BILLY CORGAN Announces 'A Night Of Mellon Collie And Infinite Sadness' September 2026 European Tour

Following a critically acclaimed seven-date run last year at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, today Billy Corgan, the frontman of the two-time Grammy Award-winning iconic rock band THE SMASHING PUMPKINS, announces a European tour for September of "A Night Of Mellon Collie And Infinite Sadness Featuring Billy Corgan".

Composed by and featuring performances by Billy himself alongside world-class soloists and orchestras, "A Night Of Mellon Collie And Infinite Sadness Featuring Billy Corgan" is a one-of-a-kind operatic and orchestral rendering of the album "Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness". The opera re-imagines and pays homage to the era-defining album of the same name, whilst also expanding the definition and intention of opera.

On its first premiere in Chicago, Billboard labelled the shows "a symphonic and operatic reimagining of the band's 1995 double album", with Blabbermouth noting it as "one of the can't-miss cultural collaborations of the season" and the Chicago Tribune saw "no shortage of curiosity and surprise…(they) reinforced Corgan's unofficial status as the biggest romantic of his generation". Highlights included Billy's yearning rendition of "1979" and the tear-jerking version of "Tonight, Tonight" by the orchestra.

Composed by Billy alongside Grammy-nominated conductor James Lowe, the shows will also feature vocals from Ed Parks (baritone; London, Belgium and France),Sydney Mancasola (soprano),Zoie Reams (mezzo-soprano),Dominick Valdes Chenes (tenor) and Dean Murphy (baritone; Spain only). The costumes have also been designed by House Of Gilles by Gilles Mendel and Chloé Mendel Corgan. Blurring the boundaries of opera, rock and performance art, the performances are truly a fully immersive sonic and visual experience.

Billy Corgan says: "The success of translating 'Mellon Collie' into operatic and classical form has been one of the most satisfying experiences of my life, where on each of the seven sold-out nights in Chicago we'd finish within the raucous wave of a standing ovation. So to now take it on the road, and to Europe, too says this magical dream doesn't have to end."

Conductor James Lowe says: "It has been so gratifying to discover how the nuances and layers of 'Mellon Collie' reveal themselves in fresh new ways in these symphonic, choral and operatic settings. To now have the opportunity to perform this work in Europe with world-class musicians in such important venues is nothing short of thrilling."

"A Night Of Mellon Collie And Infinite Sadness Featuring Billy Corgan" will be performed in September in the U.K., Belgium, France and Spain. Tickets go on pre-sale on Tuesday, May 12 at 10.00 a.m. BST. Tickets for the Antwerp and Paris shows go on general sale on May 13 at 10.00 a.m. CET. Tickets for the London and Madrid shows go on general sale on May 14 at 10.00 a.m. BST.

Dates:

Sep. 01 - London, UK, Royal Festival Hall
Sep. 02 - London, UK, Royal Festival Hall
Sep. 06 - Antwerp, Belgium, Queen Elisabeth Hall (two shows)
Sep. 08 - Paris, France, Salle Pleye
Sep. 09 - Paris, France, Salle Pleye
Sep. 11 - Madrid, Spain, Palacio Vistalegre

Last November, Corgan told WGN News about how the collaboration with Lyric Opera of Chicago came about: "A mutual friend put us together with the Lyric. And I kept saying for years, 'cause it kept coming up, 'I think they wanna work with you,' and I kept thinking, 'There's no way they're gonna wanna work with me.' So when we finally did have the meeting, I pitched them on this idea, and they loved it… Full orchestra, full chorus, operatic interpretations of the 'Mellon Collie' album. And I'm singing too. And it's amazing to hear your music sung with incredible artists like themselves. So it's really emotional. And if you know the album, it's an emotional experience. If you don't know the album, then it's made so if you're an operatic fan or a classical fan, it's interpreted that way. So we're not trying to do 'rock and roll goes opera.' It's actually — we're taking rock and roll into the opera."

Elaborating on what he means when he says that he is "taking rock and roll into the opera," Corgan explained: "It's interpretation. So, when I worked with the arranger, James Lowe, it would be, like, 'Well, can we do more of a [George] Gershwin-type take on this song,' and breaking it back down from the bottom and building it back up and then voicing it in a way that the operatic singers feel comfortable. So we're not asking them to sing rock and roll style. They're in their comfort zone. And I'm a Lyric fan, so I go there all the time. So I wanted those artists to do what they do at the highest level. I didn't want any compromise with my music. So it's been to try to figure out how to make my music work for them."

"Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness" was SMASHING PUMPKINS' third studio album. It featured the singles "Tonight, Tonight", "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" and "1979".