A season that looks back with pride and looks forward with a renewed commitment to artistic creation at the highest level.
And with a significant cultural discourse, created from an Israeli perspective and part of the international opera scene.
Its programming includes: Dido Aeneas, Iolanta, The Dybbuk, The Magic Flute, Salome, Nabucco, and Tosca.
Tali Barash-Gottlieb, General Director of the Israel Opera:
"It is a great thrill to inaugurate a season that will celebrate Israeli opera and a wonderful opportunity to thank the artists, the creators, the wonderful backstage team, and the audiences who lovingly accompany us. For four decades, we have walked together on a path of unwavering artistic excellence, international activity, the development of young artists, and original Israeli creation. And this is just the beginning!
At a time when Nechama seems to be more active, we have decided to celebrate its 40th anniversary with various social, educational, and community initiatives across the country, which will give the season a new dimension of meaning." Israel Opera Season Opening Video | 40th Season
https://youtu.be/5Lqx96OpeCc?
The 40th Season reflects this trajectory: a season filled with Israeli talents who have grown up in opera and who collaborate with world-class artists, directors, and conductors.
The Israel Opera considers education, community, and shared art as integral parts of its cultural mission. In its 40th anniversary, it will expand its educational and social activities, open its doors to new audiences, and continue to foster the training of the next generation of opera artists in Israel.
The 40th Season will open in November 2025 and will include seven spectacular productions:
The Israel Opera is proud to open its 40th season with a magnificent production of Henry Purcell's "Dido and Aeneas," the first opera presented at the Israel Opera since its founding in 1985, conducted by Hanan Snir.
Now, four decades later, it returns to the stage in a world premiere directed and designed by Stefano Poda (Russell, Faust, The Tales of Hoffmann), who creates a visual world richly inspired by Greek mythology and blending Baroque and Gothic styles. Directed by Stefano Poda | Directed by Gerd Amlung
"Dido and Aeneas" tells the story of the Queen of Carthage, who falls in love with the Trojan hero Aeneas, but is forced to confront dark forces seeking to separate them.
In Purcell's hands, the mythological story has become a fierce struggle between good and evil, between the power of love and the angels of destruction. And as in opera, the expected victory of the hero (Aeneas) is no consolation for the tragic death of the heroine (Dido). Purcell's moving and precise music is considered one of the cornerstones of English opera, headlined by Dido's immortal lament, "Earth," in "When I Lie."
The production celebrates the wonderful talents that have emerged in Israeli opera in recent years, and all its soloists are graduates of the Israel Opera's Meitar Opera Studio.
Featuring the Barracuda Orchestra and the Israel Opera Chorus, conducted by Itai Berkowitz. November 16-28, 2025.
For the first time at Israel Opera: "Iolanta" by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Directed by Shirit Lee Weiss | Directed by Dan Ettinger.
The Israel Opera will present a new original production of "Iolanta," the last opera written by Tchaikovsky, directed by Shirit Lee Weiss (Mothers, Hanoch Levin - The Opera) and conducted by Dan Ettinger, Music Director of the Israel Opera. A team of leading Israeli designers—Adam Keller (set design), Ole Shevchov (costumes), and Nadav Barnea (lighting)—created a world for Iolanta's story that combines a poetic appearance with a deep psychological connotation. The work tells the story of the blind princess Iolanta, who grows up in an isolated castle, while her protective father prevents her from learning the truth about her blindness and from exposing herself to the world.
An unexpected encounter reveals new feelings in her and awakens her longing to discover the truth.
This is a story of innocence, love, and the search for the inner light found within every person. From January 18 to 28, 2026.
Ido Riklin, author of the opera libretto, has created a new version of the story of the impossible love of Leah and Hanan, the heroes of S. An-Sky's classic work. Riklin's heroes struggle between faith and passion, between tradition and personal freedom, and pay with their lives for the society they live in's failure to accept free choice. The music, written by award-winning composer Yosef Bardanashvili, connects Jewish tradition with the complex psychological world of the opera's heroes, moving from moments of joy to the depths of lost souls. The finest soloists in Israeli opera participate in this grand production, with the Opera Orchestra, the Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion, and the Opera Chorus. February 18-25, 2026
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "The Magic Flute." What is it about this immortal opera that keeps us coming back to it again and again? Is it the eternal struggle between good and evil? Is it the longing for love that finds its answer at the end of the work? Or its magical imagination and humor? And perhaps it's the ingenious music Mozart created, which captivates children and adults alike? The answer is probably all of these and more, because it seems this masterpiece hides countless layers. In the 40th season, we decided to return to this beloved piece and discover more about the story of Pamina and Tamino, Papageno and Papagena, the Queen of the Night, and Sarastro. "The Magic Flute" has not left opera stages around the world for over 230 years, a testament to the power of a masterpiece to move and touch every person.
Conductor Alexander Joel returns to Israeli opera to lead soloists from Israel and abroad, with the participation of the Rishon LeZion Opera Orchestra, the Israel Symphony Orchestra, and the Israel Opera Chorus. March 13-26, 2026
'Salomé' by Richard Strauss. One of the most daring and powerful operas in the world repertoire returns to Israeli opera stages in the acclaimed version and direction of Itay Tiran and Dan Ettinger. The work, based on the play by Oscar Wilde, is set in Herod's court and centers on Salomé, a young and enigmatic princess who refuses to submit to the laws of the male world and is willing to pay any price for her desire. Itai Tiran and Renana Raz (the production's choreographer) created a world filled with beauty and horror with Strauss's music, a world where sensuality transforms into violence, where Salome cries out to challenge not only the existing order, but also her father, the king.
Yoav Cohen's stunning video work brings the image of the moon to life and makes it an active actor: a red moon that brings destruction.
Featuring soloists from Israel and abroad, and the opera orchestra, the Rishon LeZion Israel Symphony Orchestra. May 6-17, 2026
"Nabucco" by Giuseppe Verdi. Conducted by André Heller-Lopez | Conductor: Maestro Carlo Montanero. It's impossible to celebrate 40 years of an opera house in Israel without Verdi's epic work, nicknamed "the Jewish Opera": the opera that expresses, above all, the Jewish people's eternal longing for their homeland and their inexhaustible hope for freedom.
The Slaves' Song, Pensiero Va, has become a universal prayer for freedom throughout the world. And today, more than ever, this prayer takes on a special meaning. Jewish-Brazilian conductor André Heller-Lopez, creator of several versions of this opera in Europe and Latin America, is coming to the Israel Opera for the first time and, with the staging of Verdi's masterpiece in Israel, also closes a moving personal cycle. Featuring soloists from Israel and abroad, the Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion, and the opera chorus. June 12-27, 2026
The Israel Opera will conclude its 40th season with a new original production of Tosca, directed by Ido Riklin and Dan Ettinger. Puccini's suspenseful opera brings to life the story of the violent clash between the art world (the opera singer Tosca and her partner, the painter Querdosi) and a representative of a shadowy regime that seeks to silence its opponents while exploiting their power for its own gain. The story, set in the original work in Rome in 1800, remains relevant and universal.
Featuring soloists from Israel and around the world, the opera orchestra (the Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion), and the opera choir. July 17-30, 2026
Phone: 03-6927700
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