkyrie, who renounces her divine nature for him.

Siegfried (Der Ring des Nibelungen)

The Twilight of the Gods marks the final day of The Ring of the Nibelung , before the complete performance of two cycles of the Tetralogy . This completes Sir David McVicar's directorial vision, which returns The Ring to its mythical foundations and narrative linearity, rightfully placing it among the reference points of the Western canon. Ancient tragedy, Baroque theater, and Elizabethan drama converge in a reading that identifies two episodes of comedy— Rheingold and Siegfried —and two delves into tragedy, Die Walküre and, above all, Götterdämmerung , which marks the final arrival at catastrophe.

Götterdämmerung

A storm rages off the coast of Crete, forcing King Idomeneo, who is returning from the Trojan War, to make an ill-fated promise to Neptune: if the enraged god lets him reach land safely, he will sacrifice the first man he meets. When Idomeneo arrives on the beach, he meets his son Idamante. But the unforgiving world of the gods seems determined to exact the king’s promise.

Idomeneo

Bebelplatz

La traviata, or Violetta Valéry, is a Parisian courtesan with a very glamorous life who sells her body as in The Lady of the Camellias , by Dumas son, the origin of Verdi's opera. A woman with her own light who, ill with tuberculosis, will have to sacrifice her pure love for Alfredo Germont for social conventions. Alfredo's father does not approve of the relationship and the family reputation is called into question.

La traviata

Gran Teatre del Liceu

Puccini’s Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi are a perfect pairing of high emotion, intense drama, and black comedy.

Suor Angelica weaves a poignant tale of sacrifice and redemption, when a young nun is sent to a convent to repent her sins, and Gianni Schicchi is full of unexpected twists, deception and greed as a family dispute over a missing will.

Suor Angelica & Gianni Schicchi

Theatre Royal Plymouth

Puccini’s Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi are a perfect pairing of high emotion, intense drama, and black comedy. Suor Angelica weaves a poignant tale of sacrifice and redemption, when a young nun is sent to a convent to repent her sins, and Gianni Schicchi is full of unexpected twists, deception and greed as a family dispute over a missing will.  

Venue Cymru

Mayflower Theatre

Buckle up as Puccini’s trio of one-act operas, Il trittico, takes you on an unforgettable rollercoaster of high emotion, intense drama, and black comedy. Il tabarro (The Cloak) gazes upon an unhappy marriage with murderous consequences, Suor Angelica (Sister Angelica) follows a nun’s sacrifice and familial yearning when sent to a convent to repent her sins, and Gianni Schicchi is full of deception and greed as a family dispute over a missing will.

Il trittico Puccini

Wales Millennium Centre

Count Almaviva lives with his Countess on their estate near Seville. The Count has his eye on his wife’s maid Susanna, who is about to marry the Count’s servant, Figaro. Much to Figaro’s dismay,
the Count plans to seduce Susanna on the night of the wedding. Meanwhile, Cherubino, the Count’s young page, has a crush on the Countess, but has just been dismissed after being discovered with Barbarina, the gardener Antonio’s daughter.

RB&O: The Marriage of Figaro

Forum Theatre

It’s Figaro’s wedding, and you’re invited to join the Almaviva household for an uproarious day of revelation and scandal. Mozart’s comic opera is packed with plot twists, forbidden desires and unforgettable melodies, combining laugh-out-loud comedy with moments of breathtaking beauty.

The Royal Opera: The Marriage of Figaro

Gloucester Guildhall

Count Almaviva lives with his Countess on their estate near Seville. The Count has his eye on his wife’s maid Susanna, who is about to marry the Count’s servant, Figaro. Much to Figaro’s dismay, the Count plans to seduce Susanna on the night of the wedding. Meanwhile, Cherubino, the Count’s young page, has a crush on the Countess, but has just been dismissed after being discovered with Barbarina, the gardener Antonio’s daughter. 

Figaro decides he must foil the Count’s attempt to seduce his wife-to-be and enlists the help of the Countess, Susanna and Cherubino – the latter disguising himself as a woman. A series of mistaken identities, misunderstandings and thwarted plans ensue, with all members of the household participating as each tries to get what – and who – they want.

The Marriage of Figaro - Royal Ballet & Opera Live Broadcast

Swan Theatre

Count Almaviva lives with his Countess on their estate near Seville. The Count has his eye on his wife’s maid Susanna, who is about to marry the Count’s servant, Figaro. Much to Figaro’s dismay, the Count plans to seduce Susanna on the night of the wedding. Meanwhile, Cherubino, the Count’s young page, has a crush on the Countess, but has just been dismissed after being discovered with Barbarina, the gardener Antonio’s daughter. 

The Marriage of Figaro

Royal Opera House

If anyone can make the ridiculous sublime, it’s Mozart. Here is proof. The last in his celebrated trilogy of operas composed with his friend and librettist Da Ponte, Così fan tutte is an absurd story set to music of impossible beauty.

Così fan tutte

Sydney Opera House

Bollywood meets Baroque in this utterly original retelling of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar’s tempestuous love affair.
Handel’s masterpiece, full of seduction, dazzling spectacle and vocal fireworks, is given the all-singing, all-dancing treatment in this Glyndebourne classic.

