Wales' flagship company may be Welsh National Opera, but there is plenty of other flourishing operatic activity.
Welsh National Opera (WNO)
WNO has won a reputation as one of the world's greatest opera companies. It attracts such conductors as Sir Charles Mackerras, Pierre Boulez and Carlo Rizzi, as well as such directors as Harry Kupfer, Peter Stein and the innovative Catalan Calixto Bieito and has gathered awards in recent years.
The conductor Idloes Owen founded the Welsh National Opera Company in 1943, at the request of a group of music-lovers. On 15 April 1946, he conducted its first performance - Cavalleria Rusticana - at the Prince of Wales Theatre, Cardiff. The Welsh tenor Robert Tear started his career as a schoolboy in this performance.
In 1969 WNO's amateur chorus went professional, with many chorus members giving up their day jobs to become full-time singers. In 1970 WNO's orchestra was founded by its current leader, John Stein.
In 1969 WNO's amateur chorus went professional, with many chorus members giving up their day jobs to become full-time singers
The company, uniquely in Britain, is funded by the Arts Councils of both Wales and England, as well as receiving sponsorship.
Several Welsh composers - Grace Williams, Alun Hoddinott, John Metcalf - have written operas for WNO. Peter Maxwell Davies' The Doctor of Myddfai was based on a Welsh folktale.
WNO tours in Wales and England. Main-scale Welsh venues are Cardiff's Wales Millennium Centre, Swansea's Grand Theatre and Llandudno's North Wales Theatre. Small-scale tours visit smaller venues all over Wales with scaled-down performances. Visits abroad to Japan, France and Portugal have taken place.
Since the opening of the Wales Millennium Centre in 2004, WNO has moved in as a resident company. Its Cardiff performances prior to then had taken place in the New Theatre.
The WNO Orchestra joins the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ National Orchestra of Wales every two years in the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. Participants frequently return to Cardiff to perform with WNO.
Music Theatre Wales
Set up in 1988 by artistic director Michael McCarthy and music director Michael Rafferty to promote new music, Music Theatre Wales has gained a reputation as one of the few companies to regularly commission new operas.
As well as commissions from such composers as Nigel Osborne, John Hardy, Michael Berkeley and Lynne Plowman, Music Theatre Wales also performs modern classics such as Stravinsky's A Soldier's Tale, Peter Maxwell Davies' Eight Songs For A Mad King and Philip Glass' The Fall Of The House Of Usher.
Music Theatre Wales tours widely throughout Wales and England. The company has also made several visits to Europe, including giving the French premiere of Harrison Birtwistle's Punch And Judy. In Wales, the company performs in a number of venues, including Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Theatr Cymru in Mold, Theatr Brycheiniog in Brecon and Cardiff's New Theatre.
Other activities include an active outreach programme and appearances on radio and television as well as commercial recordings.
Mid Wales Opera
This company has a passionate following among opera-lovers for its performances of major operas in intimate productions tailored to fit the smaller Welsh and English venues 29 of them in 2001. Founded in 1988, it holds an Annual Festival of Opera at Theatr Hafren, Newtown, Powys, then tours in Wales and the rest of the UK.
Mid Wales Opera has its own chamber orchestra, conducted by Keith Darlington. Unlike the other Welsh opera companies, Mid Wales Opera is funded entirely by its box office sales.
The company has its own chamber orchestra, conducted by Keith Darlington. Unlike the other Welsh opera companies, Mid Wales Opera is funded entirely by its box-office sales.
Swansea City Opera
Founded in 2004 with the support of the City and County of Swansea, Wales' youngest opera company performs its repertoire in three different versions, depending on the size of the venue. This ranges from their base, Swansea Grand Theatre, to the smallest of halls.
Their touring schedule in Wales takes in such places as Milford Haven, Newport, Cardigan and Rhyl and they are also taking their programmes into England.
Swansea City Opera also has links with Opera School Wales, a postgraduate training school based at the Adelina Patti Theatre in the Swansea Valley.
Opera Box
This company was founded in 1989 and is based in Brecon. It tours throughout the UK and specialises in small venues and open air performances.
Opera elsewhere
Welsh venues of all sizes host concert performances of operatic items. Opera scenes are often performed at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff.
Festivals with operatic material include the Llangollen International Eisteddfod, St Asaph Festival, The Vale of Glamorgan Festival and Bryn Terfel's Faenol Festival.
Additionally, opera performances by Welsh companies are frequently broadcast on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Two, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Four, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio 3 and S4C.
