A colourful spectacle of music, dance and poetry at Welsh National Opera this Autumn
19 July 2023- Welsh premiere of Ainadamar (Osvaldo Golijov) directed by internationally acclaimed choreographer Deborah Colker, and starring Cardiff Singer of the World 2023 Audience Prize winner Julieth Lozano Rolong
- Alexander Joel returns to WNO to conduct Sir David McVicar’s acclaimed production of La traviata (Verdi), starring Stacey Alleaume
- Launch of new Cwta | Compact performance series with La traviata
- WNO Orchestra to perform Brahms’s First Symphony and Strauss’s Four Last Songs with soprano Chen Reiss at St David’s Hall
- Play Opera LIVE family concert returns with space theme for extended tour
Ainadamar
Flamenco and poetry meet opera as Welsh National Opera’s Autumn Season opens with the Welsh premiere of Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar. A co-production with Opera Ventures, Scottish Opera. Detroit Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera, the UK stage premiere was delivered by Scottish Opera in Autumn 2022 to wide critical acclaim. Sung in Spanish – a first for WNO - the twice-Grammy winning work reimagines the life of Spanish poet and playwright Federico García Lorca as an artistic martyr through a flashback of memories by his muse and collaborator, the actress Margarita Xirgu.
In the director’s chair is internationally renowned and Olivier award-winning Brazilian choreographer Deborah Colker (Rio 2016 Olympics, Cirque du Soleil) whose approach promises a colourful spectacle of music, dance, and theatre. Ainadamar combines classical opera and traditional flamenco to tell Lorca’s story.
Matthew Kofi Waldren returns to WNO to conduct Ainadamar, following a triumphant run of Migrations with the Company in Summer and Autumn 2022. Led by a trio of female voices, the international cast includes Argentinian soprano Jaquelina Livieri (Margarita Xirgu) and Polish mezzo-soprano Hanna Hipp (Federico García Lorca).
Joining the two are the rising star, Colombian soprano Julieth Lozano Rolong (Nuria), who has recently been crowned Cardiff Singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa Audience Prize winner, as well as Andalucian flamenco singer Alfredo Tejada (Ruiz Alonso). The cast also includes Annie Reilly (Niña 1) and WNO’s new Associate Artist Beca Davies (Niña 2).
Ainadamar opens at Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff on 9 September before touring to Llandudno (10 October), Bristol (17 October), Plymouth (31 October), Birmingham (7 November), Milton Keynes (16 November), and Southampton (22 November).
La traviata Sir David McVicar’s acclaimed production of Verdi’s much-loved opera La traviata returns to WNO with Sarah Crisp directing. Based on Alexandre Dumas fils’ novel, La Dame aux Camélias, the story is a classic tale of thwarted love, scandal and self-sacrifice.
Conducted by Alexander Joel, the production will feature Australian-Mauritian soprano Stacey Alleaume making her WNO debut as the elegant courtesan Violetta Valéry who faces the choice of giving up her glamorous lifestyle for true love with the penniless aristocratic poet Alfredo Germont played by Korean tenor David Junghoon Kim. Also joining the cast is American bass-baritone Mark S Doss, returning to WNO to sing the role of Giorgio Germont, Alfredo’s father.
La traviata opens in Cardiff on 21 September before touring to Llandudno (12 & 14 October), Bristol (19 & 21 October), Plymouth (2 & 4 November), Birmingham (9 & 11 November), Milton Keynes (18 November) and Southampton (24 & 25 November).
WNO Orchestra
As part of the Cardiff Classical Series at St David’s Hall Cardiff, WNO Orchestra will perform a concert with the theme of Love and Loss on 29 October under the baton of WNO Music Director Tomáš Hanus. Exploring romantic melodies and the highs and lows of love and sacrifice, the programme will feature Brahms’s sublime First Symphony, alongside Tchaikovsky’s overture-fantasy Romeo and Juliet, and Richard Strauss’s masterful Four Last Songs, sung by Israeli soprano Chen Reiss.
Play Opera LIVE
WNO will continue with its much-loved concert series for families, Play Opera LIVE, blasting off with a space-themed show presented by Tom Redmond. The concert will provide a fresh take on opera and classical music, including orchestral playing, song and performance. Free foyer activities will be available before each performance. Opening in Cardiff on 30 September, Play Opera LIVE then tours to Llandudno (14 October), Bristol (21 October), Plymouth (4 November), Birmingham (11 November) and Southampton (25 November) along with the main tour. This will be the first time for Play Opera LIVE to visit Bristol.
