Welsh National Opera has announced its plans for the 2025-26 season, which will be its 80th anniversary.
The overall shape of its performance schedule is similar to the hastily truncated one of the current season, which had to be cut back when Arts Council Wales and Arts Council England both reduced support for the company a year ago (by 11.8% by ACW and 35% by ACE).
In 2025-26 there will be more work with schools, concerts of opera highlights and family shows, while staged opera performances are to total 26, as against 33 in the current programme.
Venue Cymru in Llandudno will see the company on stage for three days in October this year, with a schools concert, a Night at the Opera, and one performance each of Bernstein’s Candide and Puccini’s Tosca – the former a revival of WNO’s 2023 production with Soraya Mafi as Cunegonde, and the other a WNO version of Edward Dick’s, created for Opera North in 2018, with Natalya Romaniw in the lead role, Andres Presno as Cavaradossi, and Hungarian conductor Gergely Madaras.
The spring schedule – not including Llandudno – is to be built around a new production of The Flying Dutchman (five performances), directed by Jack Furness and conducted by WNO music director Tomas Hanus (casting to be announced), and a revival of 2023’s Blaze of Glory! - Caroline Clegg’s production of a story by Emma Jenkins and composer David Hackbridge Johnson, depicting Welsh miners on a quest to reform their male voice choir after a pit disaster (eight performances). The latter’s cast includes Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts, Rebecca Evans, Themba Mvula and Feargal Mostyn-Williams, and features local male voice choirs prior to each performance.
More info and tickets here