Cape Town Opera Announces a Dynamic 2026 Season

Cape Town Opera is one of the largest full-time performing arts institutions in South Africa, with 57 full-time employees, and is the only continuously active opera company on the African continent. The 2026 season promises a range of performances for all ages, and this guide outlines the best opera performances this season.

All the 2026 Scheduled Performances for the Cape Town Opera

Carmen

In May, Cape Town Opera returns to grand opera at scale with Bizet’s Carmen at the Artscape Opera House. Bizet’s irresistible score and its fiercely independent heroine continue to captivate audiences nearly 150 years after its controversial premiere.

Set in vibrant Seville, the opera traces the doomed entanglement between Carmen and Don José, unfolding through jealousy, desire and fate against the backdrop of bullfighting spectacle. Since its triumphant revival in Vienna after Bizet’s death, Carmen has become one of the world’s most frequently performed operas.

Cost: R180 – R950. Tickets available on Webtickets.

When: 19 – 31 May 2026 | 7pm | Sat and Sun at 2pm
Where: Artscape Theatre Centre, D.F. Malan St, Foreshore

A Little Night Music

New directions follow in winter with Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music at Theatre on the Bay. Set in Sweden in 1900 and inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s film Smiles of a Summer Night, the musical uses the waltz as its heartbeat as romance unravels over a single midsummer weekend. With sophistication, wit, and emotional finesse, and featuring the beloved song Send in the Clowns, the production offers a sparkling contrast to the season’s operatic intensity.

Cost: R206 – R375. Bookings can be made on Webtickets.

When: 30 June – 12 July 2026 | Shows at 2pm & 7.30pm
Where: Theatre on the Bay, Link Street, Camps Bay

The Cunning Little Vixen

Families will delight in a new English-language adaptation of Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen at the Joseph Stone Auditorium, celebrating the cycle of life through the adventures of the mischievous Vixen Sharp-Ears. Reimagined for Cape Town Opera by Alan Olejniczak, the work places nature, imagination and renewal at its centre, culminating in a message of hope and continuity.

Cost: R80. Bookings can be made on Webtickets.

When: 21 – 26 July 2026 | Shows at 11am & 2pm
Where: Joseph Stone Auditorium, cnr Protea St & Klipfontein Rd, Athlone, Cape Town

Roméo et Juliette

Cape Town Opera presents Roméo et Juliette at Artscape: the tragic tale of star-crossed lovers has inspired countless works of literature and art across cultures, becoming an archetype of love and fate. Shakespeare’s version remains the most familiar, and for his ninth opera, French composer Charles Gounod found the perfect dramatic vehicle.

Gounod, one of the most influential French composers of the late nineteenth century, is celebrated for his lyrical charm, refined orchestration, and elegant taste. Yet it is his mastery of theatrical storytelling – setting scenes, building tension, and guiding the drama to its tragic conclusion – that makes Roméo et Juliette especially unforgettable.

Cost: R170 – R720. Bookings are not yet available.

When: 18 – 29 November 2026 | Times TBC
Where: Artscape Theatre Centre, D.F. Malan St, Foreshore