Axelle Fanyo sings Floria Tosca and Chaz'men Williams-Ali sings Cavaradossi in English National Opera's new Tosca, which opens at the London Coliseum on 30 October. Christopher Purves and Craig Colclough share the role of Scarpia.
Axelle Fanyo takes the title role in Tosca, English National Opera's new production, which runs at the London Coliseum from 30 October to 11 December 2026. The Grammy Award-winning soprano sings Floria Tosca opposite tenor Chaz'men Williams-Ali as the painter Mario Cavaradossi.
The police chief Scarpia is shared across the run by two singers: baritone Christopher Purves and bass-baritone Craig Colclough. Harewood Artist and bass-baritone Alaric Green sings Angelotti, and Robert Hayward, one of the UK's long-established leading dramatic bass-baritones, is the Sacristan. Two more Harewood Artists complete the principals: tenor Osian Wyn Bowen as Spoletta and baritone Steffan Lloyd Owen as Sciarrone.
The Chorus of ENO completes the company, joined by a Children's Chorus of 20 children aged 9-11 cast from Marlborough Primary School through an ENO Engage partnership with the London West Music Hub. Four months separate their school concerts from the Coliseum stage, and the company has built the work around their confidence, musicianship and performance skills.
Annilese Miskimmon, ENO's Artistic Director, directs, following the Olivier Award-winning Dead Man Walking she staged for the company in 2025. She moves Puccini's drama into a concert hall in an unnamed European state engulfed by civil conflict and threatened by foreign aggression at its borders, a contemporary setting that draws out the parallels between art, war and political oppression.
"ENO’s 2026/27 Season brings together stories of resistance, resilience and the search for freedom," Miskimmon said. "I am delighted to present this new production of Puccini’s Tosca alongside its sister production, Adriana Mater, and to explore both works through a contemporary lens. Tosca is one of opera’s most iconic characters, and I look forward to placing her at the centre of her own story by revealing the urgent relevance of Puccini’s opera for audiences today."
Ben Glassberg conducts the Chorus and Orchestra of ENO. He returns to the company for the first time since its 2022 production of La bohème, which The Times credited with a "pulse and sparkle to the music", and whose conducting The Guardian has called "irresistible panache".
The rest of the creative team is Rosanna Vize as set designer, Evie Gurney as costume designer, Lee Curran as lighting designer and Imogen Knight as movement director. The translation is by Amanda Holden, and the opera is sung in English with surtitles.
Miskimmon also directs Adriana Mater, which opens on 28 November with André de Ridder, ENO’s Music Director Designate, in the pit. The two are staged as a prequel and a sequel, one narrative arc about art, war and resilience, and on Saturday 5 December 2026 only the company plays a Tosca matinee followed by an evening performance of Adriana Mater.
ENO set out its autumn at the Coliseum in August, when it announced the new Tosca alongside the West End transfer of Angel’s Bone; we covered that announcement at the time. Today’s release adds the cast and the creative team.
The run is 13 performances in all, with a British Sign Language interpreted performance on 10 November and a relaxed performance on 30 November. The running time is 2 hours 15 minutes with one interval. Tickets start at £25 including all fees, and ENO’s standing schemes apply: free tickets for under-21s at every level of the theatre, and discounted tickets for 21 to 35-year-olds.
Tosca runs at the London Coliseum from 30 October to 11 December 2026.