Programmes and Engagement activity
Alongside the concert activity which will support the main opera tours, WNO will continue with a varied programme of community and engagement activity. Cradle Choir WNO will be piloting a new Cradle Choir this Autumn in Llanelli running an initial series of 8 hour-long weekly sessions starting on 19 September. Cradle Choir supports those with dementia, their carers and families through the joy of community singing at inclusive sessions where daily challenges and cares can be left at the door. WNO have partnered with Carmarthenshire Theatres and specifically Ffwrnes where the choir will be based. This new location joins the two other choirs already operating in Milford Haven and Llandeilo.
La traviata Cwta | Compact WNO’s Cwta | Compact pilot performance series will begin this Autumn with a condensed version of La traviata. This project offers an abridged version of classic operas with the aim to encourage newcomers to the art form. Initially launching in Cardiff, these performances will be open to schools for pupils aged 11-14. The Company will then take Cwta | Compact on the road to two of WNO’s regular touring venues, Llandudno and Plymouth, where performances will be complemented by a wraparound Discovery programme of creative workshops for selected school groups. This project aims to link WNO’s full-scale touring productions and its wider engagement programme.
Clwb Canu Over the Summer, WNO will launch a new bilingual singing group at Galeri in Caernarfon, North Wales where young people aged 7-12 can have fun through singing. The four-week project will be led by baritone and vocal tutor Caleb Rhys and Scott Howarth and will provide a space where youngsters can learn basic vocal techniques while meeting new friends. This pilot scheme will then continue into the Autumn term with new dates to be added.
WNO General Director Aidan Lang said:
“We are very excited to open this Autumn season with the hugely anticipated Welsh premiere of Osvaldo Golojov’s Ainadamar. This will be the first time that audiences in Wales and England will get to see this production, which combines opera with Latin music, flamenco, dance and poetry, and promises to be a true spectacle. Ainadamar offers our audiences something completely different to what they may have previously experienced. Alongside this new production, the Company will be performing the well-loved production of La traviata by Sir David McVicar, under the baton of Alexander Joel. We are delighted to feature the UK debut of the exciting Australian-Mauritian soprano Stacey Alleaume in the title role.”
“Lots of exciting new projects are launching in our Autumn season through the great work of our Programmes and Engagement team, including our new Cwt | Compact performances. This project is a way of introducing the world of opera and classical music to those who may not have experienced it before, by presenting the opera in an abridged form.”
ENDS
wno.org.uk
Notes to Editors
Welsh National Opera is the national opera company for Wales, funded by the Arts Councils of Wales and England to provide large scale opera, concerts and outreach work across Wales and to major cities in the English regions. We endeavour to provide transformative experiences through our education and outreach programme and our award-winning digital projects. We work with our partners to discover and nurture young operatic talent, and we aim to show future generations that opera is a rewarding, relevant and universal art form with the power to affect and inspire.
WNO production images are available for download at wno.org.uk/press
- Leading production support from Colwinston Charitable Trust.
- WNO’s new productions and new commissions are supported by the John Ellerman Foundation.
- Ainadamar is a co-production with Opera Ventures, Scottish Opera, Detroit Opera and The Metropolitan Opera. Lead support for Ainadamar from Enrique Sacau and Ditlev Rindom and Sheila and Richard Brooks with additional from WNO Donors.
- La traviata is a co-production with Scottish Opera, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona and Teatro Real, Madrid.
- WNO’s Talent Development Programme is supported by the Kirby Laing Foundation and the Bateman Family Charitable Trust.
- Wellness with WNO is supported by Arts Council of Wales via the Arts, Health and Wellbeing Lottery Fund.
- WNO Teach is supported by the Garfield Weston Foundation.
- WNO Associate Artists are supported by Garrick Charitable Trust, Stanley Picker Trust, Shirley & Rolf Olsen Bursary, Sheila and Richard Brooks Bursary, Chris Ball Bursary and Joseph Strong Fazer Trust.
For more information, photos or interviews please contact:
Christina Blakeman, Press Manager
Rhys Edwards, Communications Manager
Penny James & Rachel Bowyer, Head of Communications (job-share)
