WNO 15/16 Season Brochure

Transcription

If
When
The time is WNO
2015/2016 Season
Madness Autumn 15
I puritani Bellini
Orlando Handel
Sweeney Todd Sondheim
Figaro forever Spring 16
The Barber of Seville Rossini
The Marriage of Figaro Mozart
Figaro Gets a Divorce Elena Langer
WNO@70 Summer 16
In Parenthesis Iain Bell
Cavalleria rusticana & Pagliacci
Mascagni and Leoncavallo
Registered Charity No 221538
In 2015 everything is ‘on demand’. We can watch films and TV
wherever we are, whenever we feel like it. But live opera isn’t like
that. There are only so many days a year it can be performed. You
have to make time for it, make room in your diary and get there.
Once it’s gone, it’s gone.
But it’s worth it. Every performance is unique and special. It’s a
time that creates memories to cherish forever.
Our 2015/2016 season may not start for some months but plan
your opera-going now. Make sure you don’t let those one-off, never
to be repeated moments pass you by. Make time in 2015/2016
for opera.
The time is WNO.
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WNO@70
Our past, present, future
WNO’s 2015/2016 season looks back in two very significant ways, celebrating both
WNO’s 70th birthday and, with our new commission of In Parenthesis, the 100th
anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. But with two newly commissioned works, it
also looks forward in even more important ways, celebrating the continuing creative
energy of the art form of opera - a genre frequently written off as dead but in fact one
that continues to re-invent itself with astonishing vigour. The other new work of our
season, Figaro Gets a Divorce, manages to look both ways at once, as it takes up the
destinies of some of opera’s most beloved characters, and projects them into a future
that their creators could hardly have imagined.
Not many 70 year olds look far into the future with quite so much confidence and
ambition as we do. But that confidence springs from the continuing passion for telling
stories through music which is the simple but all-important heart of the operatic matter.
Telling stories is one of the essential distinguishing features of human beings - you are
not going to convince me that trees do it, or even earwigs. And music counts as one of
our most potent and rich means of communicating with each other, which is why opera
is not phased at all by the digital world: it simply uses a new means of communication
to broaden its appeal and to enrich its diversity and access.
It is another constant of the highly complex and ambitious art form of opera that it is
always about to run out of money, and I predict that we will do that many times over in
the next 70 years. But the essential joy of what we communicate through the sound of
music - the language which may most nearly emulate the divine - wedded to the ritual
gesture of theatre, will survive all the pragmatic pitfalls, and continue to enrich and
define the civilisation of our social, humane discourse.
David Pountney
Chief Executive & Artistic Director
Sweeney Todd’s mania for revenge leads him to
plumb the depths of human savagery. Orlando’s
jealousy takes him over the edge of reason and
on to the very gates of Hell itself. Elvira’s love
for brave Arturo knows no bounds, but when he
appears to abandon her, she tumbles into the
abyss.
Stories from different times and different ages but
all showcase the same power of human emotion
and expose the fragility of the human mind. WNO
dares you to join us on our journey to explore
human turmoil.
Autumn 2015
I puritani Bellini
Orlando Handel
Sweeney Todd Sondheim
wno.org.uk/madness
I puritani
Bellini
New production
‘I puritani epitomises bel canto at its best – exploring and depicting characters, situations,
and emotions through the singing voice’ Francesco Izzo (Associate Professor of Music at
the University of Southampton).
Bellini’s English Civil War drama is the most purely entertaining of all bel canto operas.
There are vocal fireworks aplenty. But they are never at the cost of character, story and
emotional depth. I puritani contains a cavalcade of great opera moments. One such
moment is the scene in which our heroine Elvira, having lost her mind, longs for her lover
Arturo. Elvira’s spectacular high notes reveal her emotional distress. Another is the duet in
which the reunited lovers share what they believe will be their final embrace.
It is often said that I puritani is rarely performed because it is hard to find a cast who
can tackle Bellini’s demanding score. We are delighted to have such a cast. The team
includes one of today’s great tenors, Barry Banks, following his triumphant performances
in William Tell and Moses in Egypt. Annilese Miskimmon’s new production combines the
historical atmosphere and costumes of the English Civil War. If you haven’t joined us for
the bel canto series so far, now is the time. Fans of great Italian opera need to see
I puritani.
wno.org.uk/puritani
Turbulent times
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Welsh National Opera 2015/2016 Season
Autumn | Madness
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I puritani
Bellini
New production
Conductor Carlo Rizzi
Director Annilese Miskimmon
Designer Leslie Travers
Lighting Designer Mark Jonathan
Cast
Elvira Rosa Feola (until 20 Oct),
Linda Richardson (from 27 Oct)
Lord Arturo Talbo Barry Banks
Sir Riccardo Forth David Kempster
Sir Giorgio Wojtek Gierlach
Co-production with Den Jyske Opera/Danish National Opera
Supported by John Ward, WNO Bel Canto Syndicate, Peter and
Veronica Lofthouse and The Kobler Trust
•Performances start at 7pm, except for Cardiff on Sunday 4 October at 4pm
•Running time approximately three hours 20 minutes including one interval
•Sung in Italian with surtitles in English (and Welsh in Cardiff and Llandudno)
Plot summary
The tide of the English Civil War is turning against
the Royalists. In the darkness of a prison fortress,
Elvira, daughter of the Puritan leader Lord Valton,
loses her reason when she mistakenly believes
her Royalist lover, Arturo, has abandoned her for
another woman. With the defeat of the Stuarts
imminent, the lovers are finally reunited, and
Elvira’s reason is restored.
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Autumn | Madness
WNO’s guide to
I puritani
A soprano and a tenor in love; a jealous
baritone; a fatherly bass. Conflict
between love and duty. Madness. An
abundance of high notes. Anyone wishing
to be introduced to a quintessentially
romantic bel canto melodrama should
look no further than Vincenzo Bellini’s I
puritani. With this work the 33 year old
composer, at the height of his fame, won
over the audience of the Théâtre Italien
in Paris, which had commissioned it.
The première, on 24 January 1835, was
an astounding success. The Parisians
showered Bellini with honours, and he
felt he was ‘second only to Rossini’ (an
undeserved sting to his contemporary and
principal competitor, Gaetano Donizetti).
A debut in Paris was an opportunity not to
be missed for any Italian composer at the
time, and Bellini did all he could to meet
the expectations of the local audience.
In his endeavour, he was assisted by
one of the most formidable groups of
vocal virtuosos that ever existed – Giulia
Grisi, Giovanni Battista Rubini, Antonio
Tamburini, and Luigi Lablache, who sang
the principal roles and subsequently
came to be referred to as the ‘Puritani
quartet’. Bellini carefully tailored his music
to the abilities of each of these artists. For
soprano Giulia Grisi he provided a wealth
of coloratura, fully justified dramatically
first by her youth and rapture (as in her
polonaise, ‘Son vergin vezzosa’), then by
madness and despair (as in her extended
mad scene in Act II). For Rubini, who had
previously created the lead tenor roles in
several of his operas, including
Il pirata and La sonnambula, he provided
intensely lyrical lines showcasing his
extraordinary upper register (the high
D-flat in his entrance piece, ‘A te, o cara’,
is proverbial, but the entire role is filled
with expansive ascents to high notes). For
Tamburini and Lablache, both described
as basses at the time but effectively
a baritone and a bass, he provided
opportunities for solo display at moments
of heightened emotion, and a stirring
patriotic duet at the end of Act II.
