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Behind the scenes of Rhondda Rips It Up! with librettist Emma Jenkins

1 June 2018

Would you like to know more about the background to our production of Rhondda Rips It Up!? Librettist Emma Jenkins has written a fascinating blog which starts by looking back at the early concept for the show and follows its progress all the way into the rehearsal room.

Emma’s story begins with the commissioning of the work, and looks at how she went about researching the history and the incredible, largely unknown, story of Margaret Haig Thomas.

Along the way, she discovers some fantastic facts and photos and receives testimonies from family and contemporaries of Margaret which give a unique interpretation of the suffragette as a woman, entrepreneur and activist.

There are also really interesting insights into the way the production has come together and the way that Emma as librettist and Elena Langer as composer have come together to create a brand new production which cuts across genres of music including opera, operetta, music hall, cabaret and musical comedy.

If you want to know more about Rhondda Rips It Up! specifically, or just find out about how a brand new work starts to take shape, this is a great opportunity to explore behind the scenes.

Emma Jenkins co-wrote the libretto for WNO’s In Parenthesis performed in 2016 and Elena Langer composed Figaro Gets A Divorce which premiered in Cardiff in the same year.