This is opera, in our light.
We are delighted to announce our 2026 season. 2026 is a vibrant declaration of NZ Opera’s mission: telling stories through the power of the human singing voice while deepening connections with our community. With a spectacular roster of talent on and off the stage, the programme celebrates world-class opera, made in Aotearoa New Zealand.
This is opera at its most extraordinary; this is opera made in our light.
The season features three major productions: the internationally acclaimed Bluebeard’s Castle, a long-awaited Wellington season of The Marriage of Figaro, and a new staging of The Pearl Fishers, alongside a return of the celebrated te reo Māori concert Toiere.
Tumu Whakarae, General Director Brad Cohen, says after 25 years in its current form, NZ Opera has clarity regarding its identity and artistic direction. He states, “we’re committed to widening the reach of our work to engage with more communities, and we’re committed to complementing the classics of the repertoire with innovative programming.”
This commitment is evident in the carefully curated season which demonstrates the company’s ability to create world-class opera, working within its limited resources. Cohen acknowledges that while funding challenges are significant, “We persist, because we believe in the power of the voice singing stories, the value of a national opera company singing a culture’s song, and the urgent need for art which connects us. We continue to seek funding from government at a national level for NZ Opera, which would enable us to bring our productions to more cities across Aotearoa, while remaining financially responsible.”
The 2026 season kicks off with two free, family-friendly outdoor concerts in collaboration with Auckland Council’s Music in Parks series. Opera in the Park in Tāmaki Makaurau at Vellenoweth Green, St Heliers on 24 January, and the Auckland Botanic Gardens, Manurewa on 31 January features beloved opera classics, performed by outstanding local talent.
In March at the 2026 Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival, a revival of the internationally acclaimed Theatre of Sound (UK) production Bluebeard’s Castle will make its Auckland debut. Béla Bartók’s only opera is stunningly interpreted, recasting the psychodrama of Bluebeard and his bride as a touching, mature love story. Bluebeard (American baritone Lester Lynch) cares for his beloved wife Judith (British soprano Susan Bullock) as she grapples with an aging mind and struggles to discern past from present. Hailed as “Brilliant” and “Exceptional” by reviewers in its New Zealand debut in Wellington and Christchurch in 2023, Tāmaki Makaurau audiences will finally have their chance to see this moving experience, sung in English. The Auckland Philharmonia will be conducted by Brad Cohen at the Auckland Town Hall, for this epic, festival opera staging.
Next up in June, the highly anticipated Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington premiere of Director Lindy Hume’s sumptuous The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart takes to the stage. Originally part of the 2021 season and one of the most popular productions to-date in the company’s history, the 2021 Wellington run was unable to open due to the pandemic. NZ Opera is delighted to finally offer this vibrant, comic masterpiece to Wellington audiences, with Orchestra Wellington and the Freemasons Foundation NZ Opera Chorus. The core creative team of Tracy Grant Lord (set and costume design) and Matthew Marshall (lighting design) also return, and the production features a cast of the finest opera talent from Australasia under the baton of esteemed conductor James Judd.
Auckland Philharmonia’s Opera in Concert presents Puccini’s poignant and tragic Madama Butterflyat the Auckland Town Hall on Saturday, July 25. Featuring the full force of the Freemasons Foundation NZ Opera Chorus, Maestro Giordano Bellincampi conducts a star international and local cast in this must-see tale of love, heartbreak, and betrayal.
September sees the world premiere season of a new staging of Bizet’s early masterpiece The Pearl Fishers in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland and Ōtautahi Christchurch. Produced by NZ Opera in partnership with State Opera South Australia, this gem of the opera canon will be staged by acclaimed Australian director Stephen Barlow. This new, major co-production is an exemplar of the company’s innovative programming initiatives, and will feature the Auckland Philharmonia and Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, and the Freemasons Foundation NZ Opera Chorus, in each city respectively.
The acclaimed concert Toiere (meaning ‘to sing’) returns, blending operatic arias with te reo Māori, celebrating the Māori language through the timeless art of opera. First performed to great acclaim at the 2025 Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival and later broadcast by SOUNZ and Radio NZ, Toiere will tour to locations across the motu in 2026. Further details on this highly anticipated revival, led by NZ Opera’s Manu Tū Rae Kawiti Waetford (Ngāti Hine, Ngātiwai, Ngāti Rangi, Ngāpuhi), will be announced in the New Year.
The new season proudly showcases a large contingent of Kiwi performers across the mainstage productions, including bringing home some of Aotearoa New Zealand’s finest operatic talent. Sophie Sparrow (Susanna), Julien Van Mellaerts (Count Almaviva) Felicity Tomkins (Countess Almaviva), Cecilia Zhang (Cherubino), Kristin Darragh (Marcellina) Andrew Grenon (Don Basilio/Don Curzio), Sarah Mileham (Barbarina) and Joel Amosa (Antonio) all feature in The Marriage of Figaro. Madison Nonoa (Leïla), Filipe Manu (Nadir), Phillip Rhodes (Zurga), and Anthony Robin Schneider (Nourabad) return to New Zealand from Europe to star in the new co-production of The Pearl Fishers.
Single tickets go on sale 17 November.