As a whole, I puritani has a characteristic
and coherent sound world, blending
deeply sentimental and effusive moments
(such as Arturo’s entrance, the duet for
the two lovers, and Giorgio’s heartfelt
aria) with what Bellini himself called ‘a
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As a whole, I puritani has a characteristic
and coherent sound world, blending deeply
sentimental and effusive moments (such as
Arturo’s entrance, the duet for the two lovers, and
Giorgio’s heartfelt aria) with what Bellini himself
called ‘a touch of military vigour and something of
Puritan austerity’.
touch of military vigour and something
of Puritan austerity’. Unlike the Donizetti
‘Tudor’ operas that date from the same
period, no heads roll here, and Elvira
and Arturo are granted a fairy-tale
happy ending. Throughout the opera,
Bellini’s orchestration is more robust
and sophisticated than in earlier works,
and so is his harmonic language and
use of formal procedures. Awareness of
current trends in French opera probably
informed some of his decisions, as did
Rossini’s influence. Nonetheless, the
melodic vein is unmistakably Bellinian,
and the profusion of memorable tunes
throughout the score is staggering.
It is that profusion, in fact, as well as
Elvira’s heartrending despair and mental
suffering, that keeps us nailed to our
chairs even at times where little takes
place in terms of dramatic action. Although
a great deal of the singing is extremely
challenging on technical grounds, none
of it should be understood as sheer
virtuosic display; I puritani epitomises bel
canto at its best – exploring and depicting
characters, situations, and emotions
through the singing voice.
The plot of the opera, too, is rather
sophisticated, balancing between the
individual pursuit of happiness of Elvira
and Arturo and the backdrop of the
English Civil War. The political aspect
comes to the fore at various points, but
nowhere more poignantly than in the
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No one could have predicted that the triumph of
I puritani would be Bellini’s last.
duet for Riccardo and Giorgio, whose
celebrated cabaletta, ‘Suoni la tromba, e
intrepido’, contains the words ‘Gridando
libertà’ (‘crying liberty’). Carlo Pepoli,
who wrote the libretto for I puritani, was
an Italian patriot living in exile in Paris,
and it is no wonder that he exploited
this moment in the opera for a rousing
call to action. Bellini himself indicated
that the duet was ‘so liberal that it is
frightening’, and once the opera arrived
in Risorgimento Italy the censors
frequently suppressed the inflammatory
cry of freedom, replacing the words with
‘Gridando lealtà’ (‘crying loyalty’). But the
music speaks all too eloquently.
No one could have predicted that the
triumph of I puritani would be Bellini’s last.
At the end of the summer he contracted
an intestinal infection, mistaken by the
doctors for cholera, and he died on
23 September. But I puritani lived on,
becoming one of the most popular Italian
operas of the time. When the opera
reached London in April 1835, it struck a
soft spot in the heart of Princess Victoria,
who thereafter referred to the piece as
‘the dear Puritani’. And she wasn’t the
only one to appreciate it; as English
critic Henry Chorley put it: ‘errand-boys
whistled it, barrel-organs ground it’. The
days of errand boys, barrel organs, and
romantic princesses may be long gone,
but the appeal of the many extraordinary
tunes in the opera is undiminished. Which
one will you be humming to yourself after
a WNO performance?
A moment with...
Dean Wright Trumpet
Francesco Izzo is Associate Professor of
Music at the University of Southampton.
© Francesco Izzo
The best thing about WNO is… Friendship. The friendship within the company, and
the relationships we have with our sponsors, partners and our audience.
What would you like WNO to achieve in the future? Keep breaking new ground
with new pieces, but most importantly, keep being brilliant.
Tell us something we don’t know about WNO? On tour, the orchestra alone will
drink an average of 358.7 cups of tea and coffee in a performing week! Fact.
Still or sparkling? Still. Sparkling makes you burp. Which isn’t good when playing
the trumpet!
Burton or Hopkins? Burton. His reading of Dylan Thomas’s ‘Do Not Go Gentle Into
That Good Night’ sends shivers down my spine whenever I hear it.
Photo: A score waits in the wings
Orlando
Handel
New production
‘An adventurous journey through the deepest recesses of the human soul and a
treasure trove of memorable music moments’ Valeria De Lucca (Lecturer in Music at
the University of Southampton).
Messiah, the Water Music, the Music for the Royal Fireworks – these are the works for
which Handel is best known today. But he remains one of the giants of opera. Very few
composers possess his understanding of the human condition. Full of ravishing music
and poignant drama, Orlando is one of his greatest operas. It is also the perfect place
to begin a love affair with his operas.
In Orlando Handel explores the destructive side of love as our hero is pushed over the
edge by his feelings for Angelica. The moment of his madness takes place at the end
of Act II. Orlando thinks he is in the underworld. The scene encapsulates how skilfully
Handel conveys human suffering throughout the opera. His brilliant writing for the
scene combines quiet torment and fevered anguish to sublime effect. It is preceded
by Angelica’s aria which is among the loveliest and most touching music Handel ever
wrote. Handel’s opera reaches into our souls.
Harry Fehr’s acclaimed staging stylishly updates this tale of inner turmoil to the outset
of the Second World War. We have assembled a world-class cast of Handel performers
for this production. The cast, conducted by acclaimed Baroque interpreter Rinaldo
Alessandrini, includes international counter-tenor Lawrence Zazzo in the title role.
Rebecca Evans, one of the Country’s finest singers, sings the role of Angelica.
‘Harry Fehr’s pithy, poignant production’ The Independent on Sunday
‘Harry Fehr has created a moving and provocative human drama ...’****
The Guardian
wno.org.uk/orlando
Out of time, out of mind
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Autumn | Madness
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Orlando
Handel
New production
Conductor Rinaldo Alessandrini (until 28
October), TBA (from 4 November)
Director Harry Fehr
Designer Yannis Thavoris
Lighting Designer Anna Watson
Video Designer Andrzej Goulding
Associate Director Kally Lloyd-Jones
Cast
Orlando Lawrence Zazzo
Angelica Rebecca Evans
Medoro Robin Blaze (except 21 Oct),
TBA (21 Oct)
Dorinda Fflur Wyn
Zoroastro Daniel Grice
A Scottish Opera production
Supported by WNO Bel Canto Syndicate and WNO Friends
•Performances start at 7.15pm, except Cardiff on Sunday 27 September at 4pm
•Running time approximately three hours including two intervals
•Sung in Italian with surtitles in English (and Welsh in Cardiff and Llandudno)
Plot summary
In a mythical world of spirits and heroes,
broken-hearted young warrior Orlando descends
into madness and violence when he is rejected by
Princess Angelica, in favour of another man. With
the magical intervention of Zoroastro the Wizard,
Angelica’s life is saved, and Orlando’s mind can
finally be at peace again.