Giulio Cesare

At a glittering party in 18th-century Paris, the poet Andréa Chenier delivers an impassioned denunciation of Louis XVI. Five years later, the Revolution has given way to the Terror, transforming the power balance between Chénier, his beloved Maddalena, and Gérard, the man who could destroy him...

Andrea Chenier (12A) Royal Opera House Live 23-24

Barbican Centre

Lost in the forest, a prince encounters an ethereal beauty with a mysterious past (and lush locks that would make Rapunzel envious). But after she's brought home to his family, she begins to grow increasingly close to his handsome younger brother.
Debussy's sensual, exquisitely nuanced score casts a hypnotic spell, capturing an enigmatic dream world where forbidden love blossoms.
Conducted by James Conlon, this fascinating lyric masterpiece stars two riveting young performers, soprano Sydney Mancasola and baritone Will Liverman, as the doomed lovers, and Kyle Ketelsen as the jealous prince. The magnificent Susan Graham makes her role debut as Geneviève, mother of the two rival brothers, and the legendary bass Ferruccio Furlanetto returns as King Arkel, the family patriarch unable to grasp the tragedy unfolding before him.

Pelléas and Mélisande

Los Angeles Music Center

Umberto Giordano’s exhilarating drama returns to the Met repertory for the first time in 25 years. Packed with memorable melody, showstopping arias, and explosive confrontations, Fedora requires a cast of thrilling voices to take flight, and the Met’s new production promises to deliver. Soprano Sonya Yoncheva, one of today’s most riveting artists, sings the title role of the 19th-century Russian princess who falls in love with her fiancé’s murderer, Count Loris, sung by star tenor Piotr Beczała. Soprano Rosa Feola is the Countess Olga, Fedora’s confidant, and baritone Artur Ruciński is the diplomat De Siriex, with Met maestro Marco Armiliato conducting. Director David McVicar delivers a detailed and dramatic staging based around an ingenious fixed set that, like a Russian nesting doll, unfolds to reveal the opera’s three distinctive settings—a palace in St. Petersburg, a fashionable Parisian salon, and a picturesque villa in the Swiss Alps.

Fedora

Lincoln Center

Sparks are sure to fly as some of opera’s most electrifying artists light up Puccini’s classic thriller. Sopranos Aleksandra Kurzak, Angela Gheorghiu, and Liudmyla Monastyrska take on the title role of the desperate diva, opposite tenors Michael Fabiano, Roberto Alagna, and Yusif Eyvazov as the ardent painter-revolutionary Cavaradossi. Baritone John Lundgren makes his Met debut as the merciless Baron Scarpia, sharing the role with baritone Željko Lučić, who reprises his acclaimed portrayal.

Tosca

The celebrated actress Adriana Lecouvreur loves Count Maurizio, who keeps his relationship with her a secret. The Princess of Bouillon also desires him.

Adriana Lecouvreur

Vienna State Opera

An Emperor’s court decays around him; a princess, haunted by inherited trauma, plays a deadly game of riddles; a visiting prince takes one look and decides to risk his life for love. The stakes could not be higher.

Turandot

Festival Theatre Edinburgh

Theatre Royal Glasgow

Temptation, redemption, and the price of desire take center stage in Gounod’s Faust, arriving in a dazzling, dance-infused production from visionary director David McVicar. Reimagined as a tormented composer in Belle Époque Paris, the title character makes a fateful pact with Mephistopheles: his soul in exchange for youth and sensual pleasure. After Faust sets his sights on the pure-hearted Marguerite, his passion leads to her ruin—but also her salvation. Set to one of the most beloved scores in French opera, Faust is full of iconic moments, from the diabolical “Song of the Golden Calf” to Marguerite’s glittering “Jewel Song.” Sublime soprano Pretty Yende makes her company debut as Marguerite, joined by tenor Matthew Polenzani as Faust and bass-baritone Ildebrando D’Arcangelo as Mephistopheles. Giacomo Sagripanti, music director of the Tbilisi Opera House, conducts in his HGO debut.

Faust

Wortham Theater Center

Cherubini’s rarely performed take on classic Greek tragedy stars leading diva Sonya Yoncheva as the ultimate woman scorned, the sorceress whose betrayal drives her to an unthinkable act of revenge. Clarion tenor Michael Spyres is Giasone, Medea’s unfaithful Argonaut husband, in David McVicar’s “impressive and enjoyable” (The New York Times) setting of the timeless myth.

Medea

World-renowned Scottish director Sir David McVicar brings his visionary storytelling to bear on Puccini’s epic, final opera in this, its centenary year.

An enchanting musical quest for love and freedom. Dalia Stasevska and Julia Jones conduct two exciting casts in David McVicar’s five-star production of Mozart’s beloved family-favourite opera.

Stage Director, Production Designer

David McVicar

Events

Upcoming events

Jul 31 - Aug 28, 2026

Die Entführung aus dem Serail · Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

Jul 31 - Aug 28, 2026

Die Entführung aus dem Serail · Glyndebourne

5 - 14 Sep, 2026

Adriana Lecouvreur · Wiener Staatsoper

Oct 22 - Nov 22, 2026

Turandot · Scottish Opera

Oct 30 - Nov 15, 2026

Faust · Houston Grand Opera

Past events

Jul 31 - Aug 28, 2026

Die Entführung aus dem Serail · Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

Jul 31 - Aug 28, 2026

Die Entführung aus dem Serail · Glyndebourne

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