Recommended for 16+
Performance dates
30 June - 18 July 2025
Run time: 3 hours
Includes interval
- Show info
- Performance Times
Semele London tickets
Following sell-out success in Paris, a bold new production of Handel’s English-language masterpiece comes home to Covent Garden. Witness the opera in the place where it was first heard back in 1744. Book your official tickets today!
About Semele
Semele is a dazzling blend of drama, desire, and divine intervention, set to the richly expressive music of George Frideric Handel. Drawing from classical mythology, the opera tells the story of a mortal woman whose ambition leads her into the realm of the gods—where beauty, power, and love collide in unexpected ways.
With its vibrant arias and emotional depth, Semele straddles the line between opera and oratorio, combining theatrical storytelling with Baroque musical brilliance. Handel’s score brings both grandeur and intimacy to this tale of longing, transformation, and human vulnerability in the face of the divine.
It's worth the applause
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - The Times
- Semele premiered in 1744 and is one of Handel’s most celebrated English-language works, admired for its inventive harmonies and dramatic flair.
- Before he was the Director of Opera at the Royal Opera House, Oliver Mears was the Artistic Director of Northern Ireland Opera, where he won Best Opera Production at the Irish Times Theatre Awards for Tosca.
Semele creatives
- Music - George Frideric Handel
- Libretto - William Congreve
- Director - Oliver Mears
- Designer - Annemarie Woods
- Lighting Designer - Fabiana Piccioli
- Movement Director - Sarah Fahie