Iphigénie en Tauride Tickets at the London Coliseum
A sister and a brother, each certain the other died years ago, brought to the same island without either one realising. Gluck at his best, put on about once a generation, and never before by English National Opera.
All-in: the price you pick is the price you pay.
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020 7193 9050 · Monday to Saturday 8am to 8pm, Sunday 10am to 8pm
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Two Things to Know Before You Book
It is sung in French. English National Opera perform in English almost without exception, and this is the exception. Iphigénie en Tauride is given in the original French, with English surtitles projected above the stage. You will follow it, but you will follow it by reading.
There are four performances. Not four weeks. Four nights, across nine days in November.
What It Is
Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride is widely held to be his finest work and it is hardly ever staged. This is the first time English National Opera have done it, in a new production by the Olivier Award-winning director Lyndsey Turner.
The story comes out of Greek myth. Iphigénie and her brother Oreste belong to the most cursed family in the literature. She is stranded on a remote island, serving a tyrant, believing her brother dead. He arrives believing the same of her. Neither knows the other is there.
Who It Is For
People who already know their opera and want something they will not get another chance at. A rarely performed Gluck in a new staging is a specialist's ticket, and there is no shame in that.
Not a first opera. If you are new to it, Tosca is on the same stage from the end of October, sung in English, and it is the better place to start.
Performance Schedule
Four performances only:
| Date | Time |
|---|---|
| Friday 6 November | 7:30pm |
| Monday 9 November | 7:30pm |
| Wednesday 11 November | 7:30pm |
| Saturday 14 November | 6pm |
Cast and Creative Team
| Role | Performer |
|---|---|
| Iphigénie | Christine Rice |
| Oreste | Jacques Imbrailo |
| Pylade | Nick Pritchard |
| Thoas | Morgan Pearse |
Music by Gluck, libretto by Nicolas-François Guillard. Directed by Lyndsey Turner, conducted by David Bates, a baroque specialist making his ENO debut.
Book Your Tickets
We sell with all-in pricing, so the price you see is the price you pay. Four performances only. Call 020 7193 9050 for help with seats.
Dates & tickets
FAQs
No, and this is the one to watch. It is sung in French, with English surtitles above the stage.
It helps but it is not required. Two siblings from a violent family, separated, each believing the other dead, meet without knowing it. The surtitles carry the rest.
About 2 hours 20 minutes, including one 20-minute interval. Gluck's operas are generally shorter than the nineteenth-century repertoire.
Somewhere you can read the screen, which matters more here than at any other show in the building because there is no English being sung. Avoid the first three Stalls rows, the back four rows of the Dress Circle (H to L), and the back two of the Upper Circle (K and L). See our London Coliseum guide.
Where to Sit
The surtitle screen decides this one. Nothing is sung in English, so if you cannot read the screen you cannot follow the opera.
Dress Circle rows A to C are the best read in the building, with most of the Upper Circle close behind. The first three rows of the Stalls have the screen almost overhead. The back four rows of the Dress Circle (H to L) cannot see it, and neither can the back two of the Upper Circle (K and L).
If sightline to the stage matters more to you than comfort reading, centre Stalls rows B to H remain the best view in the theatre. No lift to the Upper Circle.
Seating plan
Dates & tickets
Booking now
The London Coliseum
St Martin's Lane, WC2N 4ES, three minutes from Charing Cross and Leicester Square, around 2,380 seats over four levels. Buses 24, 29 and 176 along Charing Cross Road. Full detail in our London Coliseum guide.
Address
St Martin's Lane, London WC2N 4ES
Nearest Tube
Leicester Square and Charing Cross
Iphigénie en Tauride Cast
Christine Rice as Iphigénie and Jacques Imbrailo as Oreste, with Nick Pritchard as Pylade and Morgan Pearse as Thoas.
Director Lyndsey Turner. Conductor David Bates. Music by Christoph Willibald Gluck, libretto by Nicolas-François Guillard.
About This Production
A new staging, and English National Opera's first production of the work. No reviews yet: it opens on 6 November 2026.
Lyndsey Turner won an Olivier Award for her theatre work and this is a rare opera credit. Christine Rice comes to it after Dead Man Walking.
Iphigénie en Tauride
London Coliseum
