Featuring international tenors, hometown superstars and the return of Opera North, Manchester’s 2025 opera programme offers some of the best compositions and vocal performances across an unmissable calendar of breathtaking shows.

Here are the best opera shows coming to the city.

Make sure you check out our guides to the best ballet performances around Manchester this year.

RNCM Opera Scenes | RNCM | Wed 22 - Fri 31 Jan | 6pm | FREE

Featuring various iconic excerpts from an array of timeless masterworks, the RNCM’s vocal and conducting students present some of opera’s greatest ever moments through a vibrant, accessible four-part series of free staged scenes.

124 Oxford Rd, Manchester M13 9RD
Ellen Kent: Madama Butterfly | Manchester Opera House | Sat 22 Feb | 7.30pm | From £15

Back by popular demand, the award-winning Ellen Kent and Ukrainian Opera & Ballet Theatre Kyiv production of Puccini’s mournful masterwork Madama Butterfly returns to Manchester Opera House for one night only on Sat 22 Feb.

Featuring a full orchestra, an acclaimed chorus and an illustrious cast of international soloists including Korean soprano Elena Dee, Ukrainian soprano Alyona Kistenyovaand and mezzo-soprano compatriots Natalia Matveeva and Irina Sproglis, the global smash-hit production brings a stunning reimagination of the heartbreaking story of a beautiful young Japanese girl who falls for an American naval lieutenant, unleashing a series of devastatingly dramatic consequences.

3 Quay St, Manchester M3 3HP
Ellen Kent: La traviata | Opera House | Sun 23 Feb | 7.30pm | From £15

The following evening, Ellen Kent’s la traviata takes over the Opera House with a rich, opulent take on Verdi’s epochal opera, once again starring the Ukrainian Opera & Ballet Theatre Kyiv alongside a full ensemble and a cohort of international vocal talent.

With sumptuous costumes, spectacular set design and achingly romantic music, Kent’s spectacular stage experience breathes new life into the grand, tragic tale of glamorous Parisian courtesan, Violetta. Content with a life of lavish independence, Violetta unexpectedly falls in love with young, naïve bourgeois Alfredo, beginning an intoxicating but ultimately catastrophic affair.

3 Quay St, Manchester M3 3HP
Opera North: The Magic Flute | Lowry | Thu 13-Fri 14 Mar | 7pm | From £24

Part of Opera North’s wildly popular spring residency at Lowry, The Magic Flute breathes new life into Mozart’s fantastical family-friendly opera with a blend of popular music mixes, inspirational choruses, jaw-dropping vocal turns and soul-stirring arias.

The delightful tale follows the adventures of Prince Tamino and his bird-catching companion, Papageno, as they embark on a quest to rescue Pamina, daughter of the Queen of the Night, held captive by Sarastro, the Priest of the Sun.

On Thu 13 Mar, The Magic Flute Lite offers a truncated 90-minute version of the enchanting production packed with the same wondrous storytelling and timeless Mozart magic.

Pier, 8 The Quays, Salford, Manchester M50 3AZ
Opera e Lirica presents: The Three Tenors | Stoller Hall | Fri 14 Mar | 7.30pm | From £45.50

In the city, The Stoller Hall hosts a world-renowned tenor trio in a night of spellbinding Italian opera classics and Neapolitan songs, backed by a sparkling string quartet and piano.

The beguiling tones of Francesco Fortes, Alessandro Fortunato and Stefano Sorrentino transport the audience on a mesmerising journey through the best-loved Italian arias from Tosca, l’Elisie d’amore, Rigoletto and Turandot, before making stars of the spectators with a selection of joyous Neapolitan songs including ‘’O sole mio’ and ‘Torna a Surriento’.

See the full programme and book tickets below.

Opera North: The Flying Dutchman | Lowry | Sat 15 Mar | 7pm | From £24

Billed as the perfect introduction to Wagner’s fathomlessly rich musical oeuvre, Opera North’s thrilling interpretation of The Flying Dutchman sweeps the audience up in a roaring tempest of propulsive drama and instrumental grandeur.

Directed by Annabel Arden and designed by Joanna Parker (Andrea Chénier, Turandot, Aida), the absorbing new adaptation revisits the story of Senta, a young woman who dreams of escape from her cold, callous world on land and obsesses over the legend of a cursed captain, whose endless seabound torment can only be saved by true love.

Pier, 8 The Quays, Salford, Manchester M50 3AZ
Russell Watson | Bridgewater Hall | Fri 14 Nov | 7pm | From £26.75

From Salford to superstardom, Greater Manchester’s most famous operatic export takes to the Bridgewater Hall stage with a soaring celebration of his remarkable 25-year career on Fri 14 Nov.

Alongside some of his favourite and best-known songs including Va, pensiero, Nessun Dorma, Caruso and more, ‘The Voice’ will perform a selection of new songs from his latest album.

Book tickets below for a special evening with the legendary singer and his renowned live band.

Lower Mosley Street, Manchester, M2 3WS
Words:
Wolf McFarlane
Published on:
Thu 19 Dec 2024