One man has seen more of the natural world than any other. This unique feature documentary is his witness statement.
In his 93 years, David Attenborough has visited every continent on the globe, exploring the wild places of our planet and documenting the living world in all its variety and wonder. Now, for the first time he reflects upon both the defining moments of his lifetime as a naturalist and the devastating changes he has seen.
Honest, revealing and urgent, DAVID ATTENBOROUGH: A LIFE ON OUR PLANET is a powerful first-hand account of humanity’s impact on nature and a message of hope for future generations.
The film will be followed by a Q&A with David Attenborough live from the World Premiere at the iconic Royal Albert Hall.

Two opera classics are drawn together in this wonderfully observed re-creation of life in a south Italian village as a travelling theatre visits and emotions erupt. The award-winning production by Damiano Michieletto presents vividly the fast-moving, shocking events brought about by secret love and uncontrollable jealousy. The music is full of Italianate melody in the great choruses that bring the villagers together in celebration and revelry, alongside the solo arias and tense confrontations that provoke violence and tragedy. With thrilling singing and intense drama, ‘Cav and Pag’ distils into one wonderful night out, the enduring appeal of Italian opera in its most familiar form.

We are broadcasting live a brand new play The Welkin by Lucy Kirkwood from the National Theatre in London. The ensemble cast of 12 includes Maxine Peake (The Theory of Everything, Shameless) and Ria Zmitrowicz (Three Girls, Mr Selfridge) who tell the thrilling story of a young woman sentenced to hang for a heinous murder. When she claims to be pregnant, a jury of 12 matrons are taken from their housework to decide whether she’s telling the truth, or simply trying to escape the noose. The Welkin will be broadcast live to cinemas on Thursday 21 May 2020.

Dante’s Divine Comedy is an epic journey through the afterlife: it encompasses the horrifying drama of Inferno and its damned, the lyrical mysticism of pilgrims on mount Purgatorio and the dazzling spheres of Paradiso with their endless configurations of light. The poem was inspired by the agony of Dante’s own exile, and traces his path from crisis to revelation guided by his literary hero Virgil and his lost love Beatrice. In this new work, The Royal Ballet’s trailblazing Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor collaborates with an award-winning team – contemporary composer Thomas Adès, artist Tacita Dean, lighting designer Lucy Carter and dramaturg Uzma Hameed – to bring us closer to Dante and his extraordinary vision.

Royal Opera Chorus Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Strauss’s thrilling and audacious adaptation of Greek tragedy receives a new staging by the award-winning director Christof Loy. This uncompromising opera, about a daughter intent on bloody revenge and a mother driven to madness, has provoked critics to lively debate and both shocked and excited audiences since its 1909 premiere. Antonio Pappano conducts music that combines violence with moments of exquisite tenderness in his first Strauss interpretation for The Royal Opera since 2002. The outstanding cast includes Nina Stemme (Brünnhilde in last Season’s Der Ring des Nibelungen) in the title role, and Karita Mattila in her role debut as the haunted queen Klytämnestra.

From the writer of One Man, Two Guvnors comes a hilarious new play, set in 1940s British summertime. After an aerial dog fight, Pilot Officer Jack Absolute flies home to rejoin his fearless young Hurricane squadron at RAF Fontwell. Once back on British soil, Jack is shocked to find his old flame, Lydia, on the base. He sets his sights on winning her heart, but with turbulence and hilarity never far away, his advances quickly turn to anarchy. Thea Sharrock (Me Before You) directs a cast including Caroline Quentin and Richard Fleeshman in this joyous farce. ‘The funniest show on the planet.’ Daily Mail on One Man, Two Guvnors