- Adele Thomas makes WNO directorial debut in new production of Rigoletto
- WNO Music Director Tomáš Hanus conducts new production of Peter Grimes with role debuts for Nicky Spence and Dame Sarah Connolly
- WNO returns to Swansea with Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and the first in a new tour of Play Opera LIVE concerts
- WNO Youth Opera celebrates 20 years with a new bilingual production, Panig! Attack!!
- Natalya Romaniw returns to WNO in Il trittico
WNO’s 2024/2025 Season has been announced, which will feature two new productions, a celebration of WNO Youth Opera’s 20th anniversary, and a return for the Company to Swansea.
Rigoletto
Port Talbot-born opera and music theatre director Adele Thomas makes her WNO directorial debut in a new production of Verdi’s Rigoletto which will open WNO’s 2024/2025 Season.
Conductor Pietro Rizzo returns to conduct Verdi’s decadent tale of debauchery and deceit set in the ruthless court of the Duke of Mantua. This heart-wrenching tale explores the web of love, betrayal and the consequences of power. Verdi wrote that Rigoletto was his best opera, and this new production showcases a tapestry of emotions and unforgettable melodies, including The Duke’s aria La donna è mobile and one of opera’s most famous quartets Bella figlia dell'amore.
Designs for the production are created by European Opera Prize winner Annemarie Woods.
The cast includes Daniel Luis de Vicente who will sing the title role, with Leonardo Capalbo returning to WNO to sing The Duke. Also returning to WNO is Soraya Mafi who will sing Gilda.
Rigoletto will open in Cardiff on 21 September before touring to Llandudno, Plymouth, Oxford and Southampton.
There will be further performances of this new production in Cardiff and Bristol in February 2025.
Il trittico | Suor Angelica & Gianni Schicchi
Following its WNO premiere in Summer 2024, Puccini’s triptych of one-act operas Il trittico, returns to Cardiff’s Wales Millennium Centre in September alongside Rigoletto. This time the operas are conducted by Alexander Joel.
This new production, originally directed by Sir David McVicar, is a co-production with Scottish Opera.
New to the Autumn cast will be soprano Natalya Romaniw who returns to WNO’s main stage for the first time since Eugene Onegin (2017) to sing Sister Angelica (Suor Angelica) and Giorgetta (Il tabarro). Baritone Aluda Todua joins the Autumn cast to sing Michele (Il tabarro) and the title role in Gianni Schicchi. Welsh tenor Trystan Llŷr Griffiths also returns to WNO to sing Rinuccio (Gianni Schicchi) and Young Lover (Il tabarro). Also new to the cast for the performances in the Autumn are Anne Mason and Linda Richardson.
Two of the operas, Suor Angelica & Gianni Schicchi will tour as a double bill alongside Rigoletto to Llandudno, Plymouth and Southampton during October and November.
Audiences in Oxford will have the opportunity to enjoy a concert performance of the trio of operas in one night on 25 October.
Opera Favourites
WNO Orchestra and Chorus will again take centre-stage with the return of WNO’s Opera Favourites concert, Opera at the Movies. This time the concert features a new programme of popular arias and songs that feature in films including Pretty Woman, The Shawshank Redemption and Quantum of Solace. Opera Favourites will be performed in Cardiff, Llandudno, Plymouth and Southampton.
Viennese Tour
WNO Orchestra will ring in 2025 with another of their popular New Year concert tours. Favourite polkas and waltzes will take audiences on a musical trip to the Austrian capital in A Viennese Celebration led by Concertmaster David Adams.
National Opera Studio
Continuing WNO’s long-standing partnership with National Opera Studio’s Young Artists programme, audiences will have the opportunity of seeing today’s new talent for the operas of tomorrow in the Studio’s annual showcase in Wales Millennium Centre’s Donald Gordon Theatre accompanied by WNO Orchestra on 2 February.
The Marriage of Figaro
Director Max Hoehn will revive Tobias Richter’s colourful production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro which will open in Cardiff on 6 February and initially tour to Swansea and Bristol, marking WNO’s return to the operatic stage in Swansea for the first time in a decade. There will be further performances in Cardiff, Southampton, Birmingham, Milton Keynes, Llandudno and Plymouth between April and June.
The opening notes of the well-known overture set the musical scene for this classic opera full of love, laughter and mistaken identity. This production, which features designs by the late Ralph Koltai and costumes by Sue Blane, was created to be a feast for the eyes as well as the ears.
The Marriage of Figaro will be conducted by former WNO Associate Conductor, Kerem Hasan.
Austrian soprano, and winner of the 2014 Ferrier Award, Christina Gansch will make her WNO debut to sing Susanna, in what will also be a role debut for her. Christina represented Austria in the finals of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition in 2021. Former WNO Associate Artist Harriet Eyley will return to the Company to sing Cherubino, Giorgio Caoduro returns to sing Count Almaviva, and Michael Mofidian will sing the title role of opera’s eminent barber, Figaro.
Peter Grimes
Completing its 2024/2025 Season of operas, WNO will stage a new production of Peter Grimes. The production will be conducted by WNO Music Director Tomáš Hanus, his first Britten opera.
