(Credit: Ian Ehm)

The Royal Opera House’s 2025-26 season has been in the headlines due to the return of Anna Netrebko for the first time since 2019. But the opening also marks a new era for the company as Jakub Hrůša begins his tenure as music director.

He will be the fourth person in the job in 54 years and has only conducted three productions with the company. “Tosca” will be his fourth, and it promises to be a special evening as it is the first time he will conduct the work.

Hrůša has previously conducted “La Bohème.” However, his repertoire has mostly included works by Janáček like ” The Cunning Little Vixen,” “Jenůfa,” “Kát’a Kabanová,” and “The Makropulos Case.” He has also conducted such works as “Carmen,” “Lohengrin,” “Rusalka,” “Vanessa,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “The Turn of the Screw,” and “Don Giovanni.”

Of his conducting, he has been praised for giving powerful and riveting performances and for bringing out “music’s wistful lyricism and surging ecstasies.”

For those not in London for opening night, the performance will be broadcast in cinemas, and Hrůša will also conduct a new production of Janáček’s “The Makropulos Case” and a revival of Britten’s “Peter Grimes” at the Royal Opera.

Recordings 

For more on the conductor, here are some videos of him conducting music by Smetana and Dvořák.