Welsh director Jack Furness makes his WNO debut to direct a contemporary reimagining of Wagner’s early masterpiece, which will be conducted by WNO Music Director Tomáš Hanus.
Inspired by the beauty of the Welsh coast, Welsh designer Elin Steele’s sleek pared-back designs allow the focus on the storytelling and performance.
Bass-baritone Simon Bailey returns to WNO in the role as The Dutchman with soprano Emma Bell making her role debut as Senta. After performing in WNO’s Summer 2024 production of Il tabarro, tenor Leonardo Caimi returns in the role of Erik. Also returning is Welsh tenor Trystan Llŷr Griffiths in the role of The Steersman, completing the cast are bass James Creswell as Daland and Monika Sawa as Mary.
Director of The Flying Dutchman Jack Furness said: “Growing up in Cardiff, WNO was the Company that first introduced me to opera. I have too many wonderful artistic memories to share, but I vividly remember being transfixed watching Yannis Kokkos’ production of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde in 2006, it cut 18-year-old me to pieces. Richard Jones’ Die Meistersinger a few years later was a similarly formative experience. So, it’s hard to put into words what it means to be returning twenty years later to make my directing debut for my home company with another aching beautiful and existential Wagner opera, The Flying Dutchman.
“I’m so excited to be working with Emma Bell playing the role of Senta. Just after I left University, I got the opportunity to observe a revival of Graham Vick’s Die Meistersinger at the Royal Opera. The whole experience blew my mind, and Emma was amazing in the role of Eva. Now here we are, collaborating, along with a fantastic cast.
“I’m also particularly happy to be working with such a brilliant team of creative artists. Elin Steele, Lizzie Powell, Rebecca Meltzer and I hope to make a show which gives a stripped-back focus on the deep human drama of Wagner’s opera and allows its transcendent music to do its work on the audience.
The exceptional work of WNO has been a constant presence in my musical and dramatic life, and to play a part in the next chapter of the company, with its amazing Chorus and Orchestra, is a bucket list moment.’
The Flying Dutchman will open in Cardiff on Thursday 16 April before touring to Plymouth, Birmingham and Milton Keynes.
Blaze of Glory!
Welsh National Opera’s Spring Season opens with the return of Blaze of Glory! The story follows a group of Welsh miners as they embark on a musical journey to reform their male voice choir after a local mining disaster.
Composed by David Hackbridge Johnson, and with a libretto by Emma Jenkins, this uplifting show combines traditional Welsh harmonies with the a capella sounds of the 1950s, with operetta, gospel and big band added into the mix.
Caroline Clegg returns to direct, with James Southall conducting. Many of the original cast will return, including Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts as the Chorus Master Dafydd Pugh, Rebecca Evans as Nerys Price, Mark Llewelyn Evans as Caradog Probert, Themba Mvula as Anthony, Adam Gilbert as Emlyn and Feargal Mostyn-Williams as Bryn Bevan. Joining the cast as Blodwen is Lea Shaw who will sing alongside Angharad Morgan as Bronwen and Angharad Lyddon as Branwen.
Blaze of Glory! will open in Cardiff on Wednesday 1 April before touring to Plymouth, Birmingham, Milton Keynes and Swansea.
Play Opera LIVE!
Welsh National Opera’s family show Play Opera LIVE! returns to our stages with a new theme, Shipwrecked! Brought to life by WNO Orchestra and Chorus, with presenter Tom Redmond returning to steer the ship, this interactive and educational show introduces families to the world of classical music and opera.
Featuring swashbuckling music from Wagner, Verdi, Puccini, and many more, this show will take audiences through a journey of music, drama and wild, uncharted seas. Caroline Clegg returns as director with Tom Fetherstonhaugh conducting. In Cardiff, Julie Doyle will provide integrated BSL interpretation in collaboration with innovative, accessible theatre specialists Taking Flight Theatre, who recently worked with WNO Youth Opera’s on their 20th anniversary production Panig! Attack!!.
Before each show there will be free pre-performance activities at each venue including lighting and sound stations, prop making, exploring WNO’s costumes and a treasure hunt, alongside new interactive workshops and performances.
The workshops will showcase local talent and youth arts groups in each touring venue. For Cardiff, there will be performances from WNO’s Youth Opera, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama students and local sea shanty band Bois y Bryn.
Play Opera LIVE! will open in Cardiff on Saturday 18 April before touring to Plymouth, Birmingham, Swansea and Southampton.
Engagement Activity
Our season opener, Blaze of Glory!, features live performance from some of Wales’s finest male voice choirs, who will also perform pre-show at each performance. In Cardiff, Dowlais Male Choir return to the production as well as Ynysowen Male Voice Choir from Aberfan – the hometown of WNO’s founder Idloes Owen. Blokes Who Sing join the cast in Plymouth and City of Birmingham Male Voice Choir will sing before the show at Birmingham Hippodrome.
WNO Youth Opera’s Music Director Dan Perkin, librettist Juliette Manon, director Hannah Noone and designer Tamsin Robinson join forces to bring a semi-staged performance pre-performance event before The Flying Dutchman, titled Cragen Becan. This new commission has been developed with the Youth Opera Company and draws upon core themes from Wagner’s opera: a yearning for home and the wildness and power of the sea. Participants contributed to the creation of the text and musical ideas through explorative workshops with the writer and composer. The piece will be performed trilingually in Welsh, English and British sign language.
Cragen Becan will be performed on the Glanfa Stage, Wales Millennium Centre before The Flying Dutchman premiere performance on Thursday 16 as well as Sunday 19 April.
The Seligman WNO Youth Opera Performance
Welsh National Youth Opera will perform a production of Ben Moore and Kelley Rouke’s Odyssey as this year’s The Seligman Youth Opera Performance. This 50-minute opera will be performed at Wales Millennium Centre’s Weston Studio on Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 May. Previously performed by the New York Met Youth Opera, this piece is a musical adaptation of the classic Greek story of Odysseus’ journey home from the Trojan War. WNO Youth Opera, made up of up to 70 young people aged between 8-18 years will perform alongside two Youth Opera alumni soloists. BSL stage interpretation will also be performed by Stage Interpreter Cathryn McShane-Kouyate and all will be accompanied by five instrumentalists. WNO Youth Opera Music Director Dan Perkin will conduct, with Sian Cameron as Vocal Director and Hannah Noone returns to direct.
Main image: Jack Furness in rehearsals for the 2025 Garsington Opera production of Queen of Spades
