Welsh National Opera mines a rich creative seam with The Return of Ulysses, its new production for the autumn, spearheaded by acclaimed artistic duo David Alden and Rinaldo Alessandrini Monteverdi’s baroque masterpiece forms the centrepiece of a new WNO season opening at the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay, on Saturday 16 September. The sought after director David Alden teams up with renowned conductor Rinaldo Alessandrini for a witty and eccentric take on ancient Greek myth. The Return of Ulysses is one of the earliest masterpieces in operatic history. Set against the blood-soaked backdrop of the Trojan Wars, it tells the story of the warrior Ulysses and the devotion of his wife Penelope, who must spurn an army of suitors during her husband’s ten-year absence from home. It is supported by the Colwinston Charitable Trust. Paul Nilon sings the role of Ulysses and Sara Fulgoni that of Penelope. Paul Nilon is an established young lyric tenor who previously worked with David Alden when he directed WNO’s The Coronation of Poppea. Mezzo Sara Fulgoni is well known to WNO audiences for her interpretation of the role of Carmen in Bizet’s opera to which she returns in 2007 when she sings it with WNO during the Spring season. The brilliant young counter-tenor lestyn Davies also returns to WNO — this time, he sings the roles of Pisander and Human Fraility following his debut with the company in Jephtha earlier this year. The revival of WNO’s La bohéme is presented with a Celtic twist: the principal roles are all sung by Welsh singers of international standing, including Rebecca Evans, who performs the role of Mimi for the first time in her career alongside Gwyn Hughes Jones and Jason Howard. The production is conducted by Carlo Rizzi, WNO’s Music Director, and it has been supported by the Friends of Welsh National Opera. Conductor Mark Wigglesworth will conduct his first Tristan and Isolde. An outstanding cast of Wagnerians has been assembled for the opening season, including Annalena Persson who sung Senta in WNO’s recent production of The Flying Dutchman and Robert Hayward, fresh from his success singing the principal role in WNO’s acclaimed production of Mazepa. Making his debut in the title role of Tristan is Canadian tenor John MacMaster. This is a co-production with Scottish Opera and is supported by generous gifts from Robert Ashley-Jones and the WNO Tristan and Isolde Syndicate. Four hundred years of opera are shoe-horned into Chorus! WNO’s runaway hit from 2003. Chorus! sees members of the company’s celebrated chorus take to the stage in a cavalcade of arias, duets and choral work drawn from the works of Prokofiev, Wagner, Verdi, Stravinsky amongst others (with a little music theatre along the way). The production returns by popular demand and is supported by The Foyle Foundation. WNO will also be appearing beyond the main stage in a brand new opera Sweetness and Badness written by Michael Wicherek with music by Will Todd. Set in a cavernous railway tunnel, the opera explores an everyday story of love and hate through the experiences of a young boy who falls in love with the wrong girl. Sweetness and Badness will be performed to invited audiences of young people in theatres and schools in Wales and England. The production has also been supported by The Foyle Foundation. The Orchestra of WNO returns to St David’s Hall, Cardiff, on November 2 with a concert programme featuring Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No 6 (Pathetique), Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 20 and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol. Carlo Rizzi conducts and guest soloist is Wales’s foremost pianist Ll_r Williams. “It is a great season that plays to all the company’s strengths,” says John Fisher, WNO’s General Director. ‘The calibre of our guest artists speaks for itself, artists such as Rebecca Evans, Gwyn Hughes Jones, Jason Howard, John Mac Master and Sara Fulgoni. We also welcome back Annalena Persson and Robert Hayward, who made such an impact in productions staged by WNO earlier this year. ‘There is also the chance to see members of WNO’s acclaimed chorus playing a variety of roles in Chorus! a unique celebration of opera, guaranteed to appeal to aficionados and newcomers alike. We will also be premiering Sweetness and Badness, a production aimed at first time opera goers from schools in Wales and England.” For further information on tour dates and times visit www.wno.org.uk |
| Welsh National Opera web site: www.wno.org.uk |
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Tuesday, June 27, 2006 |
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