Ellen Kent returns to Liverpool Empire next month with Opera International Kyiv.
The award-winning producer will present stunning classical productions of Verdi’s La Traviata, Bizet’s Carmen and Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.
For the 2026 tour, Ellen Kent celebrates the Farewell Opera Tour, seeing the opera company embark on its last UK tour.
Madama Butterfly returns in a new production with exquisite sets including a spectacular Japanese garden and fabulous costumes including antique wedding kimonos from Japan.
One of the world’s most popular operas, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly tells the heart-breaking story of the beautiful young Japanese girl who falls in love with an American naval lieutenant – with dramatic results.
Highlights include the melodic ‘Humming Chorus’, the moving aria ‘One Fine Day’ and the unforgettable ‘Love Duet’. Sung in Italian with English surtitles.
Bizet’s masterpiece, Carmen, is an evening of passion, sexual jealousy, death and unforgettable arias.
Carmen is the story of the bewitching gypsy girl whose tantalising beauty lures a soldier to desertion and leads to her own murder.
The opera includes some of the most evocative and best-loved melodies in opera – The Habanera, The Seguidilla, The Flower Song, The Chanson Boheme and perhaps the best-known baritone aria of all The Toreador’s Song.
The stunning set reflects the magnificent architecture of Seville with its Roman and Moorish influences. Sung in French with English surtitles.
La Traviata, the tragic tale of searing passion and memorable music, is Verdi’s outstanding interpretation of one of the most popular love stories of the 19th century, La Dame aux Camelias.
Based on a true story, it tells of the passionate loves and life of the consumptive courtesan, Violetta. There are many echoes of Verdi’s own life in Traviata and he threw himself into the music.
The highlights include the Brindisi, the best-known drinking song in opera, the duet Un Di Felice and Violetta’s haunting aria Addio Del Passato.
This magnificent production boasts sumptuous sets and costumes with singing in Italian with English surtitles.
Ellen, whose dad was born in Liverpool, has been touring for 33 years. Since 1992, she has created a niche market for the best of traditional opera and ballet from Eastern Europe.
She was the first producer to put out a major tour of foreign opera on the British theatre circuit and she dominated the ballet market in the UK for many years.
The 2026 Farewell Opera Tour celebrates the past 33 years of touring opera, as Ellen looks forward to working on new projects in the arts.
Ellen Kent: The Farewell Tour runs from February 16 to 18 at the Empire. Tickets are available at atgtickets.com/shows/ellen-kent-the-farewell-tour-liverpool/