Welsh National Opera Showcase Young Talent in Productions at Wales Millennium Centre
11 May 2022- WNO Youth Opera (10-18 years) to perform creepy, comic opera The Black Spider at the Weston Studio in May.
- Members of WNO Youth Opera (10-14 years) to play a significant part in ground-breaking new opera, Migrations, as part of WNO’s Summer Season at the Centre.
- WNO Youth Opera (18-25 years) to perform Shostakovich’s Cherry Town, Moscow directed by Daisy Evans on the Donald Gordon Stage, in the Autumn.
- WNO Youth Opera offers professional industry placements to develop skills on and off stage for singers, directors and animation students.
Welsh National Opera’s Summer and Autumn Seasons will showcase the talent of the Company’s award-winning Youth Opera in productions over the coming months.
Whilst offering audiences exceptional entertainment by emerging talent, the young people of WNO’s Youth Opera are gaining a fully professional and unique training experience working with WNO’s Orchestra, designers, stage managers and technicians, helping develop and support their professional skills. The aspiring singers also receive mentoring and guidance from top industry professionals.
The Black Spider
WNO Youth Opera (10-18 years) will perform the creepy, comic opera, The Black Spider, written by composer Judith Weir, at the Weston Studio, Wales Millennium Centre. The production will be performed by a company of 50 singers aged 10 to 18, reuniting for their first live production since Brundibár in 2019.
The full-scale ‘Hammer Horror’ inspired production, directed by Rhian Hutchings and conducted by Dan Perkin, explores a mysterious curse, a deadly virus, and a wicked arachnid based on Jeremias Gotthelf’s dark medieval tale Die Schwarze Spinn. Judith Weir created The Black Spider specifically for young people, combining, history, horror and comedy with the aim of showcasing their acting and singing skills, providing a unique piece for WNO’s Youth Opera to perform and audiences to enjoy.
Working in collaboration with local universities to promote and encourage local talent, the production will also include two opera students from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. To nurture young talent off-stage, a Youth Opera Alumnus will take the role of Assistant Director and animated projections for the set will be created by 20 students at University South Wales on the BA Animation course.
A pre-performance talk prior to the Saturday evening performance will be hosted by Composer Judith Weir, Director Rhian Hutchings and Cardiff University Lecturer Dr David Beard.
Migrations
Migrations is a ground-breaking new opera which will receive its World Premiere in WNO’s Summer Season with further performances in the Autumn. Composed by Will Todd and directed by Sir David Pountney, the opera will feature the forces of WNO’s Orchestra and Chorus combined with The Renewal Gospel Choir, Bollywood dancers and traditional Indian musicians to create a unique opera experience.
Members of WNO Youth Opera (10-14) will perform as part of the Children’s Chorus featuring in Birds, which is one of six stories of migrations created for the opera. Written by Eric Ngalle Charles, this story explores their natural process of migrations.
Cherry Town, Moscow
As part of WNO’s Autumn Season, Youth Opera (18-25 years) will present a modern production of Shostakovich’s Cheryomushki, on the main stage of the Donald Gordon Theatre. Renamed Cherry Town, Moscow for the new production, the satirical, light-hearted operetta focuses on the housing shortage and the challenge of securing habitable conditions in 1950s Soviet Russia.
Daisy Evans returns to WNO to direct, following the huge success of 2019’s Don Pasquale. Mary King joins the production as vocal specialist and Alice Farnham returns as Music Director following the critically acclaimed Youth Opera productions Paul Bunyan and Kommilitonen!
RWCMD Student and current WNO Youth Opera member, Mica Smith said: ‘I'm so delighted to be playing Count Heinrich in the forthcoming performances of The Black Spider and Drebednyov in the autumn production of Cherry Town, Moscow. Working with WNO Youth Opera has enabled me to gain invaluable insight and experience into becoming a professional performer. It's especially exciting for me as these will be my first Principal roles with WNO Youth Opera since identifying as non-binary. Everyone has been incredibly supportive and welcoming about using my preferred pronouns (they/them) and chosen name of Mica, making the rehearsal space feel safe and a place where difference is not only accepted but valued. I feel truly honoured to be involved with such an incredible company.’
WNO Youth Opera Alumni
WNO Youth Opera has produced many opera singers and industry professionals of the future and developed a reputation for producing exceptional theatre, regularly earning 5* reviews from national press and winning the prestigious RPS Award for its production of Paul Bunyan in 2013.
Many WNO Youth Opera alumni, including Natalya Romaniw (ENO), Samantha Price (ROH) and Jordan Lee Davies (The Book of Mormon UK Tour), are currently working in Opera and Musical Theatre companies across the UK and beyond. Off-stage, numerous alumni work full time as technicians, stage managers and arts administrators.
WNO Youth Opera offers a sociable and supportive environment where everyone is welcome. People of all backgrounds are encouraged to join the group, there is no audition needed to participate and bursary support is available
WNO Youth Opera Producer, Paula Scott said: ‘WNO Youth Opera was established in the mid-1990’s as a way for the Company to share its love of opera with aspiring young singers. It is an award-winning training programme for young people, aged from 10 – 25 years, who love to sing and perform. Our aim is to open up a world of new experiences and opportunities, which are fun and exciting – where participants gain an insight into working with a professional Opera company and learn about the many different career paths, on and off stage, whilst developing life skills, increasing self-confidence and making new friends.’
Welsh National Youth Opera is just one strand of WNO’s talent development programme to nurture opera talent for the future. WNO’s Associate Artist programme provides the opportunity for recent graduates who have specialised in any strand of performance or vocal studies to develop their performance skills and career within an opera company. Former Associate Artists include Harriet Eyley, Rebecca Afonwy Jones, and Wynne Evans.
More information about joining WNO Youth Opera in the future is available to view on the WNO website, including timings, locations and contact details. Tickets for all productions are now on sale. For more information, visit wno.org.uk
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 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 www.wno.org.uk/press
- WNO’s new productions and new commissions are supported by the John Ellerman Foundation.
- Migrations is supported by John Ellerman Foundation, ABP, John S Cohen Foundation, WNO New Commissions Syndicate. The production is dedicated to the memory of Anthony Bunker.
- Cherry Town, Moscow is dedicated to the memory of Philippa and David Seligman.
- Cherry Town, Moscow is supported by ABP and the Unity Theatre Trust.
- WNO Youth Opera is supported by Gibbs Charitable Trust, WNO Partners, Paul and Marie Carson, the Boris Karloff Charitable Foundation, Mr & Mrs John & Maggie Hayes & The Seligman Gift.
- WNO’s talent development is supported by the Bateman Family Charitable Trust and the Kirby Laing Foundation.
- The Black Spider is dedicated to the memory of David and Philippa Seligman.
- The Black Spider is supported by ABP and The Boris Karloff Charitable Foundation.
For more information, photos or interviews please contact:
Christina Blakeman, Press Officer
Giselle Dugdale, Press Administrator
