What exactly is your role within the Welsh National Opera?
My role is Orchestra Concerts and Projects Manager. I look after all the Company’s main concert remit. Primarily covering orchestral touring around Wales and England, as well as our regular concert appearances at Cardiff St David’s Hall and Dora Stoutzker Hall. I also oversee all international concert work the Company does internationally, most recently in May 2023 when WNO Orchestra opened the Prague Spring Festival with Music Director, Tomáš Hanus, at Prague’s Smetana Hall. Additionally, I am part of a small but busy Orchestra Management team supporting the full-time orchestra ensemble that accompanies the wider Opera Company.
In your opinion, what is the biggest misconception surrounding opera?
That the world of opera is an elitist art form or the idea that “Opera is not for me.” Opera is not one thing and certainly does not appeal to just one type of person. I’ve been reduced to tears of pride, sadness, laughter, and everything in between whilst watching our productions since starting at the Company. In the seven years I have been at WNO, the Company has produced Opera of the highest international artistic standards. Notable productions include Puccini’s beautiful Madama Butterfly (2021), Janacek’s Makropulous Affair (2022) and our current production of Britten’s Death in Venice (2024). These pieces have been thought-provoking, devastating, challenging but, most importantly, magnificent to behold. However, the art form can also be joyful. Not every leading lady must die! I think of WNO’s recent new productions of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale (2019) set in a burger van outside the Cardiff City Stadium, and David Hackbridge Johnson’s Blaze of Glory (2023) telling the story of South Wales mining communities and Male Voice Choirs. Opera does, and should, appeal to everyone. There is always a storyline or musical motif that means something to everyone.
How do you engage with the local community to battle these misconceptions?
WNO’s Programmes and Engagements team are prolific in reaching all aspects of our community. Whilst WNO is resident in Cardiff, we have an extensive presence in several towns and cities across the UK and are proud to be able to deliver workshops, outreach work, schools, and family concerts across the country. Our Producers deliver work in the following settings: hospitals; caring settings; refugee centres; primary; secondary; SEN schools, as well as running regular Community Choirs and Youth Opera productions across North and South Wales.
Can you discuss any initiatives or programs aimed at fostering talent development and nurturing emerging artists?
In the Orchestra Department at WNO, we are proud to nurture the next generation of musicians in the UK. We have a particularly special relationship with the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama whereby we work in partnership with the students on the Orchestral Pathway MA Course. This scheme provides young, talented orchestral musicians the opportunity to observe and participate in our sessions across their academic year. This involves classes, auditions, and performance opportunities. Much of these sessions are extended to the RWCMD MMus Conducting Students, and we also take on a 3-month placement with an Arts Management Masters to help provide industry experience to those wanting to pursue a career in Orchestra Management. The Company also accepts work experience placements in Stage Management and Technical roles too.
Additionally, we are delighted to extend our Side-by-Side work across the UK, working annually with Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, and Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. In the last few months, we have also started engaging the generation below, having held a Side-by-Side experience with Cardiff County and Vale Youth Orchestra in December, and observation opportunities with Hafren Youth Strings (based in Mid-Wales) in January. WNO is also proud to be able to support emerging soloists through our Associate Artist Scheme. We engage young singers on contract for a year in which they are given roles and covers in the main opera programmes as well as an extensive concert soloist opportunity with WNO Orchestra throughout their year with the Company.
What are some developments in the opera industry that you find particularly interesting or exciting?
As my role is predominately focused on the musical aspects of opera, I never cease to be amazed at the magnificent work and creativity of Directors, Designers and Production Managers in the creation of the aesthetic of opera productions. One of the most exciting and innovative developments in opera is the advancement of digital interaction on stage. At WNO most recently, we toured a production of Bernstein’s Candide (2023) in which the action on stage was woven around interaction with video and animation. This is a wonderful way of appealing to new audiences and using contemporary technology to enhance our art form.