English National Opera's new Tosca, the company's first Iphigénie en Tauride and Adriana Mater share the London Coliseum stage through November and December, before English National Ballet's Nutcracker takes over for Christmas.
The London Coliseum has published its programme for November and December, and opera takes up most of it. English National Opera, which has been resident at the St Martin's Lane theatre since 1968, stages three productions of its own across the two months and presents a visiting Dutch company for a single night. English National Ballet then moves in for the Christmas season.
Tosca, 30 October - 11 December 2026
The season opens with a new staging of Puccini's Tosca, directed by ENO's Artistic Director Annilese Miskimmon and conducted by Ben Glassberg, with Grammy Award winner Axelle Fanyo in the title role. Miskimmon sets the opera in a concert hall in an unnamed European country gripped by civil war. There the singer Floria Tosca arranges a secret meeting with her lover, the painter Mario Cavaradossi, until the corrupt police chief Scarpia intervenes and a building made for music becomes a place of fear and violence, in which Tosca must fight for her love, her honour and her life. The rest of the cast has already been announced.
Iphigénie en Tauride, 6-14 November 2026
Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride is rarely performed, although it is widely considered his greatest opera, and this new production by Olivier Award-winning director Lyndsey Turner is its first at ENO. Christine Rice, whose performance in the company's Dead Man Walking in 2025 stood out, sings Iphigenia, and David Bates makes his ENO debut as conductor. The heroine is marooned on a remote island, hoping to see her brother Orestes again, when a stranger is washed ashore with word that her family has collapsed; brother and sister are drawn towards reconciliation and the mercy of the gods. The full company was named earlier this month.
The Margot Fonteyn International Ballet Competition - Final, 8 November 2026
For one date the Coliseum turns over to the next generation of dancers. The final of The Margot Fonteyn International Ballet Competition, hosted by the Royal Ballet Academy and among the most prestigious showcases for emerging talent anywhere, brings gifted young dancers from around the world to the stage to show their technique and artistry.
Adriana Mater, 28 November - 12 December 2026
Adriana Mater is set in an unnamed European country during a civil war and in its aftermath. Adriana's son Yonas has to face the violence in his own bloodline and the dark truth about where his family began, and is consumed by a wish for revenge; the opera is ultimately about finding hope amid that brutality. Kristina Stanek makes her ENO debut in the title role, and Caspar Singh, a stand-out in the company's Albert Herring last season, returns as Yonas. Our casting report from last week has more on the production.
To Die For [A Comedy], 29 November 2026
On 29 November ENO presents a guest production for one performance only: To Die For [A Comedy], from Nederlandse Reisopera and the Phion Symphony Orchestra, in its UK premiere. The piece satirises the craving for fame and the business of exploiting people for profit. Its central figure, Semyon Podsekayev, sees his existential crisis turned into reality television, and only once his private life has become a public spectacle does he realise his old one may have been worth something. Adrian Kelly, Artistic Director of Buxton International Festival, conducts, and Sam Brown, Artistic Director of Nederlandse Reisopera, directs. The visit is supported by The Nicholas John Trust and Performance Arts Fund NL.
Nutcracker, 17 December 2026 - 10 January 2027
English National Ballet closes the year with Nutcracker, performed by a company of more than 100 dancers and musicians. The ballet is set in Edwardian London, where Clara meets an enchanted Nutcracker doll on Christmas Eve and is swept off on a magical journey, all to Tchaikovsky's much-loved score.
Younger opera-goers can take advantage of ENO's Under 21s and Under 35s schemes, which apply to every ENO opera at the Coliseum: anyone under 21 can go free, and those aged 21 to 35 pay heavily discounted prices. Seats can be chosen in any part of the auditorium, subject to availability.
Book tickets for Tosca, Iphigénie en Tauride, Adriana Mater, To Die For [A Comedy] and Nutcracker at the London Coliseum.
