Throughout 2024, Welsh National Opera have had the opportunity to bring our audiences some wonderful moments, both on and off stage including award-winning new productions, captivating concerts and important work within our communities. Despite facing difficulties, WNO have had a year that’s truly worth celebrating, so join us in our yearly reflection of our top hits both on and off the stage.
Our Spring 2024 Season saw the very first performance in Wales of Britten’s Death in Veniceand a new school-set production of Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte. Both operas were roaring successes, with Death in Venice excelling this awards season, proudly bringing home the Sky Arts Award for Opera and they wowing audiences with acrobatic delights across our touring venues in England and Wales.
This Autumn 2024 Season shone with gems in the Italian operatic repertoire, seeing our soon to be Co-General Director and CEO Adele Thomas’ production of Rigolettoplacing a fresh perspective on Verdi’s timeless masterpiece, and Puccini’s rarely performed triptych Il trittico reunited on stage in the Wales Millenium Centre.
This year was also jam packed with orchestral offerings. January saw our Viennese celebration, a concert to kick off 2024 in style with a repertoire of waltzes, polkas and classics performed by WNO Orchestra. As the summer started to sizzle, WNO Orchestra took Crossing Borders, an inspiring musical journey through the rich musical tapestry of Central Europe, across England and Wales. We also saw Nicky Spence, Tenor and star of our upcoming production of Peter Grimes and WNO Conductor Laureate Carlo Rizzi in concert with WNO Orchestra in the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Our WNO Chorus kicked the festive season off in style as they joined forces with singers from the RWCMD to bring a festive delight to Cardiff Tabernacl to celebrated A Chorus Christmas.
This year also saw the Seligman Youth Theatre Performance of The Very Last Green Thing | Soloman’s Ring which gave young singers aged 10-18 a chance to perform to an audience of over 500 people in the Weston Studio, Wales Millenium Centre.
Off stage, we have continued to deliver our work in communities across a variety of projects. These have included WNO Teach, which introduces primary school children in South Wales to opera and singing, Wellness with WNO, our breathing and singing programme that is delivered in partnership with all seven Welsh health boards, and Opera Tutti, an immersive multi-sensory concert designed for children and young people with profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD).
Finally our talent development programmes saw us gain three new Associated Artists, giving recent graduates the opportunity to develop their performance skills and career, and our National Opera Studio Showcase offered an intensive and bespoke training programme for the next generation of operatic talent.
As we head into 2025, why not make WNO one of your new years resolutions? 2025 has kicked off with a bang, and is set to be another year of celebration, including our spectacular new production of Britten’s Peter Grimes, and the return of our beloved period-set production of The Marriage of Figaro.
