Welsh National Opera has announced a major programme of bi-lingual work in North Wales. Over the next four years, WNO will be creating a hub of activity for local audiences, from grassroots arts projects in Wrexham, to the premiere of a new work by Welsh composer Pwyll ap Sion and award-winning poet Menna Elfyn.From Caernarfon to Mold, from converted chapels to Llandudno’s Venue Cymru, WNO will be spending the next four years creating a very special map of arts activities for audiences throughout North Wales. WNO has been a frequent visitor to Llandudno with its main-scale opera productions for nearly 60 years, but now the company is adding to its repertoire, offering up a host of singing-based activities in less familiar environments. Welsh artists will be joining WNO singers and musicians to work on and develop the projects, including Mirian Bowen, Annette Bryn Parri, Jenny Pearson and Angharad Lee. Spearheading the programme will be WNO MAX whose previous work has netted a clutch of awards, including its Land Sea Sky trilogy of environmental operas, which were all performed in a marquee-turned-opera-house in the village of Cil-y-Cwm, Carmarthen. “This is the first time WNO has offered up such a focused plan of activity in North Wales,” says Rhian Hutchings, Director of WNO MAX. “Everyone from primary school children to regulars at the local community centre will be involved. There will be singing days in a number of venues, recitals, and the chance to join a community choir that will take part in the world premiere of Gair ar Gnawd, a brand new work by Pwyll ap Sion and Menna Elfyn.” WNO MAX is core funded by ACE and ACE, but this project is supported by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, enabling WNO MAX to put together a preparatory year of activities in 2011, which will also contribute to Wrexham’s Year of Culture. A series of singing days will run in Holyhead, Caernarfon, Mold and Wrexham. There will also be a singing project held in two primary schools in Wrexham, culminating in a Schools Orchestral Concert in June 2011 at the William Aston Hall, Glyndwr University. The concert will see the young people involved in the project join the Orchestra of WNO on stage to perform to an audience of their contemporaries. An Opera Pops Concert with the Orchestra of WNO, a Brass Concert and recitals by WNO musicians and singers will also feature throughout 2011, as well as rehearsals for the world premiere of Gair ar Gnawd in Spring 2012. William Morgan, who in the 16th century was the first to translate the whole Bible into Welsh from Greek and Hebrew, has inspired this new work. Menna Elfyn’s libretto will focus on two main characters, a translator living in contemporary Wales busy translating the Bible into many other languages, and a young woman tattooist who is literally making the word flesh through her art of painting on skin. “Opera is a great vehicle for telling stories to a new audience, drawing on experiences that help shape their lives,” adds Rhian. “We’re interested in hearing those stories told in both Welsh and English, so Gair ar Gnawd will put centre stage a key event in Welsh cultural history that still resonates today. The idea of building up a community of singers in North Wales to join us on future projects is a very exciting one. It’s a journey we made with people from the Valleys in our recent Street Songs project. Some 2, 700 people took part in our workshops and performances during the three years we based ourselves in the Valleys, and we reached a total audience of 6, 460 for our performances and concerts. We hope to make a big impact in North Wales too.” |
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Tuesday, November 16, 2010 |
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