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Autumn | Madness
WNO’s guide to
Orlando
When Handel’s Orlando appeared on the
stage of the King’s Theatre on 27 January
1733, Italian opera was under attack. In
fact, the imported genre, which Handel had
championed since his arrival in London
and the composition of Rinaldo (1711), had
been the object of increasing criticism by
those who supported the institution of an
English national musical theatre. Handel’s
operas, with their Italian librettos, formal
conventions, use of castrati and exuberant
display of vocal virtuosity, had been the
preferred target of such criticism. And yet
during the last few years of his operatic
activity, before he turned mainly to the
composition of English oratorios, Handel
was to produce some of his masterpieces
in an attempt not only to ensure the
survival of opera seria in England, but
also to infuse new energy into the genre.
Orlando, with its blend of familiar features
and musical and dramatic novelty, was one
of Handel’s most valiant efforts to defend
Italian opera.
Based on a libretto by Carlo Sigismondo
Capece, adapted for Handel by an
anonymous poet, Orlando marks
the composer’s return to the Italian
Renaissance poems with a supernatural
element (Rinaldo from Tasso’s
Jerusalem Delivered being the most
noteworthy precedent) after many years
of explorations of themes and figures
drawn from ancient history. The hero from
Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso gave Handel the
opportunity to explore the human soul in
more depth than ever before, while magic
and the unforeseeable provided the perfect
backdrop to contemplate the erratic
nature of destiny. Five characters share
the stage in a drama that, enhanced by
extraordinarily powerful music, takes the
audience on a wild ride through jealousy,
the pretence of love, guilt, defeat, selfdiscovery and madness. Divided into three
acts, the story follows the love of Orlando,
the knight who has defeated enemies and
terrible monsters, for Angelica. Orlando,
however, has yet to confront his worst
enemy – his own passions – when he
discovers that Angelica loves Medoro, who
loves her back. At the realisation that she
has betrayed him, Orlando’s mind plunges
into madness and despair, beginning
a journey that will lead him through the
darkest alleys of the human soul.
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It is in his depiction of the character of Orlando
that Handel used the most extraordinary palette of
musical colours, displaying his versatility in the last
role he composed for one of the leading castrati of
the time, the celebrated Senesino.
Zoroastro, a magician, is at once spectator
of Orlando’s vicissitudes and deus ex
machina. He lays out the main dilemma
of the opera – the choice between love
and glory – at the opening of Act I, inviting
Orlando to choose the latter in his aria
‘Lascia Amor, e siegui Marte.’ But all men,
including heroes, are victims of the blind
god of love, as Dorinda discovers. Her
unreciprocated love for Medoro inspired
some of the most beautiful music of the
opera, including the trio that concludes
Act I, in which the two lovers Angelica and
Medoro try to comfort the inconsolable
shepherdess. It is only in Act III that Dorinda
can face the truth and conclude that ‘Amor
è qual vento, che gira il cervello’ – Love is
like a wind that makes one’s head spin. In
the meantime Angelica, unable to break the
knight’s heart, hides her love for Medoro
and tries to deceive Orlando with the highly
sensual aria ‘Se fedel vuoi ch’io ti creda’
proving that love, even when it is only a
pretence, can inspire ravishing music.
But it is in his depiction of the character
of Orlando that Handel used the most
extraordinary palette of musical colours,
displaying his versatility in the last role he
composed for one of the leading castrati of
the time, the celebrated Senesino. Orlando
is depicted as a profoundly human hero,
whose music embodies the very essence
of the tension between rationality and
love, faith and deceit through his journey
of self-discovery and transformation. In
Act I, strong in his belief of Angelica’s love
for him, he sings ‘Fammi combattere,’
expressing in early bel canto fashion the
power and boldness of youth to confront
monsters and enemies for her sake.
Orlando, however, is not ready to confront
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A moment with...
Marilyn Stolz Human Resources Manager
Horrible visions of specters materialise before his
eyes, as he imagines himself as Orpheus, taking a
journey to the abyss of his mind.
My biggest achievement is... Completing 40 years at WNO!
The best thing about WNO is... The dedication and commitment of the staff.
What would you like WNO to achieve in the future? Connecting with the man
in the street.
Mozart or Rossini? Mozart.
Hills or Valleys? Valleys.
the idea of losing Angelica and the opera
reaches its dramatic and musical climax
at the end of Act II, when he bursts into
a mad scene of unprecedented power.
Horrible visions of spectres materialise
before his eyes, as he imagines himself as
Orpheus, taking a journey to the abyss of
his mind. For this scene Handel devised
an uninterrupted musical tour de force that
defies the formal conventions of Baroque
opera: the initial accompanied recitative,
with sudden changes of tempo, key and
accompaniment, gives way to an elaborate
rondo that captures the obsessiveness of
madness (‘Vaghe pupille’).
Fortunately the detractors of the Italian
genre did not succeed in discouraging
Handel from composing opera seria
and after Orlando there were still several
masterpieces to come, including two
further operas based on Ariosto’s Orlando
Furioso – Ariodante and Alcina. Starting
with its early revivals in the 1920s, Orlando
has enjoyed much success in modern
times. We must be grateful that today
we can enjoy such a masterfully devised
opera, with its opportunities for grand
coups de théâtre, languid introspective
moments, ravishing sensuality, and
original treatment of operatic Baroque
conventions. Handel’s lovers will recognise
many of the features that make his music
such an indispensable presence in the
operatic canon, while being surprised
by the originality of this particular score;
for anyone else, this is an adventurous
journey through the deepest recesses of
the human soul and a treasure trove of
memorable musical moments.
Valeria De Lucca is Lecturer in Music at the
University of Southampton.
© Valeria De Lucca
Photo: The children’s dressing room
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
A Musical Thriller
New production
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by Hugh Wheeler
From an adaptation by Christopher Bond
Originally directed by Harold Prince
Original orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick
Sweeney Todd fills a void with a bloody and blind quest for vengeance. Those who enter
his shop get more than a close shave. The unlucky ones end up in Mrs Lovett’s rather
unsavoury pies, proving you are what you eat.
Sondheim’s masterpiece is by turns hugely funny, terrifying and deeply sad. It works on a
number of different levels, is complex but always engaging. In a scene of high comedy, Mrs
Lovett explains why hers are ‘The worst pies in London’. In another, Sweeney is reunited
with the razor blades he left behind when he was wrongfully imprisoned. There are few
scenes like it. On one hand it is disturbing – he regards the razors as his friends and begins
to be distanced from the real world – but it is also strangely moving. The musical’s finale is
devastating but also hugely cathartic.
James Brining’s thrilling production is set in the late 1970s/early 1980s. It emphasises
Sondheim’s message that it’s not just Sweeney who is insane. Through its corruption and
inequality, society is totally mad. See Sweeney Todd and you’ll find that it buries itself in your
consciousness and refuses to leave. Sweeney Todd has all the emotional impact of the
greatest operas. It deserves to be performed by the forces of our Chorus and Orchestra.
‘This is a fascinating, febrile evening, but not one for those who like their musical
theatre succulent and untroubling. It spares the audience nothing, and like one of
Mrs Lovett’s meat pies it leaves a nasty taste in the mouth.’ The Guardian
wno.org.uk/sweeney
Next?