A tale of mystery, prejudice and tragedy set to a melodic score, this opera follows the story of fisherman Peter Grimes as he grapples with his inner demons when his coastal town community turn against him.
In his role debut, tenor Nicky Spence takes up the title role, making a much welcome return to WNO following performances in Autumn 2022’s The Makropulos Affair. The illustrious British mezzo soprano Dame Sarah Connolly will also make her role debut singing Auntie. The cast also includes a host of homegrown Welsh singers including David Kempster, Fflur Wyn, Jeffrey Lloyd Roberts and Sion Goronwy.
Peter Grimes opens in Cardiff on 5 April before touring to Southampton, Birmingham, Milton Keynes, Llandudno and Plymouth.
Summer Tour
Following the 2024/2025 opera programme, WNO Orchestra will again take to the road for their Summer Tour, under the baton of Tomáš Hanus. Further details and a full programme for this tour will be announced at a later date.
Outreach and Engagement
WNO’s regular Programmes and Engagement activity, including Wellness with WNO, Cradle Choir and Teach, will continue throughout the year. There will also be Schools Concerts in Cardiff and on tour during the Autumn.
- Play Opera LIVE opens in Swansea
WNO’s return to Swansea will also see the Grand Theatre hosting the opening performance of this year’s popular family show, Play Opera LIVE. Opening on St David’s Day (1 March), this is a fitting way for WNO to herald its stage return to the city of Swansea.
This interactive and educational family show is the perfect introduction to opera and classical music, and this time, the concerts will have a ‘magnificent music from stage and screen’ theme. Tom Redmond returns to present the show which will feature WNO Orchestra.
As always, there will be free fun activities delving into the world of opera in the foyer before the performances with costumes, face painting and props on offer.
Following the performance in Swansea, further performances will take place in Cardiff, Southampton, Llandudno and Plymouth between April and June.
- WNO Youth Opera celebrates 20 years in the Seligman Youth Opera Performance
WNO’s award-winning Youth Opera, which provides opportunities for young people aged 10-25 will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2025 with a new feel-good production bringing together members past and present to perform alongside WNO Orchestra. This brand-new commission for this year’s Seligman Youth Opera Performance will firmly put the spotlight on the Youth Opera, showcasing the exceptional talent of WNO’s young singers and alumni over the last two decades, and celebrating everything that makes this programme so special.
This new production, Panig! Attack!! will be composed by WNO Youth Opera Music Director Dan Perkin, with a bilingual (Welsh and English) libretto by Bethan Marlow. The libretto will also include British Sign Language. Orchestration for the production is by Owain Llwyd.
Performances will take place at the New Theatre, Cardiff at 2.30pm and 7.30pm on Saturday 26 April.
- The Marriage of Figaro Cwta | In Short
Following a successful pilot during the 2023/2024 Season, Cwta | In Short will return for 2024/2025 with a condensed version of The Marriage of Figaro. Cwta | In Short offers an abridged version of classic operas, aimed at encouraging newcomers to the art form.
The free performances will be offered for dates in April and May to school groups and music service groups in Cardiff, Llandudno, Southampton, Birmingham and Milton Keynes.
WNO Interim General Director Christopher Barron said:
‘Our 2024/2025 Season includes many highlights, bookended by two new productions. We will be welcoming Welsh director Adele Thomas who will be joining WNO for the first time to direct a new production of Rigoletto and are looking forward to staging a new production of Peter Grimes with a stellar cast of singers. As ever, our Orchestra and Chorus will continue to shine in our productions as well as their concert work throughout the year.
‘Having watched WNO at the Grand Theatre many times myself during my university days in Swansea, I am delighted that we will be returning as a Company to Swansea with our much-loved production of The Marriage of Figaro along with our family show Play Opera LIVE.
‘We will also have the opportunity to shine a spotlight on young talent through the celebrations of WNO Youth Opera’s 20th anniversary in their brand-new bilingual production. This award-winning programme has gone from strength to strength and continues to provide exceptional opportunities for young singers. Look no further than singer Natalya Romaniw for evidence of this; a former WNO Youth Opera member whose star continues to soar and who will return to sing on the WNO main stage in Il trittico during the Autumn.’
ENDS
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 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 operative 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
Further information on WNO’s productions can be found at wno.org.uk
- Leading production support from the Colwinston Charitable Trust
- The role of WNO Music Director Tomáš Hanus is supported by Marian and Gordon Pell
- 2024/2025 Productions are supported by Dunard Fund
- Peter Grimes is supported by WNO Britten Group
- The Marriage of Figaro is a co-production with Grand Théâtre de Genève and is supported by WNO Partners
- Il trittico is a co-production with Scottish Opera
- The Youth Opera 20th anniversary production is 'The Seligman Youth Opera Performance'
- WNO Teach is supported by the Garfield Weston Foundation.
For more information, photos or interviews please contact:
Christina Blakeman, Press Manager
Rhys Edwards, Communications Manager
Sophie Revell, Press and Communications Assistant
Penny James and Rachel Bowyer, Head of Communications (job-share)
