OUR NEXT MAIN PRODUCTION
Bizet’s Carmen
Comes to Bath in February 2026, directed by Naomi Rose-Mock with Francis Faux as Musical Director.
About Bath Opera
Opera that Speaks Your Language
Bath Opera has been part of Bath’s cultural life since 1977, presenting powerful opera sung in English and performed with imagination, clarity, and heart. Our mission is simple: to make opera accessible, artistically ambitious, and rooted in the community we serve.
We support and nurture emerging singers, directors, and musicians, offering valuable performance opportunities alongside experienced artists and a dedicated creative team. Many performers who began with Bath Opera have gone on to establish professional careers, and we remain passionate about fostering the next generation of talent.
Across our fully staged annual production with orchestra and our summer OperaCorto tour in intimate venues, we aim to share opera’s emotional depth and dramatic energy with audiences old and new. We believe opera thrives when everyone feels welcome, and we are proud to continue this tradition in Bath and the wider region.
What we do
1977 saw Bath Opera’s first fully staged production with Verdi’s Macbeth with Jill Fowles and David Edwards in the leading roles. Jill and David were to continue to oversee the development of the company for the next two decades attracting singers, conductors, instrumentalists, directors, designers and technicians of the highest possible calibre.
In addition to presenting opera from the mainstream, Bath Opera’s repertoire includes pioneering work from Eastern European opera, featuring Glinka’s Ruslan and Ludmilla and two operas by Smetana for which new English translations were provided from within the group.
Bath Opera continues this adventurous tradition performing works by Kurt Weill, Aaron Copland, Benjamin Britten and Gian Carlo Menotti alongside such popular hits as Carmen, Cavalleria Rusticana, Madame Butterfly and La Boheme.
Where we perform
Bath Opera has performed at a number of venues in and around Bath, from the wide stage of Bath University to the intimate space of Larkhall’s Rondo Theatre. From 2018 our main productions have been held at the comfortable and superbly equipped new Roper Theatre – part of Bath’s Hayesfield School.
On the road
Each year, Bath Opera takes to the road with a tour of small scale fully staged operas across the south of the country from Surrey to South Wales. Venues closer to home have included Midsomer Norton, Seend, Great Chalfield Manor, Widcombe Manor and Chippenham’s Neeld Hall.
