Orchestra

The Orchestra at ENO is one of the UK’s leading professional opera orchestras.

Heart-stopping Handel, delightful Mozart, hypnotic Glass – its repertoire encompasses four centuries of music. From timeless storytelling to music that captures the present moment, its players create opera that’s unforgettable.

Hidden in the pit, the Orchestra creates great waves of music that keep a whole opera afloat. Its brilliant performers shine alongside the soloists, collaborate with the chorus and give their all in the overture.

Watch the Orchestra of ENO play 'Love and Music' (Vissi d'arte) with Sinéad Campbell-Wallace at Battersea Arts Centre

Watch 'Toreador' from Bizet's Carmen with Nmon Ford and the Chorus and Orchestra of ENO

Watch Summertime from The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess. performed by Nadine Benjamin and the Orchestra of ENO. Conducted by John Wilson.

Watch The Orchestra of ENO perform Wagner's 'Ride of the Valkyries'.

Watch 'Alabama Song' from Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny with Danielle De Niese and the Orchestra of ENO

Watch the Orchestra of ENO accompany singer Alexandra Oomens in O mio babbino caro from Puccini's Gianni Schicchi

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'The star is the orchestra producing a dazzling array of colours'

London Standard, Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring, 2025

The Orchestra is not just to be found in the pit at the London Coliseum – its musicians also perform in concert and on screen and sometimes pop up in unexpected places.

Whether recording music for film and television, collaborating with football fans or pushing the boundaries of operatic form, they combine technical excellence with openness to new ideas.

Feathers in the orchestra’s cap include its Handel performances – from a pioneering partnership with Sir Charles Mackerras to recent work with specialists such as Laurence Cummings.

It has also won widespread praise for its spectacular interpretations of the operas of Philip Glass.

'The ENO Orchestra gave an excellent account of Handel’s joyful music'

Daily Express, Handel’s Partenope, 2025

In opera, every performance is a conversation between the orchestra and the singers. The Orchestra has made music with a roster of principal singers at the top of their game. The musicians also meet the needs of new directors and conductors every season.

Dazzling audiences with massive productions and trailblazing scene-setting, ENO is a home like no other for orchestral musicians. The Orchestra sits at the heart of every performance, playing with precision, flexibility and excellence.