What's On

CUOS Easter Show 2026: Rosalind - Peter White

20:00, Friday 1st – Saturday 2nd May 2026, Trinity College Chapel
Easter Week 1

Rosalind explores the life and work of physicist Rosalind Franklin, and her contribution to Watson and Crick’s 1953 discovery of the double helix structure of DNA. Perhaps more importantly, it examines the difficulties of being a female scientist in the 1950s. CUOS will stage the student premiere of this remarkable new opera as our Easter Show 2026. Rosalind is a must-see for theatre enthusiasts, geneticists and feminists alike, or anyone keen to uncover the reality behind the double helix.

Tickets will become available shortly: keep an eye out!

CUOS Shorts 2026: Soonawalla/Akka/Jenkins

20:00, Friday 13th March 2026, Emmanuel College Chapel
20:00, Saturday 14th March 2026, Corpus Christi College Chapel
Lent Week 7

Discover the best of modern composition at CUOS Shorts 2026: a festival of new chamber operas written and staged entirely by current Cambridge students. This year's programme consists of Zane Soonawalla's ‘The Second Death’, a psychological drama arising from a tumultuous funeral; George Akka’s ‘Train Talk’, a meditation on the human experience set on a Cambridge-bound train; and Eoin Jenkins’ ‘How Much Land Does a Man Need?’, a haunting cautionary tale based on a short story by Tolstoy. Whether you’re an opera enthusiast or simply curious about new music and theatre, CUOS Shorts offers a rare chance to witness multiple world premieres and experience the creativity at the heart of Cambridge’s music scene.

Tickets are now available - book via the following links:
Friday 13th (Emmanuel): CUOS Shorts 2026 (Emmanuel College Chapel)
Saturday 14th (Corpus Christi): CUOS Shorts 2026 (Corpus Christi College Chapel)

CUOS Mainshow 2026: The Merry Wives of Windsor - Otto Nicolai

19:45, Thursday 26th – Saturday 28th February, West Road Concert Hall
14:00, Saturday 28th February 2026, West Road Concert Hall
Lent Week 6

Set during the reign of Henry V, Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor ('The Merry Wives of Windsor') is Otto Nicolai’s wonderful adaptation of Shakespeare’s play of the same name.

CUOS Michaelmas Show 2025: Savitri - Gustav Holst

20:00, Friday 7th – Saturday 8th November 2025, Fitzwilliam College Auditorium
Michaelmas Week 5

Savitri is an opera by Gustav Holst, adapted from the original setting of Savitri and Satyavan in the Mahabharata. It follows the titular character, a princess unmatched in beauty and intellect, as she sets out alone to find a suitable husband. Finding a simple carpenter in the woods, she is immediately taken with his humility and modest way of life. Upon speaking to him, she finds he is none other than Satyavan, the prince of a neighbouring kingdom, exiled by a violent coup. Admiring his strength of character, she resolves to marry him at once, but all is not well for the happy couple. News of her intentions to marry Satyavan is met with a chilling prophecy from Naradha, news-carrier of the Gods. He shares that if Savitri marries Satyavan, their bliss will last but one year, until Yama (Death) comes for Satyavan. Undeterred, though deeply troubled by this news, Savitri insists upon marrying her lover. Our story begins as the year comes to a close, when Yama comes calling for his price. As the prophecy looms, will Savitri be able to outsmart such an archaic force to keep her lover alive, or will she be helpless to fate?

CUOS Showcase 2025: Halloween at the Opera