Scottish Opera has unveiled its 2025/26 Season, which features The Great Wave, La bohème, The Marriage of Figaro, The Bear, L’heure espagnole, Tristan und Isolde, Tchaikovsky’s Heroines & Heroes: Selections from Eugene Onegin, Iolanta, and The Maid of Orleans,Opera Highlights and Pop-up Opera.
This comes on the back of a successful 2024/25 Season, which included five-star productions of Oedipus Rex, Albert Herring and The Makropulos Affair, as well as sold-out screenings of the Company’s award-winning animated opera short film, Josefine.
This Season illustrates Scottish Opera’s continuing commitment to keeping opera accessible and entertaining, and performed to the highest possible standards for audiences all over the country.
The 2025/26 Season also marks 10 years since Stuart Stratford joined Scottish Opera as Music Director. He continues to demonstrate his dedication to bringing as much opera as possible to Scottish audiences, championing new and modern music as well as ‘forgotten’ gems, through his inclusive approach and artistic curiosity.
Stuart Stratford, Scottish Opera Music Director said: “I’m incredibly proud to announce this new Season, which also marks my tenth year with Scottish Opera. It’s been a busy and hugely rewarding decade, and I extend my warmest thanks to my talented and creative colleagues, as well as audiences for making me feel so welcome and embracing our shows.
Opera is a vital and dynamic art form, weaving together storytelling, music, and theatrical spectacle to captivate and move audiences. With its ability to evoke deep emotions, opera offers a transformative experience, bringing classic works like La bohème and Tristan und Isolde to life while also championing world premieres that showcase Scottish creativity and introducing new generations to the magic of live performance.
Whether through heart-wrenching tragedy or exhilarating drama, opera in Scotland continues to inspire, challenge, and transport audiences to new worlds.”
A balance of international and home grown talent appears throughout the Season.
Alex Reedijk, Scottish Opera General Director, said: “I wish to give special thanks to our incredibly talented Music Director, Stuart Stratford, for all his hard work and dedication to Scottish Opera during the past 10 years. It’s a joy to collaborate with him.
‘We open with a double bill of Ravel’s L’heure espagnole and Walton’s The Bear, followed by Barbe & Doucet’s vibrant production of Puccini’s La bohème that has delighted audiences the world over since its 2016 premiere in Scotland. Tchaikovsky’s Heroines & Heroes celebrates the iconic Russian composer’s lyricism before Christmas. 2026 opens with the highly anticipated world premiere of Dai Fujikura and Harry Ross’ The Great Wave, a new opera weaving the life of Hokusai with meditations on art, family, legacy, and the higher purpose of all in life. It is a must-see event for fans of new opera, Japanese art, and biographical drama.
‘In March, we present our first Wagner in 13 years with a concert staging of Tristan und Isolde brilliantly re-envisioned by director Justin Way. The Season then ends with Sir Thomas Allen’s joyous, beautiful production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro.
‘Our Pop-up Opera tour is on the road, and Opera Highlights returns with both an autumn and a spring tour covering 35 locations and incorporating school and community workshops for all to get involved in opera. Before the main 2025/26 Season starts, you can hear our regular chorus members in Opera Australia’s production of Gluck’s Orpheus and Eurydice at the Edinburgh International Festival.
‘It is hugely heartening to see continued critical acclaim and audience enthusiasm for our work; the loyal support of our audiences has made this ambitious Season possible. We are immensely grateful to everyone who buys a ticket or generously supports the Company as a Friend or Patron. We are as ever thankful to the Scottish Government for ongoing core funding.
‘We warmly invite you to be a part of our Season, and look forward to welcoming you soon!”
Further information on the 2025/26 Season can be found at www.scottishopera.org.uk
Scottish Opera is Scotland’s national opera company and the largest performing arts organisation in Scotland. The Company was founded in 1962 by Sir Alexander Gibson with the goal ‘to lay the treasures of opera at the feet of the people of Scotland’, opening with performances of Madama Butterfly and Pelléas et Mélisande. The 2022/23 season marked its 60th Anniversary.
