INO 2026 - 27 | New Season Announcement

The rich programme includes six productions - a major new commission, three large scale operas, a French Baroque masterpiece and atouring revival of a critically acclaimed chamber opera - plus a gala concert and a tour of staged opera excerpts. 

Anchored by large scale productions of Carmen, Turandot and Eugene Onegin, alongside an international tour of French Baroque opera Les Boréades, the season juxtaposes canonical masterpieces with bold contemporary voices, with the world premiere of Testament by Tarik O’Regan and Colm Tóibín. 

The season is a celebration of artistic legacy, mortality and renewal, themes articulated by INO’s Artistic Director Fergus Sheil: "Bizet famously never lived to see the success of his final opera Carmen (1875) and Puccini did not even get to finish his monumental final work Turandot (1924). French Baroque composer Rameau wrote his final work Les Boréades at the age of 80 in 1763 but it was not staged until almost 200 years later. 

I’m looking forward to celebrating all three masterpieces in INO’s 2026-27 season. Both Carmen and Turandot will be at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre. Both feature world-class creative teams led by directors Paul Curran (Carmen) and David McVicar(Turandot) and they showcase remarkable Irish vocal talent in the major roles – mezzo-soprano Niamh O’Sullivan (Carmen), sopranos Sinéad Campbell Wallace (title role in Turandot) and Celine Byrne (Liù in Turandot).  

Turandot features the rarely-performed ravishing and opulent first version of the ending completed by Puccini’s associate Franco Alfano. I’m particularly looking forward to Korean tenor Young Woo Kim’s “Nessun Dorma”. Young Woo comes to us from major success with the role in Sydney. He studied with Veronica Dunne in Dublin about ten years ago where I first met him, and his career has turbo charged to great heights since then. 

At the Gaiety Theatre, Cork Opera House and National Opera House Wexford we present our first Tchaikovsky opera Eugene Onegin in May 2027. The sensational soprano Jennifer Davis (Rusalka 2026) sings the role of Tatyana who falls passionately and helplessly in love with the title character Eugene Onegin sung by American baritone Sean Michael Plumb.  

We also tour another love story, one with a happier ending, Smetana’s The Bartered Bride in a chamber version for 11 singers and 5 musicians, featuring soprano Amy Ní Fhearraigh and tenor Egor Zhuravskii, which visits ten smaller venues throughout the country in a revival of our critically acclaimed 2025 production. 

Continuing our relationship with Galway International Arts Festival and Dublin Theatre Festival, we present the world premiere of a newly commissioned work Testament by composer Tarik O’Regan and writer Colm Tóibín – a new version of the novella The Testament of Mary featuring the 16-member Irish National Opera Chorus and members of the INO Orchestra. This new work will be in Galway in July and Dublin in October at the Gaiety Theatre.  

Our 2025 world premiere of MARS by Jennifer Walshe & Mark O’Connell has its first international outing in collaboration with Opéra de Lille in France in January 2027.  

In February 2027, in another major highlight we have our fourth collaboration with the Linbury Theatre at the Royal Opera House in London. Our new production of Rameau’s Les Boréades involves a new collaboration with Luail (Ireland’s new national dance company) and a renewed partnership with the Irish Baroque Orchestra. The production tours Ireland before an 8-performance residency in London, the first Rameau opera ever staged at London’s Royal Opera House." 

Liz Roche, Artistic Director of Luail – Ireland’s National Dance Company, says "We are thrilled that Luail – Ireland’s National Dance Company will be in partnership with Irish National Opera on Les Boréades, a landmark co-production with Royal Ballet & Opera in association with the Irish Baroque Orchestra. This collaboration between two national companies marks a significant moment for the arts on this island, reflecting the sector’s ambition and excellence while showcasing our exceptional artists on the world stage. We are proud to work with Irish National Opera, whose support in our early years has been invaluable, and we look forward to this exciting partnership and many more to come."

INO’s Artistic Director Fergus Sheil continues: "I’m particularly proud of the range and breadth of our opera productions. We have monumentally large productions as well as chamber stagings. Our repertoire is both tragic and comic, serious and joyful, historic and contemporary. Each experience is a voyage of discovery for artists and audiences. By the end of 2026, with nine years on the clock, Irish National Opera will have presented fully staged opera in every county throughout the country." 

The next generation are first to step forward this summer, performing the absolute best scenes from the world’s most enduring operas: Carmen, The Barber of Seville and Così fan tutte. Absolute Scenes features current and past INO Studio members including, soprano Laura Aherne, mezzo-sopranos Heather Sammon and Olga Palazhchenko, baritone David Kennedy and tenor William Pearson accompanied by Doireann O’Carroll on piano. This one-hour, staged performance is directed by Grace Morgan, with Music Director Peter Joyce and will take place in Royal Irish Academy of Music in June and in Nenagh Arts Centre in July. 

The company like to thank The Arts Council, our principal funder, for their continued investment in opera. We also acknowledge our ongoing partnership with the Laidlaw Opera Trust which supports our production of The Bartered Bride, which will tour to locations new to INO, alongside several other initiatives. Thank you also to the John Pollard Foundation and Colburn Foundation for their ongoing, transformational investment, and to all our INO Members, Partners and Donors for their continued support.