Press

Welsh National Opera’s Youth Opera brings creepy, comic horror to Memo Arts Centre, Barry

5 March 2020

WNO Youth Opera’s new production is a creepy, comic tale from the writer and composer Judith Weir, performing at Memo Arts Centre, Barry this April.

Following their success with Brundibár in 2019, WNO Youth Opera return with The Black Spider, a full-scale ‘Hammer Horror’ inspired production, directed by Rhian Hutchings with Dan Perkin conducting.

This renowned training programme is for any young person from the age of 10 to 25 who loves to sing. No prior experience is necessary; just energy, enthusiasm, commitment and willingness to work with other young people. As well as last year’s Brundibár, past successes include the ‘vivid and stirring’ Kommilitonen! (The Guardian *****) and the RPS award-winning production of Paul Bunyan.

The Black Spider was specifically written for young singers by The Queen’s Master of Music Judith Weir and explores mysterious curses, deadly viruses and, of course, an evil arachnid.  It entwines Jeremias Gotthelf’s dark medieval tale Die Schwarze Spinne, with a documentary-style story which follows the peculiar and true events that occurred after the unearthing of Casimir IV’s tomb in 1973.  This new production will be performed by a company of almost 100 Youth Opera singers aged between 10 and 18 who will bring these two tales to the stage.

A group of villagers oppressed by a wicked Count are set an impossible task, until a mysterious Green Huntsman appears and offers a solution to young villager Christina. Despite being engaged to another, Christina bargains for her village by promising to marry the Huntsman, but when she doesn’t uphold her end of the agreement – the emergence of a vicious black spider threatens all of their lives. Meanwhile in present day, a documentary is being made about the discovery of Casimir IV’s tomb and the horrific plague that emerged from within…

Writer and Composer Judith Weir said: “The Black Spider is an opera written for young people to perform. It merges a folk story from Switzerland with a news report from Poland. It combines mystery, history, science, horror and comedy, and asks for skilled singing and acting. It is exciting news to me that young performers under the leadership of one of the world’s great opera companies, WNO, are going to stage The Black Spider in Barry, and I wish everyone - performers and listeners - an exciting evening.”

Musical Director and Conductor Dan Perkin said: “It has been a great pleasure to work with Youth Opera over the past fifteen years. Formerly WNO Singing Club, and starting with only seven participants, it has grown into a wonderful group of up to 110 young people who share in the joy that music and theatre can bring. We’ve commissioned new work, been on tour, visited Buckingham Palace and even broadcast live on BBC Radio 3. It has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience to tackle this wonderful piece and to give it the full operatic treatment it deserves.”

The opera will be performed at Memo Arts Centre, Barry on Saturday 4 April at 5pm with two additional performances – a matinee (2pm) and evening showing (5pm) - on Sunday 5 April. The performance will last approximately one hour.

Tickets for these performances are now on sale and can be purchased from the Barry Memo Arts Centre Box Office (01446 738622) or online via https://wno.org.uk/whats-on/the-black-spider-judith-weir

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 http://www.wno.org.uk/press
  • WNO’s Youth, Community and Digital activity is generously supported by the Garfield Weston Foundation and Andrew Fletcher OBE. 
  • WNO Youth Opera is supported by Gibbs Charitable Trust, WNO Partners, Paul and Marie Carson & The Seligman Gift
  • WNO receives significant support from the Hodge Foundation to specifically support our extensive schools programme in Wales. We are delighted to welcome new singers to WNO Youth Opera  as a result of this successful programme of work.