Cardiff-based opera and theatre director Polly Graham is Artistic Director of Longborough Opera in the Cotswolds. She was a Genesis…
An innovative Madam Butterfly, Welsh National Opera
March 17, 2022There is plenty of tricky ground to tread when bringing Madam Butterfly to the stage. One of Puccini’s masterwork, the…
A profoundly sensitive Jenůfa, WNO
March 7, 2022The WNO continues in its exploration of the works of Czech composer Leoš Janáček, this time going back to the…
Engulfing bleakness, Don Giovanni, Welsh National Opera
February 28, 2022The opener to the WNO’s much awaited Spring season is a very philological take on Mozart’s classic, the solemn, almost…
Hilarious Barber of Seville, WNO at WMC
October 2, 2021Despite attending WNO productions in Cardiff for over twenty years this was the first time I have seen their staging…
Nicholas Lester: Adelaide Eisteddfod to WNO’s Barber via Amazon
September 30, 2021MS: You have had, and continue to have, a strong association with Wales. How did they come about and develop?…
Butterfly, well sort of. WNO at WMC
September 25, 2021What to do if the opera you are directing has ethical and cultural problems? Australian Director Lindy Hume’s solution is…
Paul Carey Jones: The new Wotan with a watchful eye
September 14, 2021Paul Carey Jones may be based in London and describes himself as Welsh-Irish (his mother’s parents were from Mayo) but…
Soprano Elin Pritchard’s opera brainchild Opera Ensemble saves the day
August 25, 2021Lockdown was intended to squash the COVID sombrero in early 2020 but it also flattened Welsh soprano Elin Pritchard’s rising…
Digital talks approach planned around WNO’s new Madam Butterfly
August 24, 2021Welsh National Opera is scheduling a series of events around its performances of Puccini’s Madam Butterfly on the type of…