ENO announces new Music Director and 2025/26 Season

Today, English National Opera (ENO) announces the appointment of André de Ridder as its new Music Director and unveils details of its programme for the 2025/26 Season. Public booking opens on 4 June 2025.

The season sees ENO strengthen its national presence through a distinctive programme of performance, broadcast and participation work, in both London and Greater Manchester. The 2025/26 Season includes five new productions, major broadcast collaborations and the return of much-loved revivals, featuring the opera world’s finest British and international talent. It will also mark André de Ridder’s first conducting engagement as Music Director Designate in February 2026.

Jenny Mollica, Chief Executive of English National Opera, said:

‘Today’s announcement marks a new chapter of creative renewal for ENO, underlined by the thrilling appointment of our new Music Director, André de Ridder. André’s compelling blend of innovation and artistry, combined with his commitment and readiness to chart new ground in opera make him the perfect fit for ENO.

Alongside welcoming André, we are delighted to announce our forthcoming 2025/26 Season – defined by ambitious new productions and the ongoing expansion of our work nationally. As we continue to drive a new vision for opera – across London, Greater Manchester and beyond – today’s announcement represents a significant step forward in our direction of travel.’

ENO’s free tickets for Under 21s will be extended for audiences in Greater Manchester. At the London Coliseum, free tickets for Under 21s continue for every performance and at every level of the theatre, with substantial discounts for Under 35s, and ticket prices begin at £15 (including fees).

Music Director Appointment:

André de Ridder assumes the position of Music Director Designate in September 2025 and will take up his post as Music Director in Autumn 2027.

He is currently the General Music Director of Theater Freiburg in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, where he has conducted titles such as Wozzeck, Hansel and Gretel, The Magic Flute, Don Carlos, Jenůfa, and Alcina.

In recent seasons, he has appeared as a guest conductor at opera houses including Finnish National Opera, Dutch National Opera, Theater Basel, Staatsoper Stuttgart, and Oper Köln.

Speaking of his appointment today, André de Ridder said:

‘It is an honour to have been chosen by English National Opera as their new Music Director.

I’ve been privileged to have experienced working with ENO early in my career, which has informed and inspired my own approach to repertoire, new work and always exploring perspectives on bringing great opera to wide audiences.

I am immensely excited to join them at this time of change and development and to have the chance to work again in the Greater Manchester region too.’

André has strong links with the UK and appears regularly with orchestras such as the Hallé Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra and BBC Symphony Orchestra. He additionally curates and performs Unclassified Live at London’s Southbank Centre, a series of genre-defying performances featuring the BBC Concert Orchestra.

Strongly committed to new music, he has previously conducted for ENO the premieres of Gerald Barry’s The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant in 2005, and Michel van der Aa’s Sunken Garden in 2013. In 2007, he led the world premiere of Damon Albarn’s and Chen Shi-Zheng’s animation opera, Monkey: Journey to the West at the Manchester International Festival, and subsequent performances at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris and Royal Opera House, London.

He has given premieres of works by composers such as Daníel Bjarnason, Bryce Dessner, Max Richter, Wolfgang Rihm and Kaija Saariaho, as well as collaborating with bands such as Dirty Projectors, The Flaming Lips and Gorillaz.

2025/26 Season:

Annilese Miskimmon, Artistic Director of English National Opera, comments on today’s announcement:

‘We’re delighted to make this announcement today, reaffirming our commitment to our devoted audiences at the London Coliseum, and reaching new audiences in Greater Manchester.

This season showcases new contemporary masterpieces and ENO firsts, alongside the return of our well-loved revivals, and two new broadcast partnerships with Factory Films for Sky Arts and BBC Radio 3, as we continue to expand our work nationally.

We are thrilled that André is joining ENO and that his first conducting engagement as Music Director Designate will be for our new production of Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. A passionate advocate for both classical repertoire and contemporary work, his vision and ambition both for the artform and for ENO as a company will make the next years truly industry and audience leading.’

New productions premiering this season:

A new production of Jake Heggie’s compelling first opera Dead Man Walking will open in November 2025, 25 years after its original premiere. In an international and national co-production, it will be presented by ENO during the 2025/26 Season at the London Coliseum, by Opera North in Leeds and on tour in the north in Spring 2027, including at Lowry (Salford Quays), and then by Finnish National Opera in Helsinki in a later season.

