Head of Music, The Royal Opera

The Royal Ballet and Opera continues to lead the way in opera, ballet, music and dance both live on stage and through multiple digital platforms, from live streaming to worldwide cinema screenings. Our Covent Garden theatre has been at the heart of London and British cultural life for three centuries. We are home to two world-class Companies: The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera.

The Royal Opera House describes the place we work, not who we are. The whole is always more than the sum of its parts – we may be a House, but three quarters of our audiences experience what we do outside this building. While our Covent Garden theatre is the nerve centre, the impact and influence of the organisation can be felt in every corner of the country, and around the world.

The role: 

The Royal Opera is one of the world’s leading opera companies. It is renowned both for its outstanding performances of traditional opera and for commissioning new works by today’s leading opera composers, from Judith Weir and Mark-Anthony Turnage to George Benjamin and Kaija Saariaho.

We are looking to appoint a new Head of Music for The Royal Opera company. This role will provide artistic and musical leadership within The Royal Opera, manage the Music Staff team, and work as a répétiteur and coach to the highest professional standard. 

What you’ll bring: 

Our ideal candidates will have extensive knowledge of the opera repertoire as well as strong staff management skills. You will also be able to evidence: 

• Significant experience as a repetiteur for a major opera company

• A detailed knowledge of the working processes of an opera company, with experience of scheduling and budget management 

• A team player who can work well with singers, conductors, directors and colleagues throughout the creative process

• The ability to lead and inspire an effective team, delegate tasks effectively and supervise staff to ensure that tasks are completed on time to a high standard

The Royal Ballet and Opera is one of the UK’s leading arts organisations and our aim is to inspire imagination, ignite emotion and make the extraordinary for everyone. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion underpin all that we do. We want our people to be representative of the diversity in the UK. We understand the creativity and innovation that diversity can bring and strive to create an inclusive environment in which everyone can thrive.

We encourage applications from people with a wide range of backgrounds, experiences and skills to join our teams. We particularly welcome applications from those who are from a global majority background and/or those who are disabled, as they are under-represented within our organisation.

We are a Disability Confident Employer, which means that we are actively working to ensure that candidates with disabilities and long-term health conditions feel supported, engaged and able to fulfil their potential in the workplace. We will endeavour to offer an interview to candidates who tell us they wish to participate in the scheme and who demonstrate in their application that they meet the essential criteria for the role, though sometimes due to the volume of qualified candidates with declarations this is not possible.

The RBO is also committed to safeguarding and protecting all children, young people, and adults and we implement robust safer recruitment practices. Due to our safeguarding promise, certain roles will be subject to a DBS check before commencing employment with us, which will be indicated in the advertising.

Closing date for applications: 11:59pm, Sunday 30th August 2026. 

First round interviews will be held mid-September 2026. 

Second round interviews will be held early October 2026. 

To ensure a fair process, late applications will not be considered under any circumstances. 

Applicants must have work authorisation for the UK.  No agencies.