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Autumn | Madness
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Sweeney Todd
Sondheim
New production
Conductor James Holmes
Director James Brining
Designer Colin Richmond
Lighting Designer Chris Davey
Choreographer Anna Morrissey
Cast to be announced
Originally produced on Broadway by Richard Barr, Charles
Woodward, Robert Fryer, Mary Lea Johnson, Martin Richards in
association with Dean and Judy Manos
Presented by arrangement with JOSEF WEINBERGER LIMITED on
behalf of MUSIC THEATRE INTERNATIONAL of New York
Co-production with Wales Millennium Centre and West Yorkshire
Playhouse in association with Royal Exchange Theatre
•Performances start at 7.15pm, except Cardiff on 8 & 9 October, 24, 25, & 27
November at 7.30pm and 26 & 28 November at both 2pm and 7.30pm and 29 November at 2pm
•Running time approximately three hours ten minutes including one interval
•Sung in English (please note there will be no surtitles)
•Amplification will be used in this production in line with music theatre practice
Plot summary
After 15 years of wrongful imprisonment, barber
Sweeney Todd returns to London in search of
his wife and daughter. He loses his mind when
pie-shop owner Mrs Lovett reveals their respective
murder and mistreatment at the hands of a
sinister Judge. His grizzly quest for revenge leads
to a heartbreaking discovery.
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Autumn | Madness
WNO’s guide to
Sweeney Todd
Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd
is a Broadway musical that has been
taken into the operatic repertoire. How
come? By the late 1970s Sondheim was
well known as a composer and lyricist for
Broadway musicals. He had written the
lyrics for West Side Story and Gypsy and
the music as well as the lyrics for shows
such as A Funny Thing Happened on
the Way to the Forum, Follies and A Little
Night Music. He had had a popular hit
with the song ‘Send in the clowns’. But
paradoxically, all these projects he had
made his own by working as part of a team
– that is how Broadway musicals operate
– on subjects and adaptations originating
with other people. Sweeney Todd was
different, and it shows, or rather sounds.
In 1974 he was in London, a city he loves
more than anywhere except his native New
York, and saw a production of Christopher
Bond’s fairly recent play Sweeney Todd at
Joan Littlewood’s left-wing Theatre Royal,
Stratford East. For once it was his idea that
this had to become a musical, and that he
had to write it. The reason? It was funny, it
was exciting, and it was popular – a revival
of bloodbath melodrama but with all the
careful and witty Dickensian touches you
would expect from a period piece, as well
as Dickens’s scary atmosphere. And being
a melodrama, everything was larger than
life, just as in opera. It could be pretty
much all set to music and sung, and would
not merely be a matter of song-and-dance
numbers interspersed with lots of spoken
‘book’ scenes. The other thing was that its
plot of a serial killer at loose in old London
reminded him of a film he had seen as
a teenager about a mad composer:
Hangover Square, with music by Bernard
Herrmann (who wrote the scores for the
Hitchcock films). He had always wanted
to be able to write incidental music like
Herrmann’s (which of course included the
fictional mad composer’s own concerto),
and now was his chance. Enlisting the help
of Hugh Wheeler in refashioning Bond’s
play for the musical theatre, he set to. The
Broadway director Hal Prince put it on
the New York stage, where it premièred in
1979.
What had emerged was Sondheim’s
biggest score – not as big as Gershwin’s
folk opera Porgy and Bess, but packed
equally full of every rich musical sound
and procedure of relevance and tradition
from both high and low culture, those
sounds and styles, not picked apart (unlike
the bodies of Todd’s victims), but crafted
with loving expertise and enjoyed entirely
on their own terms. The score ranges
from slapstick, burlesque and strutting
walkarounds to soaring romantic ballads
and delicate art songs; from creepy
organ voluntaries and terrifying musical
soliloquies of rage to the most seductive,
and yet hilarious, sung Viennese waltz
as Todd and his accomplice Mrs Lovett
suddenly realise how to get rid of the body
he has just murdered – by rebranding
her pie business with (secretly) human
ingredients. What Sondheim the musician
29
and wickedly clever lyricist understands
above all is how to ratchet up musical,
verbal and dramatic tension and then
release it so that you thoroughly surprise
yourself in your equally wicked enjoyment.
Sweeney Todd is not an opera; it remains a
musical. Every word, sung at the speed of
speech, can and must be heard. Its catchy
or soulful or insidious tunes are much
repeated, though always for a reason. Its
ingenu croons, its female comic croaks
and belts. It is theatre even before it is
music, and acts itself out within the fastpaced vaudeville tradition. It still has plenty
of spoken dialogue, sometimes leading
into song, and plenty of short scenes with
Sweeney Todd is not an opera; it remains a
musical. Every word, sung at the speed of speech,
can and must be heard. Its catchy or soulful or
insidious tunes are much repeated, though always
for a reason. Its ingenu croons, its female comic
croaks and belts.
30
Characters, especially Sweeney himself,
sing with operatic vehemence, power, and
sustenance, and they are backed up by
orchestral devices and instrumental harmonies
of considerable sophistication...
dazzling stage management between
them. It is very funny, and Mrs Lovett is one
of the great comic villains of the theatre.
At the same time it is complex and
disturbing, while never less than moral
and fundamentally tragic. Sweeney
addresses one love song to a trick chair
(which will despatch his customers) and
sings two others as he is cutting throats.
Characters, especially Sweeney himself,
sing with operatic vehemence, power,
and sustenance, and they are backed up
by orchestral devices and instrumental
harmonies of considerable sophistication,
on occasions with the modernistic
harshness of Copland or Stravinsky,
at other times with emotional leitmotifs
or psychological transitions worthy of
Wagner. Melodic clues are interwoven
that underline the motivation and foretell
the ending. Above all, heroic or romantic
music can in a moment give way to the
sneakiness of character and the wit of note
and rhyme that have you laughing out
loud. What other composer since Rossini
has managed that?
It really does have the best of both worlds,
and so does the audience. Yet Sondheim
has never repeated the formula; all the
more reason to go and see Sweeney Todd.
Stephen Banfield is Emeritus Professor of
Music at the University of Bristol.
© Stephen Banfield
Photo: Carmen and Don José – a view from the wings
He laughed. He loved. He lost.
For over 200 years he has remained one of
opera’s most popular and enduring creations.
Truly, he stands the test of time. Making matches.
Making mischief. Making audiences worldwide
smile and laugh with his lust for life and love.
Rossini’s The Barber of Seville and Mozart’s
The Marriage of Figaro are much loved by
opera lovers and are the perfect introduction for
newcomers. Then in a world première we catch up
with our hero in Figaro Gets a Divorce. Just how
has time taken its toll?
Spring 2016
Figaro forever
The Barber of Seville Rossini
The Marriage of Figaro Mozart
Figaro Gets a Divorce Elena Langer
wno.org.uk/figaroforever
The Barber of Seville
Rossini
New production
The Barber of Seville should be available on the NHS. Upbeat and optimistic, Rossini’s
sunniest creation is the perfect pick-me up. Its fantastic slapstick energy is destined to
rub off on anyone who sees it.
The pace is fast and never lets up from the start. Everyone is carried along by a whirlwind
of crazy disguises, twists and turns and unlikely interventions. Barber opens with one of the
best loved of all overtures, full of wit and playfulness. Figaro lets us know he is society’s
problem solver in the great comic aria, ‘Largo al factotum’. Rosina’s sparkling aria ‘Una
voce poco fa’ makes it very clear that she’s not someone you’d want to mess with.
