Interviews
The Flying Dutchman, WNO
How do you adapt The Flying Dutchman for 2026? Wagner’s shortest opera is not a frequent flyer to contemporary stages, perhaps, for understandable reasons; it is deeply steeped in the Romantic iconography and storytelling, with a pervasive undertone of Christian moralising that doesn’t help things at all, and thus may sound alien to a contemporary…
Mid Wales Opera Dido and Aenaes OpenStages production
n the luminous stone sanctuary of 11th-century Brecon Cathedral, listening to one of opera’s earliest masterpieces, it was hard not to reflect on how unforgiving the 21st century has been to the art form. Yet Mid Wales Opera’s OpenStages production of Dido and Aeneas offered something increasingly rare in our cultural life: not merely reassurance,…
Leading Wagnerian Paul Carey Jones on role debuts
“Never do anything for the first time.” So the old saying goes in the opera business. This deliberate paradox contains a hard truth: making any sort of debut is a challenge. And in particular, performing a major operatic role for the first time is fraught with unforeseen dangers. So, for any young singer contemplating making…
Garsington Opera’s 2026 season announced
The operas for Garsington Opera’s 2026 Festival, which will run from Wednesday 27 May – Saturday 25 July 2026: Verdi’s La traviata, Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier, Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse, and Barry’s The Importance of Being Earnest. La traviataGiuseppe Verdi Conductor – Douglas BoydDirector – Louisa Muller Der RosenkavalierRichard Strauss Conductor – Finnegan Downie DearDirector – Bruno Ravella Il ritorno d’UlisseClaudio Monteverdi Conductor – Laurence CummingsDirector –…
Opera brothers Jack and Sam Furness
It’s a scenario many older siblings might dread; after years of being big brother, finding yourself on the receiving end of being told what to do — by your younger brother. But this isn’t a story about childhood rivalries – it is far, far more dramatic. This is opera. Well, it is really life and…
Opera’s knight: Sir Bryn Terfel
Wales’ musical knight Bryn Terfel tells me he is always looking for another feather for his cap and there will be plenty to add in 2025. Launching a new singing competition with the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama; working as a coach on Yr Llais, S4C’s Welsh language version of The Voice, being…
Jonathan Lyness: Bringing Opera to the SmallStages, Pagliacci’s Journey and the Fight to Keep Touring Alive
In Ruggero Leoncavallo’s iconic opera, Pagliacci, we witness the tragic unraveling of a man consumed by jealousy and grief, his theatrical role tragically mirroring the heartbreak of his own life. It’s a story that speaks to the vulnerability of the human condition—a theme that resonates with touring companies today as they face the very real threat of dwindling…
Opera Holland Park’s 2024 Season
Characters from carnival, commedia dell’arte and classical myth tell stories of transformation,enchantment and revenge in Opera Holland Park’s 2024 Season. A diva confronts a corrupt chief ofpolice in the grit and glamour of 1960s Rome. A barber plays puppet-master in Seville, outwitting hisclients in an attempt to prevent an unwanted wedding. A Flemish knight must…
Mid Wales Opera has lost its £107k annual funding from the Arts Council of Wales.
In a hammer blow to opera in Wales and to Welsh singers, Mid Wales Opera has lost its £107k annual funding from the Arts Council of Wales. It is understood the decision could also mean the loss of the £99.5k the innovative small venue stiurign company receive through the Creatve arts scheme. This is awarded…
Welsh National Opera says Arts Council allocation 10% below standstill funding
While Welsh National Opera has again received the largest single Arts Council of Wales funding allocation, the company says it amounts to a 10 per cent cut against its application for standstill funding. The company had applied for £4.5m but as part of Arts Council Wales’s Investment Review, it has received a conditional offer of £4.1m…