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The Latest Breaking News from Oliver Mears

‘We want people on the edge of their seats’: Royal Opera boss Oliver Mears on the new season – and the controversies of the last

Wagnerites rejoice! Parsifal and the climax of Barrie Kosky’s acclaimed Ring cycle are in the pipeline. The director of opera talks about scoring a bullseye, the storms that rocked last season – and how to avoid sending audiences to sleep

The Guardian - UK

Rigoletto review – strong revival of Mears’s violent take, with Elder revelatory in the pit

There is a touch of the Tony Sopranos about George Petean’s Rigoletto, in Oliver Mears’ 2021 staging that evokes a world of privilege, misogyny and abuse. Aida Garifullina is a convincing and elegant Gilda

The Guardian - UK

Tosca review – punchy new Puccini rises above the ‘Shame on you’ Russian soprano protests

Outrage over the casting of Anna Netrebko didn’t make it to the inside of the auditorium – where roars of approval greeted this high-stakes game of blood-spattered conflict directed by Oliver Mears

The Guardian - UK

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Tosca at Royal Opera: the controversial return of Russian soprano Anna Netrebko

4/5 The new Tosca at Royal Opera marks the debut of Jakub Hrusa as music director but also the return of Anna Netrebko to the spotlight

Evening Standard

ROH’s director of opera defends attempt to take Palestinian flag from protesting dancer

Oliver Mears asks Royal Opera House members for understanding after open letter accuses him of ‘extremely poor judgment’

The Guardian - UK

UK’s Royal Ballet and Opera cancels 2026 Israel show after staff protest on Gaza stance

The Royal Ballet and Opera has cancelled a planned 2026 performance of Puccini’s 'Tosca' at the Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv, after 182 staff signed a letter condemning the organisation's stance on Gaza.

Euronews

UK’s Royal Ballet and Opera withdraws Tosca production in Tel Aviv

Show scheduled for next year pulled after 182 members of UK company sign letter criticising RBO’s stance on Gaza

The Guardian - UK

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Semele review – Pretty Yende is a spirited but sketchy heroine in inconsistent Handel staging

Alice Coote’s vengeful Juno steals the show in Oliver Mears’ bleak and occasionally fussy production

The Guardian - UK

Semele at Royal Opera House review: 'deeply disturbing and thought provoking'

4/5 Oliver Mears’ creates a darker and more sinister take on Handel’s opera, with an impressive cast including Pretty Yende in the title role

Evening Standard

'We have to drive the art forms forward': Royal Opera and Ballet announce new season for 2025/26

The programming has been unveiled by Royal Ballet and Opera, and it is an exciting mix of the historic and the cutting edge

Evening Standard

‘Opera should be an unstoppable art form’: Royal Opera announce Netia Jones as associate director

The Royal Ballet and Opera have created a new role, allowing Jones to drive development and new commissions

The Guardian - UK

Trouble in Tahiti/A Quiet Place review – strong performances but Bernstein’s uneven pairing makes for a long evening

Henry Neill and Wallis Giunta captivate as the miserable married couple of Bernstein’s unsettling 1952 opera, but even clear orchestration, sumptuous vocals and compelling acting can’t make the later A Quiet Place a convincing work

The Guardian - UK

The week in classical: Jephtha; 7 Deaths of Maria Callas; Perfection, of a Kind: Britten vs Auden – review

Handel’s majestic final oratorio holds its own in Oliver Mears’s searching new production; Marina Abramović channels Maria Callas; and a well-told tale of when Britten met Auden

The Guardian - UK

Jephtha review – Clayton is magnificent as a wide-eyed zealot

Oliver Mears’s powerful but flawed staging of Handel’s biblical oratorio boasts very fine singing and performances, with Jennifer France’s Iphis and Allan Clayton’s Jephtha standouts

The Guardian - UK

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Evening Standard

Jephtha at the Royal Opera House review: highly recommended to all but zealots and puritans

This is a powerful indictment of religious fervour and the dangers that can stem from it

The Guardian - UK

Allan Clayton: ‘I’m your tortured tenor for hire’

His committed performances and expressive voice have made him one of today’s most admired singers. As he prepares for Jephtha at Covent Garden, Allan Clayton ponders creativity, pigeonholes and facial hair

The Guardian - UK

The week in classical: Under the Little Red Moon; Helen Charlston & Sholto Kynoch; Rigoletto – review

An ‘opera for tinies’ captivates its target audience; the mezzo of the moment dazzles at Oxford’s renamed song festival; and Oliver Mears’s #MeToo Verdi still resonates

Evening Standard

Rigoletto at the Royal Opera House review: a psychologically probing production

This revival as yet lacks the exemplary acting and dramaturgical tautness that were such a feature of the innovative 2021 production

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The Guardian - UK

The week in classical: The Rape of Lucretia; Solomon’s Knot – review

A shocking update of Britten’s chamber opera feels wearily relevant. And one of the UK’s finest vocal ensembles probes the musical kinship of JS Bach and his uncle

Evening Standard

The Rape of Lucretia at the Royal Opera House’s Linbury Theatre review: a musical triumph

Contemporary resonances abound in this revival of Benjamin Britten’s opera

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