We have assembled an exceptional cast of comic performers including the peerless
Andrew Shore as the greedy Doctor Bartolo. This is our first new production of The Barber
of Seville for nearly 30 years. It is the perfect opportunity to bask in the warmth and
sunniness of this ultimate feel-good opera with a sparkling new translation by
Kelley Rourke.
wno.org.uk/barber
Time to laugh
36
Spring | Figaro forever
37
Rossini
New production
Conductor James Southall
Director Sam Brown
Set Designer Ralph Koltai
Costume Designer Sue Blane
Lighting Designer Linus Fellbom
Assistant Set Designer Robin Don
Cast
Figaro Nicholas Lester
Rosina Claire Booth
Count Almaviva Nico Darmanin
Bartolo Andrew Shore
Basilio Richard Wiegold
Co-production with Grand Théâtre de Genève
Supported by WNO Partners
• Performances start at 7.15pm
• Running time approximately two hours and 50 minutes including one interval
• Sung in English with surtitles in English (and Welsh in Cardiff and Llandudno)
Plot summary
Figaro, a quick-witted barber, agrees (for a
generous sum) to help Count Almaviva woo
Rosina, the closely-guarded ward of the
greedy Doctor Bartolo, who fancies her and her
substantial inheritance for himself. Together,
the lovers and their friseur plot an escape that
involves bribery, subterfuge and numerous comic
disguises along the way.
38
WNO’s guide to
Some 20 minutes into Rossini’s The
Barber of Seville, the orchestra bursts into
one of the most extraordinary expressions
of energy, verve, and joie de vivre of
any opera, announcing the imminent
appearance of Figaro, an infinitely
resourceful and rightfully boastful barber.
Since 1816, when Il barbiere di Siviglia first
appeared at the Teatro Argentina in Rome,
this character and the opera he inhabits
have been perennial features on stages
around the world.
As with several other celebrated operas,
the opening night was a tremendous
fiasco: as Rossini reported in a letter to
his mother, ‘Last night my opera went on
stage, and it was solemnly booed’. Several
incidents had disrupted the performance
(most famously, the unexpected
appearance of a cat onstage), and
supporters of Giovanni Paisiello, who
had composed a very successful
Il barbiere di Siviglia prior to Rossini, may
have tried their best to hiss the new opera
off the stage. Within a few performances,
however, the fate of Rossini’s Barber
was reversed, and the opera went on
to become a tremendous international
success, staged in the original language
and in translation at countless locations in
Italy and all over the world. By 1818 it had
reached London, and in 1825 it became
the first opera to be performed in Italian in
New York.
The reasons for the success are not
difficult to understand: Figaro’s entrance
aria, ‘Largo al factotum’ (‘Make way for the
factotum’) may well be the signature piece,
but every moment of The Barber of Seville
is filled with highly entertaining subject
matter and memorable music. To be sure,
Rossini and his librettist, Cesare Sterbini,
capitalised on well-established comic
stereotypes. Consider the scenes in which
Count Almaviva, the affluent and powerful
nobleman in love with Rosina, enters her
house disguised first as a soldier, then as
a music teacher. The disguise is as old an
expedient as comedy itself, but Rossini’s
music injects new life into it, masterfully
depicting first the brash soldier’s
drunkenness, then the querulous and
servile music teacher seeking to ingratiate
himself with Doctor Bartolo. In those
scenes, the action flows seamlessly with
various characters entering, quick-paced
39
This is an Italian opera, and in addition to the
ensemble scenes and the more comic moments,
one should expect an abundance of arias, in
which individual characters express their love,
hopes, anger, and plots.
alternation of dialogue and brief lyrical
episodes, commanding the spectator’s
attention throughout.
Of course this is an Italian opera, and
in addition to the ensemble scenes and
the more comic moments, one should
expect an abundance of arias, in which
individual characters express their love,
hopes, anger, and plots. Several of the
arias in The Barber of Seville consist of two
movements, according to a conventional
formal pattern well established in Rossini’s
operas. All of them are exquisite examples
of musical characterisation, in which
Rossini succeeds in expressing both the
nature of the character and a particular
dramatic situation. The two serenades
sung by Count Almaviva depict his youthful
spirit, genuine feelings, and refined
manners, whereas his highly virtuosic final
aria (sometimes omitted in performance),
after his identity is revealed to Rosina,
overtly expresses the might associated
with his rank. Analogously, Rosina
introduces herself to the audience in the
celebrated ‘Una voce poco fa’ (‘A voice a
short while ago’), in which she cherishes
the thought of winning ‘Lindoro’ for
herself and writes him a letter describing
her own personality. (Lindoro, of course,
is none other than Count Almaviva in
disguise, seeking to woo Rosina for who
he is and not for his money). Then, in
the Act II lesson scene, she sings a more
complex piece, where she adopts a more
elevated style to express her strengthening
confidence and frustration with her tutor,
the greedy Doctor Bartolo, who desires
to marry Rosina to lay his hands on her
fortune.
An opera buffa (‘buffa’ is the conventional
Italian for ‘comic’) of the early 19th century
must feature at least one pure-breed comic
character, often an elderly man seeking
to improve his social standing or to marry
a young woman. Here that character is
40
It is with Figaro’s music in their ears that
audiences make their way home, every time
wishing to have a chance to hear it again.
Doctor Bartolo, who hopes to marry Rosina
(‘by force or by love’, he says). His hope
remains unfulfilled, but he does nonetheless
come across as a resourceful figure, not
easily deceived or deterred, and providing
endless opportunities for others to scheme
against him. The aria in which he confines
Rosina to her room is a magnificent
opportunity for a buffo bass to showcase
his ability at delivering poetry at breakneck
speed – an effective strategy for the display
of comically exaggerated anger.
Indeed, one of the marvels of Rossini’s
The Barber of Seville is that by the end
of the performance we feel that we know
and understand each of its characters
intimately (including also the greedy music
teacher, Don Basilio, and Berta, a deeply
human housemaid). Each of them at once
embraces and defies convention, and each
of them comes across as sophisticated and
fascinating. Some are likable, some less
so, but all are propelled through the plot
by plausible feelings, motives, aims – and
music. Above all, of course, towers Figaro,
present onstage for much of the opera,
always ready to invent and deploy another
trick, another disguise, another excuse so
as to help the Count’s love dream come
true (and receive adequate remuneration).
When the story reaches its happy ending, it
is for him to switch off the lights. For almost
two centuries, every time The Barber of
Seville is performed, it is with Figaro’s music
in their ears that audiences make their way
home, every time wishing to have a chance
to hear it again. We should have every
confidence that in 2016, when Rossini’s
comic masterpiece turns 200, it will sound
as youthful and appealing as ever.
Francesco Izzo is Associate Professor of
Music at the University of Southampton.
© Francesco Izzo
A moment with...
Ruth Evans Youth & Community Producer
My biggest achievement is... Gaining three full international rugby caps by
representing Wales Women’s Rugby Team in the 6 Nations and European
Championships in 2009.
