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Norma, a Druid priestess in Roman-occupied Gaul maintains a secret love affair with the Roman Proconsul Pollione, with whom she has two children. When he falls in love with the young priestess Adalgisa, Norma falls into a deep crisis, caught between her religious duty, betrayed love and maternity. After debating between revenge and forgiveness, Norma confesses her guilt to the people and agrees to be burned at the stake, finally accompanied by Pollione, who repents. 

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Driven by love and curiosity, Judith follows Bluebeard to his castle, where she discovers seven locked doors. As she opens them, each reveals an aspect of Bluebeard's soul. When she reaches the seventh door, the truth about her beloved is revealed: behind it lie Bluebeard's previous wives, condemned to live in eternal shadow. Judith, trapped by her fate and her desire to redeem it, joins them while Bluebeard is left alone in the darkness, resigned to his perpetual loneliness.  

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The plot tells a story based on the Third Crusade, when King Richard the Lionheart arrives in Cyprus pretending to be an ambassador to rescue his betrothed, Costanza, whom he has never seen and who has been captured by the tyrant Isacio after a shipwreck. He attempts to trick Richard by sending his daughter Pulcheria instead of Costanza. Pulcheria obeys but intends to reveal the truth, and her fiancé Oronte discovers the plot and foils it. Richard then launches a final military attack on the island and defeats the tyrant, installing Pulcheria and Oronte as the new rulers. Richard and Costanza are finally united. 

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Figaro and Susanna, the servants of the Count and Countess Almaviva, are preparing for their wedding, but the Count tries to seduce Susanna. When they realise his intentions, Figaro and Susanna work out a plan to frustrate them. The Countess and Susanna join forces to unmask the Count through a series of pranks and mix-ups as they try to demonstrate his infidelity. Figaro and Susanna continue with their plan, together with the Countess, and organise a false wedding ceremony to trick the Count and publicly expose him. All the misunderstandings are resolved in the palace garden and the repentant Count apologises to the Countess, who forgives him. Finally, Figaro and Susanna are able to successfully celebrate their marriage. 

The Marriage of Figaro forms part of a theatrical trilogy by Pier Augustin de Beaumarchais and is a continuation of The Barber of Seville, which, in the form of Rossini’s opera of the same name, will close the Teatro Real’s 2026-27 season. Both Lorenzo Da Ponte’s libretto (The Marriage of Figaro) and Cesare Sterbini’s (The Barber of Seville) are based on these texts by Beaumarchais.    

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The libretto is based partly on chapters 26 and 27 of Martin Luther’s translation of St Matthew’s Gospel and partly on poetry by the writer Christian Friedrich Henrici, also known as Picander, and on Lutheran choral music related to the Passion. 

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La Gioconda tells a horrifying story of revenge carried out by Barnaba, a spy in the service of the 17th-century Venetian Inquisition, against La Gioconda, a street singer for whom he feels unrequited love. La Gioconda cares for her elderly mother, La Cieca, and Barnaba’s first manoeuvre is to make the people believe the old woman is a witch and must be burned. Laura, the wife of the inquisitor Alvise, saves La Cieca from death, but this leads to a meeting between Laura and her childhood sweetheart Enzo, who is now La Gioconda’s fiancé. Enzo has to decide between two passions and he finally chooses Laura, leaving La Gioconda in a difficult situation that will ultimately lead to her death. 

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The story begins with the preparations for the wedding of the Bride and Groom, marked by the bad feeling of the Groom’s mother towards the family of Leonardo Félix related to the murder of her husband and other son. Although she is engaged, the Bride still loves Leonardo, a married man who has never forgotten her. During the wedding ceremony, the lovers escape together, unleashing chaos, and the Groom, full of anger and pain, decides to pursue the couple, a chase that ends with a fight to the death and the double murder of both Leonardo and the Groom. 

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Katya Kabanova takes place in a small, isolated Russian village on the banks of the River Volga. Katya feels trapped in a repressive society where rules and appearances are all that matter. Unhappily married to Tichon, who is dominated by his bitter, controlling mother Kabanicha, she yearns to escape. 

When Tichon goes away on business, temptation is impossible to resist and Katya begins a secret affair with Boris. However, when Tichon returns in the middle of a violent storm, Katya can no longer bear what she has done. She confesses her affair to her husband and flees. 

Katya meets Boris, who tells her he is leaving. Initially, she begs him to let her go with him, but then decides she cannot leave. Boris goes and Katya, overcome by sadness, throws herself into the Volga. Tichon arrives just in time to see Katya jump in the river. He hurries to help her, but his mother stops him. 

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Fedora, a Russian princess, seeks to avenge her murdered fiancé. She believes the guilty party is Loris Ipanov, so she organises a ball in Paris to trap him. When she becomes close to him, Loris reveals that he killed her betrothed on discovering his infidelity. Although Fedora now understands that her fiancé was not innocent, it is already too late: in her desire for revenge she had denounced Loris’s family, causing the deaths of his mother and his brother. When he finds out, Loris is distraught. Overcome by guilt, Fedora kills herself with poison hidden in the cross she wears at her throat and dies begging his forgiveness. 

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Part I – The prophecy and birth 

The arrival of the promised Messiah is announced with Old Testament texts speaking of hope and light. Then, the birth of Jesus is celebrated, presented as the fulfilment of those prophecies. 

Part II – Passion, death and resurrection 

The suffering of Christ, his sacrifice and his triumph over death are described. After this, the music swells to proclaim his glory and the Christian message, culminating in the famous “Hallelujah”, celebrating his Kingdom of Heaven. 

Part III – Redemption and eternal life 

The work concludes with a meditation on the final resurrection, victory over death and the promise of salvation for humanity, ending with the powerful “Amen” chorus.