Hildegard, Sarah Kirkland Snider   

Sarah Kirkland Snider’s “gorgeously mesmerizing first opera” (The New York Times) centers on Hildegard von Bingen, the 12th-century abbess, mystic, saint, and composer celebrated for her sacred monophony and interdisciplinary contributions. The narrative focuses on her emergent relationship with the young nun Richardis von Stade, who served as her advisor and aided in the compilation of the visionary collection Scivias. Following its critically-acclaimed world premiere in Los Angeles, Hildegard travels to New York City’s PROTOTYPE Festival, running January 9–17, 2026. An engagement at the Aspen Music Festival and School follows in Summer 2026. With stage direction by Elkhanah Pulitzer and projection design by Deborah Johnson, Hildegard is one of the most anticipated new operas of the year.  

On November 15, 2025, the Royal Swedish Opera presents the world premiere of Eatnama váibmu (Jordens hjärta / The Heart of the Earth), the first opera in Sweden performed in Northern Sámi. Created by composer Britta Byström and Norwegian-Sámi playwright Rawdna Carita Eira, the work draws on Sámi creation myths to explore humanity’s connection to nature, the struggle between good and evil, and harmony with the natural world. The production features a large orchestra, six soloists including a countertenor, a women’s choir, and a children’s choir portraying the Sun and wild reindeer guided by the traditional joik Jielemen jeanoe, with direction by Elle Márjá Eira, scenography by Markus Granqvist, costumes by Lena Lindgren, and choreography by Joakim Stephenson. 

Cautionary Tales, Errollyn Wallen / Hilaire Belloc & Pia Furtado

Opera Collective Ireland presents the Irish premiere of Errollyn Wallen’s Cautionary Tales, September 13–21, 2025. A wickedly funny and delightfully mischievous opera for families and children ages seven and up. Based on Hilaire Belloc’s classic poems and directed by Sarah Baxter, this high-energy production brims with dark humor, dazzling visuals, and panto-like flair that “evokes the anarchy of children at play” (Journal of Music). With striking sets and costumes by Zia Bergin-Holly and Jenny Whyte, Cautionary Tales transforms moral mayhem into pure theatrical joy—a smart, laugh-out-loud experience for audiences young and young at heart.

The Monster in the Maze, Jonathan Dove / Alasdair Middleton

September 6 – 20, 2025, New Zealand Opera presents the Aotearoa premiere of Jonathan Dove and Alasdair Middleton’s The Monster in the Maze —a powerful, community-driven retelling of the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. Directed by Anapela Polata’ivao, the production unites professional artists with local choirs and young musicians, led by conductors Brad Cohen and Brent Stewart, with forces from the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, NZSO, and Auckland Philharmonia. Featuring Sarah Castle, Joel Amosa, Ipu Laga’aia, and Maaka Pohatu, this vibrant collaboration celebrates the power of storytelling, music, and community.

La Hija de Rappaccini, Daniel Catán / Juan Tovar (based on the play by Octavio Paz & the short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne)

Opera Columbus opened its 44th season with Catán’s lush and haunting La Hija de Rappaccini, September 19, 2025. Set in the Italian Renaissance, this lyrical adaptation of Hawthorne’s tale explores the delicate boundaries between love and obsession, science and morality. Directed by Brandon McKnight and conducted by Rolando Salazar.

La Passion de Simone, Kaija Saariaho / Amin Maalouf

Saariaho’s reflective work returns in its chamber version for conservatory productions, presented by Mannes Opera (October 2025) and Curtis Opera Theatre (February 2026).

Prima Donna, Rufus Wainwright / Rufus Wainwright & Bernadette Colomine

The Royal Swedish Opera stages Prima Donna in a new, reduced orchestration, October–December 2025. Directed by Mårten Forslund, with conductor Fredrik Burstedt, the production stars Elin Rombo as Régine Saint Laurent in Wainwright’s poignant reflection on fame, art, and solitude.

The Handmaid’s Tale, Poul Ruders / Paul Bentley (based on the novel by Margaret Atwood)

Following on the success of a 2024 run with San Francisco Opera that San Francisco Classical Voice called “harrowing” and “must-see,” Ruders’ and Bentley’s dramatic adaptation of Atwood’s chilling work of speculative fiction comes to Detroit Opera, March 1-7, 2026, directed by Brenna Corner and conducted by Marit Strindlund. The work is also available in a new, reduced orchestration, which premiered at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in July 2025.

The Glitch, Nico Muhly / Greg Pierce

November 21 – 23, 2025, Catapult Opera presents the staged premiere of The Glitch, a gripping one-act true-crime opera directed by Marcus Shields. Based on the notorious 2015 Dannemora prison break, the work unfolds through a single charged conversation between an escaped convict and his prison-employee accomplice. Featuring mezzo-soprano Devony Smith and baritone Efraín Solís.

La Belle et la Bête, Philip Glass

Atlanta Opera presents Glass’s mesmerizing reimagining of Cocteau’s La Belle et la Bête, November 15, 2025. In this cinematic tour de force, live singers synchronize with Cocteau’s 1946 film, creating a haunting fusion of sound and image. Fort Worth Opera brings the work to audiences, November 21–22, 2025, under the baton of David Bloom.

The Little Prince, Rachel Portman / Nicholas Wright (based on the book by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) 

Academy Award-winning composer Rachel Portman and Nicholas Wright’s luminous adaptation of Saint-Exupéry’s beloved tale comes to the Washington National Opera, December 12–14, 2025, at the Kennedy Center. Francesca Zambello’s whimsical production captures the wonder and wisdom of the story through Portman’s radiant score and Wright’s poetic libretto. The production then travels to The Dallas Opera, February 6–14, 2026, inviting audiences to rediscover this “enchanting opera that’s filled with warm wisdom and lyrical beauty.” (Boston Herald). 

