Royal Opera House

La bohème got a lukewarm reception when it had its premiere in 1896, but its fortunes almost immediately changed. Giacomo Puccini's romantic depiction of bohemian Paris, with memorable music and a love story drawn from everyday life, has captivated audiences round the world, making La bohème one of the best-loved of all operas.

‘A toast to the pleasures of life!’ – so sings Violetta, her new admirer Alfredo and her party guests in the opening scene of Giuseppe Verdi’s La traviata. But beneath the surface glamour of Violetta’s Parisian life run darker undercurrents: her doomed love for Alfredo and the tensions the lovers encounter when they break society’s conventions.

A new production of Parsifal, Wagner’s huge, profound meditation on guilt, death and possible redemption, is always a remarkable event. This one, directed by Stephen Langridge, designed by Alison Chitty and conducted by Antonio Pappano, the creative team who brought Birtwistle’s brutal, beautiful Minotaur to the stage, is especially exciting.

Following the spectacular failure of his second opera, Un giorno di regno, Giuseppe Verdi vowed never to compose another. But he was lured back to the theatre by Bartolomeo Merelli, the impresario of La Scala, Milan, with the commission for Nabucco. The resulting opera was a triumph – first performed in 1842, it was revived the same year with a run of 57 shows.