Scottish Opera is Scotland’s national opera company and largest performing arts organisation. Based in Glasgow, we were founded in 1962 by Sir Alexander Gibson ‘to lay the treasures of opera at the feet of the people of Scotland’, and the 2025/26 Season, which has just begun, marks our 63rd Anniversary.
As one of Scotland’s five National Performing Companies, we have a world-renowned reputation for quality opera, artistic flexibility and innovation, and strive to bring the art form to audiences the length and breadth of the country, as well as around the world.
We are a vital part of Scotland’s cultural landscape, with strong ties to Glasgow, including world-class Production Studios at Edington Street and are the proud owner of Theatre Royal Glasgow, the oldest theatre in the city, and longest running in Scotland.
Our critically acclaimed shows attract many visitors to Glasgow, contributing significantly to the city’s economy. Each Season, hundreds of performing artists come to work on our productions from across the globe, with an estimated 95% of these visitors living in hotels and rented apartments, spending money in local restaurants, businesses and on transportation. We also employ over 180 staff members, contracting many more freelancers throughout the year.
This Season’s bold new programme of work includes a world premiere, two revivals, a composer collection, the first presentation of Wagner in 13 years, and a packed diary of touring, outreach, and education work. It reaches back to beloved classics such as Puccini’s ravishing classic, La bohème, this autumn as well as forward to groundbreaking international work, which this Season is the world premiere of Dai Fujikura’s The Great Wave in February and takes place at Theatre Royal Glasgow. This large-scale, dynamic, international collaboration between Scottish Opera and Japanese producer KAJIMOTO builds on centuries of cultural exchange between Scotland and Japan, exploring the life of iconic artist, Hokusai.
Other highlights include Wagner’s transcendent Tristan und Isolde, and legendary UK baritone Sir Thomas Allen’s production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro.
It comes on the back of a successful 2024/25 Season, which featured five-star productions of Oedipus Rex, The Makropulos Affair, and the UK Theatre Award-shortlisted double bill of Trial by Jury & A Matter of Misconduct!, as well as sold-out screenings of our award-winning animated opera short film, Josefine.
Delighted to be involved in this year’s Glasgow 850 celebrations, we celebrated in several ways. In May at SEC Armadillo, a chorus of 300 children from across Glasgow’s schools performed Built on the Clyde, a mini opera celebrating the iconic river’s rich contribution to Scotland’s largest city on its anniversary. Premiered during the opening night of the three-night Clyde Chorus, Built on the Clyde is available as a free digital resource pack for all Glasgow primary schools. Our Community Choir and Memory Spinners group (for people living with dementia) explored repertoire connected to the River Clyde and Glasgow. This year also saw us launch our first-ever, year-round children’s chorus for the Greater Glasgow area, for kids in primary 4-6.
We are committed to investing in the regeneration of Glasgow, with plans in the pipeline to establish new headquarters in the city at New Rotterdam Wharf, on a site adjacent to the Forth & Clyde Canal, which has laid derelict since the 1980s. It will serve as a creative Education and Community outreach hub for local citizens and include ‘state-of-the-art’ orchestral rehearsal and performance spaces, adaptable to becoming a conference centre and film sound stage, attracting performing artists to the city. Reflecting our commitment to local community and public benefit, extensive public realm improvements will front and activate the western edge of the canal.
With tickets starting from just £23, we ensure world-class opera remains within reach of everyone across Scotland. In addition, £15 tickets are available for under-26s and students at every performance. Over 800 free tickets have been provided to schools since 2022, often introducing pupils to live opera for the first time, and over 1,600 free tickets have been distributed to New Scots communities across Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness and Edinburgh. Free tickets are also available for schools, colleges, and community groups, with travel subsidies where needed. Throughout the Season, we will perform in over 50 communities around Scotland.
We are always interested to hear from potential new business partners, so please do get in touch if you would like to work with us and invest in Scottish Opera, a resilient, creative enterprise that is economically impactful. It will enable us to continue to share opera’s unique blend of music, singing and theatre, keeping it accessible and entertaining, and performed to the highest possible standards. We warmly invite everyone to be part of this thrilling new Season and look forward to welcoming you to an upcoming performance.
For more details, visit scottishopera.org.uk
