As Welsh National Opera embarks on its Spring Season tour, the new series of WNO’s Podcast explores the lives of singers, musicians and backstage staff whilst touring throughout the UK and internationally.
Comedian and opera enthusiast Lorna Prichard returns to host both The O Word and Welsh language series Ciplowg and is joined by a range of guests including internationally renowned sopranos Alexia Voulgaridou and Elin Prichard, and a variety of unsung heroes working behind-the-scenes in lighting, costume and technical departments.
We caught up with some of the guests to find out more about what life is like on the road with WNO.
Julian Boyce is a member of WNO Chorus.
Julian, what do you like most about touring with WNO?
I’m really lucky that I get to bring a big piece of home with me when I head out on tour with the Company. I met my husband at Welsh National Opera - he’s also a member of the WNO Chorus, so we’re really fortunate that we get to go on tour together. Our touring life is a lot different now from early on in our careers as wherever we are in the country, or even the world, we’re usually staying somewhere that we can all be together as a family.
Bethan Kelly and Stevie Haynes-Gould are WNO’s Touring Wardrobe Assistants.
Bethan and Stevie, what are some of the challenges you face whilst on tour?
Stevie: The nature of our job can be very physically demanding. We can have three different ‘get-ins’ and ‘get-outs’ during a single week, just to turn around the repertoire at each venue. Outside of all the costume preparation, we are also required to assist during the performances themselves in the wings. For example, in Don Giovanni, the demon costumes are unique in shape, so must be kept side-stage, which means each member of the male chorus requires an individual dresser.
Bethan: A few years ago, we were working on Macbeth at the New Theatre in Oxford. At the time, I was wearing my FitBit watch whilst carrying costumes between the stage and the dressing rooms and from just one performance, my FitBit had calculated I had walked ten miles up and down the stairs. So, we do find ourselves having to adapt to new settings quite quickly, but it’s a great challenge.
Ian Douglas is WNO’s long-serving Company Manager and has worked with the company for over forty years.
Ian, you have a lot of responsibility for WNO whilst on tour. Can you recall any times that were particularly stressful whilst touring with the company?
A lot of my job is dealing with emergencies. There was a performance of Carmen in Birmingham, starring Jeffrey Lawton as Don Jose. It was just before the Flower Song when he fell over and broke his elbow. So, we called out to the audience to see if there was a doctor in the house - and six came forward! I said to one of them, could you give him some painkillers just to get him through the performance? And he said, ‘if we give him a shot to kill that pain, he’ll be out for a week’. It’s at times like that when the stress levels really do go through the roof.
WNO on Tour will be available weekly from Tuesday 22 March via Spotify, Apple and Google Podcasts, and via the WNO website.