The Israeli Opera has announced it’s new season featuring seven major opera productions, including masterpieces of the operatic repertoire, new productions, acclaimed productions returning to the stage, and the world premiere of a new Israeli opera. The season will open with Mozart’s The Magic Flute, followed by Britten’s Peter Grimes, Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera, Gounod’s Faust, Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, the world premiere of Outcast by Yonatan Cnaan and Ido Riklin, and will conclude with Bizet’s Carmen.
Tali Barash-Gottlieb, CEO of the Israeli Opera: “The repertoire chosen for this season reflects the Israeli Opera’s commitment to the great and familiar works of the repertoire, to major works that are performed less frequently, and to original Israeli creation. Alongside this artistic commitment stands our responsibility to nurture the next generation of artists and performers, expand our education and community programs, and bring new audiences to opera. This work, on stage and beyond, is for me an expression of our unique responsibility for the future of opera as an art form in Israel”.
Maestro Dan Ettinger, Music Director of the Israeli Opera and Music Director of the Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion, the Opera Orchestra: “Balance is the name of the game. Balancing enjoyment and fulfilment with innovation and challenge; original Israeli work with the rich range of the operatic tradition; discovering new talent while supporting the development of our Israeli singers and welcoming international soloists, through a casting process that is thorough, relevant and personal; nurturing the Opera Chorus and the Opera Orchestra, the Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion, and further establishing both as Israel’s leading operatic ensembles, performing at an international level.
These are the considerations I bring to shaping each season as Music Director of the Israeli Opera, and they are clearly reflected in the season ahead: Mozart, Rossini and Verdi meet Gounod and Bizet, while Britten takes us to Canaan. Israeli Opera soloists appear alongside international artists, both familiar and new, with the Opera Chorus and the Opera Orchestra at the heart of it all”.
Shirit Lee Weiss, Artistic Director of the Israeli Opera: “The Israeli Opera has been my professional home for many years, and I begin my new role as Artistic Director with great excitement, but above all, with a deep passion for opera, creativity, and the people who bring it to life. From a young age, I knew that I wanted to be part of this unique and powerful world. I believe that opera is a relevant and compelling art form, with the power to touch, move, provoke thought, and say meaningful things about people and the world we live in.
I will continue to champion opera that brings together different disciplines, compelling visual worlds, powerful classical works, international perspectives, and original Israeli creation. An opera house built on excellence, originality, curiosity, and courage – one that nurtures singers and creators and gives new voices a stage. It is a great privilege to continue, together with the wonderful team at the Israeli Opera, shaping its artistic path”.
Israeli Opera 2026 – 2027 Season
The Magic Flute | Mozart
The season will open in October with Mozart’s The Magic Flute, one of the world’s most beloved and frequently performed operas, a work that combines fantasy and humor with questions of truth and falsehood, love, loyalty and choice. The production was originally scheduled to be presented as part of the Israeli Opera’s 40th anniversary season and was postponed due to the war. It will now finally reach the stage.
Prince Tamino joins forces with the bird-catcher Papageno and sets out to rescue Princess Pamina, who, according to her mother, the Queen of the Night, is being held by the priest Sarastro. Their journey is filled with trials and challenges, until the truth is revealed and love ultimately prevails. The production, based on a staging by Oper Dortmund, is directed by Nikolaus Habjan.
Performances will take place October 16–29, 2026. Director: Nikolaus Habjan; Conductor: Dan Ettinger. Rotem Nir will conduct the performances on October 26 and 29.
Peter Grimes | Britten
In November, the Israeli Opera will present Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes, one of the landmark operas of the 20th century and one of the most important works by the British composer who brought English opera back to the center of the international stage. At its heart is a lonely and tormented man confronting the fears, suspicions and judgment of a small fishing community. As rumor and mistrust intensify, Grimes’s vulnerability is increasingly exposed, and his confrontation with the community becomes inevitable.
In the production by renowned Polish director Mariusz Treliński (Madama Butterfly, The Queen of Spades), the fishing village, the pier and the sea occupy a central place in the theatrical world. The production is a co-production of the Israeli Opera and Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera.
Performances will take place November 20–30, 2026. Director: Mariusz Treliński; Conductor: Alexander Joel.
Un Ballo in Maschera | Verdi
In January 2027, the Israeli Opera will present Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera, a drama in which forbidden love and betrayal become entwined with a political conspiracy that culminates in murder at a masked ball. The public and private worlds intersect in a story in which Riccardo, Governor of Boston, is secretly in love with Amelia, the wife of his closest friend, while a plot to assassinate him steadily closes in around him. Directed by Leo Muscato, the production comes from Teatro dell’Opera di Roma.
Performances will take place January 1–13, 2027. Director: Leo Muscato; Conductor: Carlo Montanaro.
Faust | Gounod
In February, Gounod’s Faust returns to the Israeli Opera stage in the production by director, choreographer and designer Stefano Poda (Dido and Aeneas, Rusalka). Faust sells his soul to the devil in exchange for youth and love, a bargain that sets one of the great French operas of the 19th century in motion and exacts a devastating human price from both Faust and Marguerite. At the center of Poda’s production stands a monumental ring that dominates the stage, creating a powerful and abstract visual world. The production is a co-production of the Israeli Opera, Teatro Regio Torino and Opéra de Lausanne.
Performances will take place February 5–17, 2027. Director, Choreographer and Designer: Stefano Poda; Conductor: Dan Ettinger.
The Barber of Seville | Rossini
In April, the Israeli Opera will present a new production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, one of the most beloved comedies in the operatic repertoire. At the heart of the story are Figaro, the clever and daring barber; Rosina, determined to choose her own future; Count Almaviva; and the jealous Dr. Bartolo. What follows is a rapid succession of schemes, disguises and misunderstandings.
The creative team of André Barbe and Renaud Doucet, known for their colorful, virtuosic and highly imaginative theatrical language, transports the story from Seville into a wild world of illusion and magic, where nothing is quite what it seems.
Performances will take place April 4–16, 2027. Director and Designer: André Barbe and Renaud Doucet; Conductor: Matteo Beltrami. Rotem Nir will conduct the performances on April 9–11.
Outcast | Yonatan Cnaan
In May, the Israeli Opera will present the world premiere of Outcast, a new original Israeli opera by composer Yonatan Cnaan (Theodor), with a libretto by Ido Riklin (Theodor, The Dybbuk), who will also direct the production. Tiberias, 1938. IBahiyya, a young singer living between two worlds, struggles to survive amid the violence of the period. The Jews call her a traitor; the Arabs call her an outcast. At the center of the story is a close friendship between two women from two peoples.
Cnaan and Riklin, the creators of “Theodor”, return with an Israeli opera inspired by a true story. Commissioned by the Israeli Opera and written especially for the company, the opera will be performed in Hebrew, Arabic and English.
Performances will take place May 31–June 8, 2027. Music: Yonatan Cnaan; Libretto and Director: Ido Riklin; Conductor: Rotem Nir.
Carmen | Bizet
The season will conclude in July with Bizet’s Carmen, one of the world’s best-loved and most widely recognized operas. At the center of the work is Carmen, a free and uncompromising woman determined to live according to her own choices, challenging society’s conventions even as the consequences become increasingly dangerous and ultimately fatal.
In Jean-Louis Grinda’s production, the action returns to 1875, the year in which the opera received its world premiere. A bullring dominates the stage, becoming an arena for passion, jealousy and power.
Performances will take place July 2–15, 2027. Director: Jean-Louis Grinda; Conductor: Dan Ettinger.
Tickets and additional information may be found on the Israeli Opera website.
*Press release provided by the Israeli Opera, lightly edited.
