Wales Millennium Centre’s main auditorium, the Donald Gordon Theatre, will play host to a number of musicals, dance, opera and ballet with the second theatre, the Weston Studio, offering a diverse range of comedy, dance, drama and music concerts, providing an impressive array of performances. Taking us into April at the Donald Gordon Theatre, Dancing in the Streets will show for three nights from 30 March–1 April and will transport you back to the golden years of Motown with classic hits including Baby love, My Girl and Reach Out. Sailing in for a week on Monday 3 April is Cole Porter’s Anything Goes, a hedonistic pleasure cruise starring Brookside’s Michael Starke (Sinbad), Angela Rippon, Hi-De-Hi legend, Barry Howard and last but not least, Welsh starlet Ria Jones, as sexy showgirl Reno Sweeny. WMC’s first Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, Starlight Express, will roll into Cardiff from 11-29 April with its first ever UK tour after an amazing 18 years in the West End which will include over 20 of Webber’s greatest songs. One of the world’s leading violinists, Gidon Kremer, has brought together young musicians from the three Baltic nations to form Kremerata Baltica and will stage a one-off performance on Sunday 23 April, midway through Starlight Express’ run. Welsh National Opera will take to the stage throughout May with their new Summer programme presenting Puccini’s Tosca, followed by Tchaikovsky’s Mazepa and ending their campaign on a high note with Mozart’s Don Giovanni beginning of June. A great deal of activity will take place throughout June including an assortment of one night performances including Grumpy Old Women Live (4 June), Ladysmith Black Mambazo (9 June), Al Murray (10 June) and Max Live With Treorchy! (18 June). Other exciting shows to look out for during this month include the Olivier Award-winning group of Brazilian dancers, Companhia de Dança Deborah Colker - Knot, showing at WMC for two nights only (6-7 June) which explores the hidden depths of human desire. As part of a highly successful 23-week national tour, the multi-award winning smash hit musical, Jerry Springer the Opera, makes its way to Wales Millennium Centre from 12-17 June with a West End cast. Making its exclusive UK performance at WMC, Norwegian National Ballet brings its brand new production of Sleeping Beauty to Wales from 21-25 June. Based in Oslo, Norwegian National Ballet has gained an enviable reputation as one of the youngest and most dynamic companies in Europe. A wonderful witty love story will take to the Welsh stage in July when Birmingham Royal Ballet performs La Fille mal gardée for the first time at Wales Millennium Centre (11-15 July). WMC Programming and Marketing Director, Fiona Allan, says: “We have an extremely busy season ahead of us and we’re delighted with the sheer volume and quality of shows which will be staged at WMC over the coming months, both in the Donald Gordon Theatre and the Weston Studio. “Some of the shows featuring in the Weston Studio include comedy performances by Sue Perkins and Robin Ince, Independent Ballet Wales’s stunning new production of The Canterbury Tales as well as magnificent theatre productions such as Harold Pinter’s Old Times, Hijinx Theatre’s Seize The Day and Llywfan Gogledd Cymru’s Theatr Freuddwydion.” Other top-class shows to look out for in July and August include the Rod Stewart musical written by Ben Elton, Tonight’s The Night, the timeless choral masterpiece Carmina Burana as well as Cameron Mackintosh and the National Theatre’s award winning production of My Fair Lady. WMC will be hosting the only UK performances of Wagner’s epic Ring Cycle by the Mariinsky Theatre (formerly the Kirov Opera) at the end of 2006. All four operas in the Ring Cycle, presented over four consecutive nights, will be conducted by the Mariinsky’s artistic and general director, Valery Gergiev, one of the world’s foremost conductors. For ticket bookings: Please contact the WMC ticket and information office on 08700 40 2000 or visit the website on www.wmc.org.uk Wales Millennium Centre, Bute Place, Cardiff CF10 5AL |
| Wales Millennium Centre web site: www.wmc.org.uk |
| Esther Eckley e-mail: esther.eckley@wmc.org.uk |
Thursday, March 9, 2006 |
Older news
stories have been carefully archived.
2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999