Annilese Miskimmon moves Puccini's thriller into a concert hall in a country at war, with Axelle Fanyo making her English National Opera debut in the title role from 30 October. Here is everything you need to know before you book.
This Tosca is a new production rather than a revival, and English National Opera has put it in the hands of the company's own Artistic Director, Annilese Miskimmon, fresh from the Olivier Award-winning Dead Man Walking, and it opens at the London Coliseum on Friday 30 October 2026 for 13 performances, closing on Friday 11 December. It also arrives with a companion piece, which makes this autumn's ENO season unusually tightly argued.
Who is starring in Tosca?
The Grammy Award-winning soprano Axelle Fanyo sings Floria Tosca, in her debut with the company, opposite tenor Chaz'men Williams-Ali as the painter Mario Cavaradossi. The police chief Scarpia is shared across the run between baritone Christopher Purves and bass-baritone Craig Colclough.
Alaric Green, a Harewood Artist, sings Angelotti, and Robert Hayward is the Sacristan. Two more Harewood Artists complete the principals: Osian Wyn Bowen as Spoletta and Steffan Lloyd Owen as Sciarrone. The Chorus of ENO is joined by a Children's Chorus of 20 pupils aged 9-11 from Marlborough Primary School, cast through ENO Engage and its partnership with the London West Music Hub. The casting announcement has more on each singer.
What is Tosca about?
Puccini set his opera in Rome in 1800. Miskimmon relocates it to a concert hall in an unnamed European state, torn by civil conflict and threatened by a foreign power at its borders. The singer Floria Tosca has arranged to meet her lover Cavaradossi there; Scarpia, the chief of police, arrives instead, and the hall becomes a place of fear. Tosca bargains with him for Cavaradossi's life, and the opera's last act is one of the most famous in the repertoire for good reason.
The score is the draw for many, with Vissi d'arte and E lucevan le stelle among its arias. This production is sung in English, in a translation by Amanda Holden, with surtitles. The age guidance is 15+, and the opera depicts violence, murder, suicide and torture.
Who is behind the production?
Ben Glassberg conducts the Chorus and Orchestra of ENO, returning to the company for the first time since its 2022 La bohème. Sets are by Rosanna Vize, costumes by Evie Gurney and lighting by Lee Curran, with movement direction by Imogen Knight. "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," Miskimmon said. The first rehearsal pictures were released at the start of October.
When and where can I see it?
Tosca opens on Friday 30 October 2026 and closes on Friday 11 December 2026 at the London Coliseum on St Martin's Lane. There is a British Sign Language interpreted performance on Tuesday 10 November and a relaxed performance on Monday 30 November. The running time is about two hours and ten minutes, with one interval.
Tickets for Tosca currently start at £14 on our show page. ENO's own schemes also apply: under-21s go free in every part of the house, and 21 to 35-year-olds can buy discounted seats, subject to availability.
What else should I book if I like it?
The first choice is built in. Miskimmon also directs Kaija Saariaho's Adriana Mater, which opens at the Coliseum on 28 November, and the two are designed as a prequel and a sequel about art, war and survival. On Saturday 5 December a Tosca matinee is followed by an evening performance of Adriana Mater, the one day both can be seen together. ENO's Iphigénie en Tauride joins the Coliseum repertory from 6 November.
For a second great tragic heroine this autumn, Carmen runs at the Royal Opera House from 29 October, sung in French; our guide to that production has the casts.