Annilese Miskimmon will direct Heggie’s haunting contemporary masterpiece and conducting is Kerem Hasan. Starring as Sister Helen Prejean and death-row inmate Joseph de Rocher are internationally renowned performers Christine Rice and Michael Mayes. They will be joined by Dame Sarah Connolly as Mrs Patrick de Rocher.

Also at the London Coliseum, Jamie Manton directs a new production of Kurt Weill’s rarely performed political satire, Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, in February 2026. Conducting the electric score inspired by the jazz music from the 1920s, is André de Ridder in his first engagement as Music Director Designate.

Leading the cast as the three fugitives, Leokadja Begbick, Trinity Moses and Fatty the Bookkeeper, are Rosie Aldridge, Kenneth Kellogg, and Mark Le Brocq. They will be joined by the internationally renowned Danielle de Niese as Jenny Smith.

In September 2025, a new production of Rossini’s Cinderella (La Cenerentola) is directed by International Opera Award-nominated director, Julia Burbach, and conducting is Yi-Chen Lin making her ENO debut. Also debuting at ENO is Deepa Johnny, performing the lead role of Angelina. She will be joined by Aaron Godfrey-Mayes making his ENO debut as Don Ramiro, Charles Rice as Dandini, Simon Bailey as Don Magnifico, and former Harewood Artist David Ireland as Alidoro.

Opening at the London Coliseum and transferring to Lowry, Salford Quays in October 2025, is a new staging of Benjamin Britten’s comic ensemble opera, Albert Herring, marking the first time ENO has performed this opera.

Making his ENO directorial debut is Antony McDonald. Also making their company debuts are conductor Daniel Cohen and Caspar Singh who is leading the cast in the title role. He will be joined by internationally acclaimed performers Emma Bell as Lady Billows, Mark Le Brocq as Mr Upfold, the Mayor, and Sir Willard White as Superintendent Budd. The full cast and creative team will transfer with the production from the London Coliseum to Lowry.

ENO are delighted to announce the multi-award-winning creative team joining the new UK premiere of Du Yun’s Angel’s Bone, the Pulitzer Prize-winning contemporary opera produced by ENO in collaboration with Factory International and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, and presented at Aviva Studios, Manchester in May 2026.

Directing this modern masterpiece is Kip Williams, making both his ENO and UK opera debut. Williams’ operatic and theatre work has been much lauded, and his productions have garnered him international critical acclaim. Marg Horwell joins as the Designer of Angel’s Bone. They reunite after working together on the acclaimed production of The Picture of Dorian Gray (2024), for which Horwell received an Olivier Award for Best Costume Designer.

Revival productions of ENO’s celebrated classics:

Returning to the London Coliseum in October 2025 is a revival of Calixto Bieito’s fiery Carmen, directed by Jamie Manton with Haruka Kuroda. Conducting is Clelia Cafiero and former ENO Mackerras Conducting Fellow, Olivia Clarke.

Making her role debut as Carmen is Niamh O’Sullivan. Joining her will be former Harewood Artist and rising star John Findon as Don José, Cory McGee makes his UK and role debut as celebrated toreador Escamillo, and Harewood Artist Ava Dodd as Micaela. The Children’s Chorus will be cast through an ENO Engage school partnership with London West Music Hub.

Christopher Alden’s critically acclaimed production of Handel’s Partenope returns for its second revival in November 2025. It is presented with the original partnership of Christopher Alden and Christian Curnyn resuming their roles as Director and Conductor respectively.

Leading the cast in the title role of Partenope is former Harewood Artist Nardus Williams. She will be joined by Hugh Cutting making his ENO debut as Arsace, Ru Charlesworth as Emilio, and Jake Ingbar as Armindo, the suitors competing for the Queen’s hand.

Cal McCrystal, acclaimed comedy director, returns for the revival of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic masterpiece HMS Pinafore in December 2025 and January 2026. Conducting is Matthew Kofi Waldren, former ENO Mackerras Conducting Fellow.

