Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty. Photo: Johan Persson

AFTER all that English National Opera has been through in the past weeks – checklist: loss of entire Arts Council funding, effective eviction from the London Coliseum, threatened closure – it’s beyond irony that the company’s latest show, opening Nov 25, is a new opera called It’s a Wonderful Life. But if you know the classic 1940s film by Frank Capra on which the piece is based, you might remember that the story runs from crisis to happy ending thanks to intervention from a guardian angel: something ENO could do with right now.

The angel is sung here by the glamorous Danielle de Niese, which should be good for box office. And if you’re wary of new opera, this one is by the celebrated American composer Jake Heggie who scored significant hits with past efforts like Dead Man Walking and Moby-Dick, and truly knows how to write for the human voice. So all in all, this UK premiere staging is an absolute must-see, as well as heart-warming seasonal fayre. Expect tears, hugs and stage snow. Runs to Dec 10. Discounted tickets for under-35s. eno.org

• The music world is full of minor figures who fall off the radar after death but turn out to be fascinating when they’re rediscovered; and an example is Peter Tranchell who gets a memorial “soiree” (as the organisers call it) to mark his centenary at St Paul’s, Knightsbridge, on Nov 26. Tranchell ran the music at Caius College, Cambridge through the 1960s-80s, writing some distinguished works for choir and organ in the process as well as the odd ballet score (including one danced by Nureyev at Covent Garden) and a West End musical on Zuleika Dobson.

By all accounts he was sharp-tongued, a serious drinker and flamboyantly gay – which would have counted against him at the time but add to his allure in retrospect. And to celebrate his anniversary the current Caius Choir will illustrate his genius, along with a specially commissioned new work by Cheryl Frances-Hoad: a composer of soaring profile who picked up one of the key prizes at last week’s Ivor Awards. Full details: peter-tranchell.uk

• The young, dynamic cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason is everywhere these days and for good reason; but you won’t often find him at the Jazz Café, Camden Town, where he plays a boundary-breaking programme of Bach, Mahler, Herbie Hancock and James Taylor on Nov 28. Sharing the platform with pianist Harry Baker, it will be Sheku as you may not have encountered him before. throughthenoise.co.uk

• The Sadler’s Wells website doesn’t bother to tell you that what’s billed as Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty is actually a ballet by Tchaikovsky. But apart from this regrettable omission, it’s a show worth seeing – back on the stage where Bourne’s New Adventures company premiered it to huge acclaim 10 years ago, and no doubt as inventive, dazzling and darkly powerful as before. The music isn’t that bad either. Perfect Christmas stuff, albeit with a touch of gothic horror. Runs Nov 29-Jan 15. sadlerswells.com