Down in the Valley, Kurt Weill / Arnold Sundgaard

Weill and Sundgaard’s Down in the Valley is a “folk opera in one act” that was originally written for radio in 1945. Fittingly, the opera scaffolds its narrative on several famous American tunes (including the titular “Down in the Valley”) to create a touching love story set in Appalachia. Detroit Opera premieres a new production by Kaneza Schaal from December 7-13, 2025.  

Amahl and the Night Visitors, Gian Carlo Menotti

Lincoln Center Theater, in association with The Metropolitan Opera, presents a new production of Gian Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, December 16, 2025–January 4, 2026, directed by Tony® Award winner Kenny Leon and conducted by Steven Osgood. Multi-GRAMMY® and Olivier® Award-winning mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato stars in this luminous reimagining of Menotti’s beloved holiday opera—a timeless tale of faith, generosity, and the miracle of a simple gift.

El último sueño de Frida y Diego, Gabriela Lena Frank / Nilo Cruz

El último sueño de Frida y Diego is a “magical-realist portrait of Mexico’s painterly power couple Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.” Written to a Spanish libretto by Frank’s long-time collaborator (and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright) Nilo Cruz, El último sueño inverts the Orfeo myth, with Kahlo returning from the underworld to aid Rivera as his own life concludes. Frank’s “confident, richly imagined score” (The New Yorker) now comes to Lyric Opera of Chicago in March-April 2026 in the opera’s original production and makes its debut at The Metropolitan Opera in a new production two months later. At The Met, Isabel Leonard, Carlos Álvarez, and Gabriella Reyes will perform under the batons of Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Steven Osgood in a new production by Deborah Colker.

Innocence, Kaija Saariaho / Sofi Oksanen (with multilingual libretto by Aleksi Barrière)

Kaija Saariaho’s final opera is “a monumental achievement” that “shows how essential opera can be” (The Guardian). Set in the early 2000s in Helsinki, Innocence deals with the aftermath of a shooting at an international school. Each of the school students speaks and/or sings in their own language, with especially moving lines delivered by the murdered Markéta, cast as a folk singer performing in Czech. The Times Literary Supplement writes that “Saariaho and Oksanen have a masterpiece on their hands […] the psychology and phenomenology of the opera feel so acutely contemporary that the listener becomes inexorably drawn into and implicated in the world of the tragedy.” Innocence goes up at The Metropolitan Opera in April 2026, following the company’s acclaimed run of Saariaho’s L’Amour de Loin in 2016. With Simon Stone directing, long-time Saariaho advocate Susanna Mälkki on the podium, and a star-studded cast including Joyce DiDonato, New York audiences can look forward to a brilliant presentation of this moving work.

Angel’s Bone, Du Yun / Royce Vavrek

May 12–16, 2026, the English National Opera presents the UK premiere of Angel’s Bone in a new production created in collaboration with Factory International and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, at Aviva Studios, Manchester. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music, this “disturbing, powerful and original” work (The Washington Post) confronts the realities of human trafficking through a haunting parable of two angels who return to earth.

Apartment House 1776, John Cage

Commissioned by six American orchestras in celebration of the American bicentennial in 1976, John Cage’s Apartment House 1776 is ripe for rediscovery as the U.S. celebrates its 250th year as an independent nation. Cage conceived of the work as a “musicircus,” or a sonic event in which a range of different musical performances simultaneously unfold—in this case, music drawn from 18th-century hymnals, a drum method book, selections from four religious traditions freely chosen by singers from those traditions, and more. Yuval Sharon’s new production of Apartment House opens at Detroit Opera from May 15-24, 2026, following the success of their recently acclaimed production of Cage’s Europeras 3 & 4.

Émilie, Kaija Saariaho / Amin Maalouf

Catapult Opera presents Kaija Saariaho’s Émilie, May 14 -16, 2026, directed by Luca Veggetti and conducted by Neal Goren. This striking one-woman opera stars sopranos Melissa Harvey and Emily Richter as Enlightenment scientist and philosopher Émilie du Châtelet, capturing her dazzling intellect, romantic indulgences, and love of games and jewelry. With a libretto by Amin Maalouf, Saariaho delves into the rich contradictions of Émilie’s life, creating a vivid monodrama. As Saariaho explains: “I have crafted a portrait, trying to make it as rich and alive as possible, the contrasts arising within this single being.”

A Streetcar Named Desire, André Previn / Philip Littell (based on the play by Tennessee Williams)

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis presents a new production of André Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire, June 7–26, 2026, directed by Patricia Racette and conducted by Daniela Candillari. Starring Sara Gartland as Blanche DuBois and Thomas Glass as Stanley, Previn and librettist Philip Littell bring fresh psychological and musical intensity to Tennessee Williams’ American masterpiece. Praised for its “confidence in the power of pure lyricism to carry raw emotion” (The Times) and “orchestral scoring [that] is effective and affecting—atmospheric and characteristically ‘American’” (Opera News), this adaptation transforms a classic play into a thrilling operatic experience.

For more information, please contact your local Wise Music Promotion Team; Contact Us.

Explore our companion feature, Operas in Concert, highlighting stage works ideal for concert performance:

Art’s Afterlives | Feminist Essays | Casting Off Chains: Abolition and the Civil War | The Americas: Latine Culture and History | East Asian Love Stories | Positively Medieval: Stories of the Middle Ages and Renaissance | Classics of English Fiction | The 19th Century: Great Wars and Colonial Sorrows | Upheavals of the 20th Century | The Weight of Motherhood