My favourite WNO moment is... On our WNO Singing Doctors project
in the Wrexham Maelor hospital when one gentleman on the Alzheimer’s ward,
who normally made no conversation with relatives or staff, sang along and
conducted our WNO musicians from his hospital bed. The nurses and the
whole team were crying.
The best thing about WNO is... That every day is different! Being a producer
is such a varied and interesting job. I am so privileged to work for such a
passionate and exciting company and artform.
Today or tomorrow? Today.
Photo: The ladies of the Chorus from the wings
The Marriage of Figaro
Mozart
New production
What makes us tick? Mozart and his librettist da Ponte understood this better than most
great artists. In The Marriage of Figaro, Mozart allows us to eavesdrop into a day in the life
of Count Almaviva’s household.
Over the course of the opera we get to see each character’s agendas, flaws, wit and
strengths. We also get to see flashes of ourselves in each character. The Countess
struggles to come to terms with the possibility that her husband may not love her anymore
in the heartbreaking aria ‘Porgi Amor’. In ‘Hai già vinta la causa’ the Count himself
struggles with the reality that his privileged world may be changing forever. At the opera’s
conclusion the Count asks for his wife’s forgiveness (and he probably means it for that
moment). All seems to be resolved but we cannot be sure that he will keep his promise.
Outside the Castle walls, a storm is brewing that will change everything forever.
The Marriage of Figaro preserves a moment in time for audiences of all subsequent
generations. With sublime music and a huge sense of fun, Figaro, perhaps more than any
work of art since captures what it means to be alive.
wno.org.uk/figaro
Time to love
44
45
Mozart
New production
Conductor Lothar Koenigs (until 9 March,
6 & 9 April) Simon Phillippo (12 March – 2 April)
Director Tobias Richter
Cast
Figaro David Stout
Susanna Anna Devin
Count Almaviva Mark Stone
Countess Almaviva Elizabeth Watts
Cherubino Naomi O’Connell
Marcellina Susan Bickley
Doctor Bartolo Richard Wiegold
Don Basilio / Don Curzio Alan Oke
Supported by WNO Partners
• All performances start at 7pm
• Running time approximately three hours and 25 minutes including one interval
Plot summary
In the Almaviva Castle, the wedding day of
servants Figaro and Susanna is fraught with
complications: Figaro must ward off the advances
of the duenna, Marcellina, while Susanna
must find a way to avoid her lecherous master.
Conspiring with the heartbroken Countess, the
young couple plot to outwit the Count, who is
made to see the error of his philandering ways, in
a day of scandalous revelation.
46
WNO’s guide to
The overture to The Marriage of Figaro
opens with a low chuckle that grows to an
unstoppable guffaw of laughter. But what
the overture doesn’t quite prepare us for is
the anger, heartbreak and tenderness that
is to follow, taking the opera’s audience on
an emotional roller-coaster that leaves it
uncertain whether to laugh or cry from one
minute to the next.
It was Mozart himself, finger on the pulse
of his times, who suggested turning a
French play that had recently caused an
uproar in Paris into an Italian opera for the
court theatre in Vienna. Originally banned
by King Louis XVI, Beaumarchais’s play
The Marriage of Figaro concerns the
conflict between the aristocratic Count
Almaviva, and his servant Figaro over the
Count’s attentions to Figaro’s bride-to-be
Susanna. The battle between masters
and servants had long been a staple of
comic drama, but Beaumarchais brought
to his archetypal story a topical twist that
made it much more dangerous, for Count
Almaviva claims the feudal right of the
lord of the manor to enjoy the favours of
any newlywed on his estate on her bridal
night. Lurking beneath the age-old plot is a
devastating critique of the social structures
of late 18th century Europe, and of the
continued dominance of the aristocracy,
which erupts in a great tirade by Figaro
against the injustices of wealth and power
which still resonates today. Napoleon
considered that the play had been the first
step towards the French Revolution, which
began only five years later.
Mozart, too, often expressed the rage
of those who were condemned to lowly
social status because of their class. As a
court musician in Salzburg he was placed
above the cooks but below the valets in
47
It was Mozart himself, finger on the pulse of his
times, who suggested turning a French play that
had recently caused an uproar in Paris into an
Italian opera for the court theatre in Vienna.
the pecking order. The play spoke directly
to his own experience. And Mozart was
politically astute enough to know that
the play’s message was also in accord
with Emperor Joseph II’s own attempts
to modernise the creaking Habsburg
empire by dismantling the power of the
feudal aristocracy, who would be the
main audience for the opera at the court
theatre. Despite having banned German
translations of the play, Joseph let Mozart
go ahead.
is up to he declares war in an aria of
scarcely controlled rage, ‘Se vuol ballare’:
‘If you want to dance, little mister Count,
I’ll play the tune’. The aria starts with a
mockingly formal minuet, the dance of the
aristocracy, and then explodes into a series
of unseemly middle-class hopping dances
as Figaro imagines the indignities to which
he will subject the Count, Mozart drawing
on his audience’s knowledge of the class
associations of the dances of his day to
make the point.
Beaumarchais’s play is a fast-moving
intrigue with ingenious twists and turns,
plots and subplots. Mozart’s Italian librettist
Lorenzo da Ponte had to shape this into
an opera, providing, in his own words,
‘canzonettas, arias, choruses, and other
forms and words susceptible to music’.
And he had to tone down some of the
more confrontational political content.
Nonetheless, social criticism is inherent in
the plot, expressed in the anger of Figaro
and Susanna at their predicament. When
Figaro realises what his master the Count
Throughout the opera Mozart carefully
deploys his various musical languages
(comic, serious, sentimental, parodic) to
depict the different characters, and then
brings them together in the equalising
ensembles and finales. For the ensembles
Mozart was able to construct musical
frameworks that permitted characters
to express entirely different thoughts
or emotions in response to the same
situation simultaneously. One of the most
remarkable examples is the sextet in Act
III when it is revealed that two of Figaro’s
48
A moment with...
Megan Llewellyn Dorke Soprano, WNO Chorus
My favourite WNO moment is... Die Meistersinger.
Mozart paces his finales carefully, allowing the
tension to build slowly until it explodes like a
suppressed geyser.
The best thing about WNO is... The teamwork of the Crew, Chorus,
Stage Management and all the admin.
Today or tomorrow? Tomorrow.
What would you like WNO to achieve in the future? More funding, quite frankly.
Crisps or nuts? Almonds, although I am partial to a cheeky salt and vinegar!
staunchest enemies are in fact (plotspoiler alert) his long-lost parents; as the
revelations and surprises unfold, and as
the characters change relationships and
allegiances, Mozart matches every plot
twist and turn effortlessly in the music.
Even more remarkable are the end of
act finales, when the dramatic action
is brought to a climax, with all of the
characters thrown together in mounting
chaos and confusion. Mozart paces his
finales carefully, allowing the tension
to build slowly until it explodes like a
suppressed geyser.
And the opera is not just about social
issues. The theme of loss, of both
happiness and innocence, is also prevalent
throughout: the Countess Almaviva
poignantly remembering happier times;
Cherubino, the adolescent page boy
hopelessly in love with every woman he
sees; Susanna’s heartfelt invocation of
the recovery of Eden; even the peasant
girl Barbarina, who in an achingly wistful
little song with the banal words ‘I have lost
it’ ostensibly laments a lost pin. Nudgenudgingly we know that the song refers
to the loss of her sexual innocence; but
in truth it mourns a whole fallen world of
regret for lost youth, innocence and times
past, which Mozart conveys tenderly in his
uniquely bitter-sweet music.
