The WNO’s Freedom Season continues with their emotional and dramatic performance of The Consul. The performance perfectly framed everything that the Freedom Season is about and could have been used as the initial production as it would have set the tone for the other productions being delivered over the month. The Consul is not hard-hitting or powerful instead it combines heartfelt emotion and a dramatic element delivered through the content and music. Written in 1949 and set in an…
Young British conductor Harry Ogg joins Welsh National Opera this Summer as WNO Associate Conductor in collaboration with the Donatella Flick-LSO Conducting Competition after reaching the final of the Competition in London in 2018. Harry is already making a name for himself having won second prize at the MDR Symphony Orchestra Conducting Competition in Leipzig 2018 and being selected for the Deutsche Dirigentenforum the same year, and will be working with François-Xavier Roth in Cologne with their resident Gürzenich Orchestra…
Older patients who are staying in hospital are enjoying music and singing sessions courtesy of the Welsh National Opera (WNO). Patients staying on ward C7 at the University Hospital of Wales had weekly sessions from the Come and Sing project which ran for five weeks, receiving great feedback from patients, families and staff on the benefits of the sessions. The Come and Sing project will now continue running on a weekly basis on Ward C7 until Easter, supported by…
THE WELSH NATIONAL OPERA ORCHESTRA ARE OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD! WNO celebrates the magical movie The Wizard of Oz with a stunning live accompaniment at St David’s Hall on Sunday 10 September. Forget scratchy soundtracks – this is the chance to hear Over the Rainbow, Follow the Yellow Brick Road and all your favourites in vivid orchestral technicolour complete with original vocals. Released in 1939 by MGM as an enchanting adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s novel, The Wizard of…
Soloist – Pavel Kolesnikov, Piano THE Welsh National Opera Orchestra returns to St David’s Hall as the prestigious International Concert Series continues with a powerful performance of Suk, Mozart and Dvořák on Sunday 19 March. Tragedy and drama go hand-in-hand in the second of this season’s WNO concerts –…
World renowned Welsh Opera singer, Bryn Terfel is to partner up with the UK’s leading musicians’ development and outreach charity, Live Music Now, to support their work with young musicians and vulnerable groups as an Ambassador for the charity. One of Wales’ and the World’s finest bass-baritones, he made his operatic début as Guglielmo in Cosí fan tutte at the Welsh National Opera in 1990. Since then the philanthropic singer has already established his own charitable fund, The Bryn Terfel Foundation, which…
Lowri Porter & Lada Valešová – St David’s Hall Tuesday 31 May 1pm WELSH violinist Lowri Porter will join forces with pianist Lada Valešová for a special Lunchtime Concert at St David’s Hall on Tuesday 31 May. Starting at 1pm, the dynamic duo will deliver a compelling programme of Beethoven, Messiaen and Janáček. Born in Cardiff in 1977, Lowri Porter is Assistant Leader of Welsh National Opera and also teaches at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Lada Valešová’s…
Welsh National Opera will commemorate WW1 and the centenary of the Battle of the Somme with a world premiere of a new opera commissioned to mark the company’s 70th birthday. In Parenthesis is acclaimed British composer Iain Bell’s adaptation of the epic poem by poet, writer and artist David Jones. The work is a remembrance of David Jones’ personal experience as a soldier at the Battle of Mametz Wood. Alongside the staging of the opera, WNO are embarking upon an…
The Opera Platform is launched – free, live and on demand www.theoperaplatform.eu The Royal Opera and Welsh National Opera are delighted to announce their involvement in a new online platform dedicated to opera. From Friday 8 May, The Opera Platform will offer both those who already love opera and those curious to try it for the first time the opportunity to watch performances and access backstage content via a new online platform. This new website is supported by the European…