Neal Davies performs the role of Sir Joseph, the pompous head of the navy, and joining him is John Savournin, acclaimed Gilbert and Sullivan performer, reprising his role as Captain Corcoran. Performing as Ralph Rackstraw and Josephine is Thomas Atkins and newly appointed Harewood Artist Henna Mun. This production sees the return of ENO’s hugely successful Relaxed Performance offering; a performance curated for those who benefit from a more informal environment at the theatre.

A revival of Mozart’s romantic comedy Così fan tutte returns in February 2026, directed by the multi-award-winning director and Artistic Director of Improbable, Phelim McDermott with Dinis Sousa conducting.

The cast is comprised of Samantha Clarke and Bethany Horak-Hallett as Fiordiligi and Dorabella, and Joshua Blue and Darwin Prakash as Ferrando and Guglielmo. They will be joined by Andrew Foster-Williams as the philosopher Don Alfonso. Ailish Tynan performs the role of the mischievous maid Despina.

The cast from the London Coliseum production reprise their roles in a new semi-staged concert of Così fan tutte, alongside the Chorus and Orchestra of ENO, at The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester in February 2026. Directing is Ruth Knight and on the podium is internationally renowned conductor, Alexander Joel.

Broadcast and Events:

A newly created concert of Mozart’s Women: A Musical Journey, directed by Annilese Miskimmon, will be presented at the London Coliseum in September 2025. Created in partnership with ENO, the television concert will be produced by Factory Films for Sky Arts to be broadcast later this year.

Hosted by TV and radio presenter Lauren Laverne and accompanied by the Orchestra of ENO, the concert will tell the story of one of the world’s greatest composers and his relationships with the women who influenced his life and inspired his music.

ENO will be partnering with BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC Singers for Dmitri Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk at the BBC Proms in September 2025. Presented as a semi-staged concert at the Royal Albert Hall, it will be conducted by John Storgårds, Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.

The performance includes the full Chorus of ENO performing alongside the BBC Singers, and the Brass section of the Orchestra of ENO. This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and on BBC Sounds and will be performed in English.

At The Bridgewater Hall, the concert Opera Favourites, performed in collaboration with the Chorus of ENO and the Hallé Orchestra, will showcase some of opera’s greatest hits at the award-winning festival, Manchester Classical in June 2025.

This performance marks the Chorus of ENO’s debut in Greater Manchester and will feature ENO Harewood Artists, Madeline Boreham and Zwakele Tshabalala. The Finale concert concludes the festival with the Chorus of ENO joining Manchester’s leading ensembles. Both concerts are conducted by Alpesh Chauhan.

Highlights from ENO Engage (Learning and Participation):

Alongside programmes in London and Greater Manchester, ENO Engage will continue to expand its national learning and participation work, ensuring even more people of all ages and backgrounds are able to experience the joy of opera – in schools, community spaces and through healthcare programmes across the country.

ENO’s free national music education programme Finish This… continues to support music making in classrooms, aligning with the national music curriculum. For the 2025/26 academic year, a new composition will be launched called ‘Plant this Seed’ (Composer: Elif Karlidag, Librettist: Hazel Gould) for Primary and SEND schools, alongside the original composition ‘Blue, Red, Yellow’ (Composer: Omar Shahryar, Librettist: Ruth Mariner) for SEND, Primary and Secondary schools. During the 2025/26 academic year, over 14,000 children from schools across England are expected to participate in the forthcoming Finish This… programme.

In celebration of opera and community football in Greater Manchester, PERFECT PITCH, co-created by ENO and Walk the Plank, presents a large-scale participation programme exploring the impact of mass singing on team performance and spectator experiences. Since January 2025, PERFECT PITCH has welcomed over 250 football fans and choir members from the boroughs of Bury, Manchester and Wigan to perform football chants and operatic repertoire. A series of large-scale mass engagement opportunities will take place over Summer 2025, with a spectacular finale performance in Spring 2026.

ENO Breathe, developed by ENO in collaboration with Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, is an award-winning national programme to support people experiencing breathlessness and anxiety associated with long COVID. Since its conception in September 2020, it has now expanded to 89 NHS Partners and has helped more than 4,400 people nationally. A new iteration of the programme, ENO Breathe for Airways Disease, will launch in the period ahead to support people living with COPD and asthma across London and Greater Manchester.