Nicholas Till is Professor of Opera & Music
Theatre at the University of Sussex.
© Nicholas Till
Photo: An afternoon rehearsal takes place
Figaro Gets a Divorce
World première
Music by Elena Langer
Libretto by David Pountney
So, was it really happy ever after for the Almaviva household? Has the distant thunder of
the revolution in France turned into a storm from which they cannot escape? What does
the world of Figaro sound like in the hands of a contemporary composer?
These questions have intrigued David Pountney. So much so that he decided to provide
some answers. He’s done this by commissioning a new opera by Elena Langer for which
he has written the libretto. Comic moments collide with touching ones in an opera which
is part comedy, part political thriller. Langer and Pountney have created an affectionate
sequel to Mozart’s classic, a testimony to human courage and resilience.
The characters of The Marriage of Figaro are some of the best-loved in opera. For those
of us who have seen the opera before, they can feel like people we know, even friends.
Figaro Gets a Divorce, therefore, is a one-off reunion, a chance to catch-up with these old
friends.
wno.org.uk/figarodivorce
Time to
lose
52
53
Elena Langer
World première
Conductor TBA
Director David Pountney
Cast
Figaro David Stout
Susanna Marie Arnet
Count Mark Stone
Countess Elizabeth Watts
Serafin Naomi O’Connell
The Cherub Andrew Watts
The Major Alan Oke
Supported by The Boltini Trust, WNO Commissions Group and
WNO Partners
• Performances start at 7.15pm, except Cardiff on Sunday 21 February at 4pm
Plot summary
The Almaviva household is fleeing the chaos of
the Revolution, pursued by the evil Major who is
plotting to kill them all. Susanna’s frustration with
her increasingly cynical husband, Figaro, propels
her towards a one-night stand with Cherubino,
now a rather sleazy nightclub owner who calls
himself The Cherub. Meanwhile, the Count and
Countess are scandalised by the revelation of
each others’ infidelities. They finally return to what
remains of the Almaviva residence, and the Count
and Countess are reconciled with one another,
and with their fate, as revolutionary troops
advance.
54
WNO’s guide to
An unfaithful Count apologises to his wife,
the Countess. A love-struck teenage boy
is left heartbroken. A servant and maid
finally get married after an engagement
fraught with complications. Set against the
backdrop of impending political revolution,
the final moments of Mozart’s opera The
Marriage of Figaro offer a conclusion that
could be seen as less than conclusive.
It was this open-endedness that caught
the attention of David Pountney, Chief
Executive and Artistic Director of WNO,
who has written the libretto for a new
sequel to the story. In spring 2016, this
new commission will complete the Figaro
forever season trilogy, which begins with
Rossini’s much-loved comic opera, The
Barber of Seville. ‘Clearly the Count and
Countess’s reconciliation is not the final
episode,’ David says, referring to the end
of the Mozart opera; ‘Simultaneously,
you have Figaro and Susanna, who are
embarking on the new voyage of marriage,
while politically, the country is on the
verge of revolution. The world is about to
turn upside down. Well, what would have
happened, if it had?’ In the volatile political
landscape of the 21st century, the question
of ‘What next?’ for the inhabitants of Count
Almaviva’s castle could not be more timely.
The title of this action-packed sequel
alludes to just one of several twists of fate
that will affect the characters in a new,
post-Revolutionary reality. It soon becomes
apparent that Susanna and Figaro are not
the only couple to have run into marital
problems: the Count and Countess,
reeling from the loss of their aristocratic
status, are forced to reveal aspects of
their personalities – and secrets from the
past – that perhaps they would rather have
kept hidden from one another. Audiences
will also be interested to see the amusing
development of Cherubino, the hopelessly
naive teenage boy from Mozart’s opera,
who, like the rest of the cast, reinvents
himself to adapt to the changing times.
‘There’s also a newly invented evil
character who is out to destroy them all,’
warns David, darkly.
There is a precedent for following these
characters into the post-Revolutionary
world: Pierre Beaumarchais, the author
of the original Figaro plays that inspired
Rossini’s and Mozart’s operas, wrote a
sequel called The Guilty Mother, while
in 1936, Austrian playwright Ödön von
Horváth wrote a darkly disillusioned
alternative, set in the contemporary
chaos of Nazi Germany. ‘I looked at the
Beaumarchais and Horváth, and it has
elements of both,’ says David, ‘but this is a
different piece. It has its comic moments,
but it is also a political thriller.’ The resulting
story, with its plot twists and intrigue,
has presented a particularly exciting
challenge for composer Elena Langer:
‘It’s so eventful - things are happening all
the time! There’s murder, adultery, and
racketeering, so above all, my music must
not be boring.’
Understandably, Elena was somewhat
daunted to be approached by David with
the challenge of effectively picking up the
55
story where Rossini and Mozart left off:
‘I thought he was joking!’ she laughs, ‘I
was intimidated at first, but when I read
the libretto, I saw that it follows the human
story of these characters.’ For audience
members who are concerned that Figaro
Gets a Divorce will merely be a pale
imitation of the Rossini or Mozart, Elena
is keen to emphasise that the music will
create a fresh and eclectic sound world: ‘I
consciously chose not to quote or make
any references to the other two Figaro
operas. There will be a range of styles,
from lyrical love duets, to elements of
cabaret and even the tango!’ For Elena,
it has been a pleasure to interpret a new
story with moments of playful humour: ‘I’m
playing with the text and responding to
it, because I’ve got to give it at least one
more layer of meaning. It’s a comedy –
and although is quite dark at times, in real
life I like comedy, so it’s great that I get to
write this!’
The title of this action-packed sequel alludes to
just one of several twists of fate that will affect the
characters in a new, post-Revolutionary reality.
56
A moment with...
Ian Douglas Company Manager
My favourite WNO moment is... Hearing the applause at the end of a show.
With the prospect of scandal, deceit and young
love, all set to a sparkling new musical score,
Figaro Gets a Divorce will provide an unmissable
third chapter in the lives of these characters, ‘and
I hope audiences will share my enthusiasm and
curiosity for knowing what happens next...’
With the prospect of scandal, deceit and
young love, all set to a sparkling new
musical score, Figaro Gets a Divorce will
provide an unmissable third chapter in
the lives of these characters, ‘and I hope
audiences will share my enthusiasm
and curiosity for knowing what happens
next,’ says David Pountney. For those
who are as yet unacquainted with Figaro
and friends, this newly crafted political
thriller will provide a fantastically engaging
introduction to their world, that is full of
fun and adventure. In the preface to Ödön
von Horváth’s continuation of the story, the
author writes; ‘The problems of revolution
are first: timeless, and second: especially
topical in our time.’ There are rumbles of
the coming revolution in The Marriage of
Figaro. With Figaro Gets a Divorce, 21st
Tell us something we don’t know about WNO? We once had to hire coaches to
get the performing company out of Cardiff to go on tour as the snow was so deep
that the police wouldn’t allow private cars on the main roads. The show must go on!
