Kristina Stanek takes the title role in English National Opera's first staging of Adriana Mater, Kaija Saariaho's opera of war and motherhood, which runs at the London Coliseum from 28 November to 12 December 2026.
Kristina Stanek, the German mezzo-soprano who trained at the Royal Academy of Music, will sing the title role in Adriana Mater, which English National Opera brings to the London Coliseum for seven performances from 28 November to 12 December 2026. It is the first time the company has staged Kaija Saariaho's opera, and the production is the first on which Artistic Director Annilese Miskimmon and Music Director Designate André de Ridder have worked together.
Caspar Singh, the tenor who sang the title role in ENO's Albert Herring at the Coliseum and at Lowry last season, plays Adriana's son Yonas. Baritone Leigh Melrose, a former Harewood Artist with a long record in new work and 20th-century repertoire, is Tsargo, and soprano Lauren Fagan, a graduate of the Jette Parker Young Artist Programme, joins the company for the first time as Refka.
The libretto is by the Lebanese-French journalist and former war correspondent Amin Maalouf, and the action is set in an unnamed European country during a civil war and in the years after it. Yonas grows up to face the violence in his own family's past, and in the final scenes his mother presses him to choose mercy over revenge, arguing that the cycle of male violence has to end before the family, or the nation, can recover. ENO performs it in a new English translation it commissioned from the composer's son, the writer and director Aleksi Barrière.
Miskimmon is also directing the company's new Tosca, which opens on 30 October, and the two productions are designed as a prequel and a sequel about art, war and resilience; our guide to the Tosca staging sets out how they connect. On Saturday 5 December the pair can be seen in a single day, with a Tosca matinee followed by Adriana Mater in the evening.
De Ridder conducts the Orchestra of ENO, returning after last season's five-star Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, which The Times praised for its "terrific orchestral performance". Saariaho's score sets a conventional orchestra alongside electronics. Aliisa Neige Barrière, the composer's daughter, is Associate Conductor and takes the podium on 5 and 10 December.
Set designs are by Rosanna Vize, with costumes by Evie Gurney, lighting by Lee Curran and movement direction by Imogen Knight.
The opera runs for 2 hours 20 minutes including one interval and is sung in English, with surtitles. Evening performances on 28 November and 1, 3, 5, 8 and 10 December start at 19.00, and the final performance on 12 December is a 14.00 matinee; the 8 December performance is interpreted in British Sign Language. Tickets start at £25 including fees, under-21s can sit anywhere in the house for free, and 21-35 year olds are eligible for reduced prices.
Tickets for Adriana Mater at the London Coliseum are on sale now.
