In a Conservative Rally in Bedford in 1957, the new Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan declared that Britons had ‘never had it so good’, and in our new production, Blaze of Glory!, a number of our characters truly did have a wonderful year. Inspired by the historical events in our new opera, we had a look back at the world in 1957, to see what other events occurred.
Globally, 1957 saw the acceleration of the space race between the United States of America and the Soviet Union. Taking the faster strides towards escaping the Earth’s atmosphere, the Soviet Union successfully sent Sputnik I into space to become the first manmade satellite in orbit. Shortly after, the dog Laika was successfully sent into space aboard the Sputnik II to become the first animal to orbit the planet.
Closer to solid ground, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim’s musical West Side Story received its Broadway premiere in September 1957. The reimagining of Shakespeare’s timeless tale of love, Romeo and Juliet, put the young lovers on opposite side of gang and ethnic divides in the Upper West Side of New York City in the 1950’s. West Side Story has gone on to enjoy exceptional popularity, both on stage and for the 1961 film adaptation.
Only the year before, in 1956, Bernstein’s comic operetta Candide had premiered on Broadway. WNO’s production of Candide will be performed in the Summer of 2023 in venues across Wales and England.
Coming from America to Wales did prove to be difficult to some in 1957, as Paul Robeson’s passport was seized during a period of McCarthy-ism in the United States. Robeson, who had played the hero in the 1940 film set in Wales, The Proud Valley, and had performed in Wales a number of times, managed to contact the Miners’ Eisteddfod at Porthcawl’s Grand Pavilion and deliver a performance across the transatlantic telephone cable. The address is featured in Welsh National Opera’s new production, Blaze of Glory!
Wales was also embroiled in its own political turmoil at the time, as the Westminster government voted the Tryweryn Bill into law. This bill gave Liverpool permission to build a reservoir in the Tryweryn valley, flooding the village of Capel Celyn in the process. During the vote in Parliament, 35 of the 36 Welsh representatives voted against the bill, and one abstained. Due to the backlash to these decisions, Wales got its own minister of state in the Westminster government for the first time.
Set in 1957, WNO’s new production, Blaze of Glory!explores life in a South Wales town, as following disaster and impending closure, the miner’s band together to form a Glee club to restore the community to its former self. Blaze of Glory! tours to Milton Keynes, Bristol, Birmingham and Southampton this Spring.