The Welsh National Opera has announced its 2020-21 season featuring six productions on the main stage. Here is a look at what to expect. Autumn 2020 The season opens with a revival of Janáček and Preissová’s “Jenůfa” starring Amanda Majeski in the title role. She is joined by a cast that includes Peter Berger, Helena Zubanovich, Ed Lyon and Rhodri {…}
The Welsh National Opera has announced that Yvette Vaughan Jones has been appointed as Chair of the Board of Directors, with immediate effect. Jones has extensive experience of working in the arts both in the UK and internationally and is the first woman in the Company’s history to hold the role of Chair of WNO. Jones has worked for independent {…}
(Credit: Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Official Website) The Welsh National Opera has announced that Tianyi Lu will be the first Female Conductor in Residence with the company. Lu was born in Shanghai but was raised in New Zealand. She eventually completed her Master of Music in Orchestra Conducting at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. She is currently the {…}
Young opera stars are set to make their debut at a prestigious international music festival. Singers from Youth Opera North Wales are set to take part at the finale of this year’s North Wales International Music Festival. The singers will be made up of youngsters aged eight to 18 from across North Wales and will sing alongside Welsh National Opera’s Festival {…}
The winners of the 23rd South Bank Sky Awards were announced on July 7, 2019 during a ceremony at the Savoy Hotel in London. The Sky Awards are unique in that they “celebrate every genre of the arts, including pop, dance, opera, comedy, and TV,” according to Sky News. “British culture is really thriving right now, and this year’s Awards nominees reflect the {…}
(Photo: Johan Perrson) Following the end of the Second World War, Europe experienced huge population movements as the displaced peoples throughout the continent sought refuge from its ravages and its aftermath. Some were stateless, others fled retribution, while many from Eastern Europe wanted to escape the Russian occupation and its imposition of the communist dream. All were refugees seeking a {…}
(Photo: Johan Persson) Welsh National Opera’s imaginative and ambitious summer program of operas, exhibition, and talks, under the banner headline of “Freedom,” is dedicated to exploring the theme of human rights. Four operas were scheduled, all of which focused on an individual who sought to protect, release or comfort a prisoner or someone under threat. In Menotti’s “The Consul,” it {…}
It has been announced that Welsh National Opera Artistic Director David Pountney will receive the honor of knighthood for his services to opera. Pountney, whose hit production of “Katya Kabanova” at the 1972 Wexford Festival brought him international recognition, served as English National Opera’s Director of Productions and as a guest director at some of the foremost opera houses around {…}
The South Banks Sky Arts Awards has announced its nominations, which include productions by the Welsh National Opera, the Garsington Opera, and the English National Opera. The awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, July 7, 2019 at the Savoy Hotel. It will be aired on July 10, 2019 on Sky Arts and will be hosted by Melvyn Bragg. The {…}
British conductor Harry Ogg is set to join the 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. In a press statement, Ogg said, “I’m over the moon to be taking up this position with WNO. Having worked here on two {…}
(Photo: Bill Cooper) Having seen Graham Vick’s joyless production of “The Magic Flute” at last year’s Macerata Festival, which amounted to little more than a heavy-handed political rant, how refreshing and restorative it was to watch Welsh National Opera’s light, amusing and wholly positive production. Certainly, the work, probably more than most, is open to a variety of interpretations given {…}