Announcing Principal Support from the Colwinston Charitable Trust

Established in 1995, by its Founder and Chairman, Mathew Prichard CBE, The Colwinston Charitable Trust, has donated royalties from The Mousetrap – an iconic murder mystery written by Mathew’s grandmother Agatha Christie – to support over 180 organisations across the UK.

To celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the Trust and more than 30,000 performances of The Mousetrap since the play opened on 8 June 1952, the Trust launched a special 30th Anniversary Fund to celebrate creative expression and the art of storytelling, be it through music, opera, performance, visual arts, exhibitions, or the written word.

Welsh National Opera is delighted to receive a grant from the Fund towards our new commission of Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman. Reimagined by Welsh Director Jack Furness, with design by Elin Steele, the piece blends the rugged beauty of the Welsh coastline with the power of Wagner’s iconic score. This new production opens on 16 April at Wales Millennium Centre before touring to Plymouth, Birmingham and Milton Keynes and will be conducted by WNO Music Director Tomáš Hanus in his last opera for the Company as Music Director.

Adele Thomas and Sarah Crabtree, Co-General Directors and Chief Executive Officers of Welsh National Opera said:

‘It is our extraordinary privilege to bring together our wonderful Music Director, Tomâš Hanus with a brilliant young Welsh team, led by Jack Furness making his main stage WNO debut, alongside Elin Steele whose beautiful designs are inspired by the wildness and epic beauty of the Welsh coast. This striking new commission was made possible thanks to a grant from Colwinston Charitable Trust 30th Anniversary Fund and we would like to thank the Trust for being a vital partner in our ambition to bring high-quality, radical and accessible opera, inspired by Welsh culture to the stage for audiences to enjoy.’

Mathew Prichard CBE, Chair, Colwinston Charitable Trust ‘The Colwinston Trust is delighted to celebrate 30 years of working with many high-quality arts organisations across the UK by awarding a special Anniversary Grant to Welsh National Opera to support their production of The Flying Dutchman during their 80th Anniversary year.