Mozart or Rossini? Mozart – by streets!
Still or sparkling? Life is too short not to have fizz in your life!
Hills or Valleys? Hills – the higher the better.
century audiences are invited to join these
much-loved residents of the Almaviva
Castle, whose story resumes at the
moment the storm descends. It promises
to be a knife-edge adventure.
WNO Nicholas John Dramaturg Sophie
Rashbrook spoke to Elena Langer and
David Pountney.
Photo: The dressing room for the men of the Chorus
We mark our 70th birthday with the world
première of Iain Bell’s In Parenthesis. A work
that proves that opera isn’t a heritage art
form, it’s a life-force. Opera is about who we
are as human beings and why our pain, as
well as our joy defines us.
Old favourites and friends return as we
celebrate with a revival of Cavalleria rusticana
and Pagliacci; the first production ever
staged by WNO in Cardiff on 15 April 1946.
We will witness the ageless intensity of Italian
opera, as fresh now as it was then.
Summer 2016
WNO@70
In Parenthesis Iain Bell
Mascagni & Leoncavallo
wno.org.uk/wno70
In Parenthesis
World première
Music by Iain Bell
Libretto by David Antrobus and Emma Jenkins
(after David Jones)
Our 70th birthday is a time to look forward. What better way to do this than with a world
première of a major new opera? In Parenthesis is young British composer Iain Bell’s
adaptation of the epic poem by Welsh poet, writer and artist David Jones. In Parenthesis
is commissioned by the Nicholas John Trust with 14-18 NOW, the UK cultural programme
to commemorate World War I.
Private John Ball and his comrades in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers are posted to the Somme.
In Mametz Wood they enter a strange realm – outside of time, dream-like but deadly.
Rather than simply reporting the horrors of the Somme, In Parenthesis dares to offer hope.
Even here amongst the destruction, a fragile flowering of regeneration and re-birth can
be found. Bell’s beautiful score combines traditional Welsh song with moments of otherworldliness, terror, humour and transcendence. David Pountney’s period production is
both an evocation and a commemoration of the events of the Somme.
Opera is a living, breathing art form. But for it to keep on growing and evolving, we need
you to join us for what we believe is an important major new work.
wno.org.uk/parenthesis
The end of time
62
Summer | WNO@70
63
In Parenthesis
Iain Bell
World première
Director David Pountney
Designer Robert Innes Hopkins
Cast
Private Ball TBA
Bard of Brittannia/HQ Officer
Peter Coleman-Wright
Bard of Germania/Alice the Barmaid/
The Queen of the Woods Alexandra Deshorties
Lieutenant Jenkins George Humphreys
Lance Corporal Lewis Marcus Farnsworth
Sergeant Snell Mark Le Brocq
Dai Great Coat Donald Maxwell
The Marne Sergeant Graham Clark
Commissioned by the Nicholas John Trust
With 14-18 NOW, WW1 Centenary Art Commissions, supported by
the National Lottery through Arts Council England and the Heritage
Lottery Fund
Supported by WNO Commissions Group
Performances at the Royal Opera House are supported by the
Welsh Government
• Performances start at 7.15pm, except Royal Opera House on 29 June and
1 July at 7.30pm
• Sung in English with surtitles in English (and Welsh in Cardiff)
Plot summary
The young Private John Ball joins a company
of Welsh soldiers to fight the Germans at the
Battle of Mametz Wood. His experience of war is
illuminated by powerful visions of a mythical past,
which transform the final scene of devastation into
a vision of hope for the future.
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WNO’s guide to
In Parenthesis
‘As a 13-year-old schoolboy, I had read
every book on the World War One shelf,
apart from the one whose title I didn’t
understand, and then I finally had to pick
it up. I can still remember the excitement
of opening the first page of In Parenthesis,
and seeing the frontispiece with the picture
of the soldier. Of course, there was lots of
it that I didn’t understand, but there were
islands within the text that brought World
War One alive, with its sights, sounds,
colours and textures.’ For co-librettist
David Antrobus, this was the beginning of
a life-long fascination with the First World
War poem by David Jones, which will be
staged by WNO in a new commission to
commemorate the 100th anniversary of the
Battle of the Somme in summer 2016.
In the poem, Jones draws on his personal
experience at the Battle of Mametz Wood
to depict a deeply moving account of the
fighting and heavy losses sustained by the
Royal Welch Fusiliers; a regiment often
referred to as the ‘Poets’ Regiment’, owing
to the presence of Jones and several
other remarkable young writers, including
Siegfried Sassoon, Robert Graves, Wyn
Griffiths and Hedd Wyn. What is unusual
about Jones’s poetry is the rich use of
historical and cultural references, which are
woven into the narrative. The battleground
experiences of the protagonist, Private
John Ball, are interspersed with dream-like
flashbacks to a legendary past. This duality
has proven particularly inspiring to colibrettist Emma Jenkins: ‘There is nothing
else like it in the literary canon,’ she says.
‘There’s something so totally visionary
about it. It penetrates through layers of
reality, and connects us with our mythical
roots.’
Not only does the theme of layers return in
the finely wrought artwork of Jones, who
was a gifted painter, draughtsman, and
maker of woodcuts and inscriptions; it is
also central to understanding the decision
to adapt the work as an opera; arguably
the most complex and multi-faceted art
form of all. ‘Initially we started trying to
create a straight stage adaption,’ explains
David Antrobus. ‘However, it wasn’t able
to communicate the allusive quality of
Jones’s writing, or the ability to “see
through” things. Opera allows this process
of connection.’ Emma describes how the
innate musicality of Jones’s language
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It was really important for me to be able to tell the
story of these young men who went to war, with
the utmost respect for their bravery and courage.
also added to the appeal of an operatic
interpretation: ‘It has such a rich sound
scape, from the “jaguar cough” of far-off
artillery, to the sound of an approaching
shell which seems like the drone of “a
million bees hiving to the stars”.’
Composer Iain Bell describes the
responsibility that comes with setting
In Parenthesis to music: ‘It was really
important for me to be able to tell the story
of these young men who went to war,
with the utmost respect for their bravery
and courage.’ Like Emma and David, he
was also fascinated by the possibilities
of evoking the ‘real’ world of the Battle of
Mametz and the mystical visions of the
narrator: ‘As a composer, the challenge of
evoking those two very different worlds in
music was a thrilling prospect,’ he says.
To evoke a parade ground in 1915, Iain
has chosen to echo the sounds of army
life, with trumpet fanfares and marching
rhythms. The contrasting, mystical world
of John Ball’s visions will be evoked with
shimmering layers of melody, sung by
an all-female ‘Chorus of Remembrance’.
Iain explains how these two worlds
evolve throughout the opera: ‘As the
piece develops, the fantasy world starts
to encroach upon the battlefield, and the
music almost starts to feels like a cinematic
sound track, with epic scenes and intimate
moments.’
Iain is keen to refute the stereotype of
contemporary opera as unrelentingly
harsh and discordant. In addition to writing
melodies of great beauty, he will also be
including a popular Welsh folk song that
was sung by soldiers in the trenches, but
which can be heard today at every game
of Welsh Rugby: ‘The book references
Sosban Fach, and I wanted to include
it, because it is so important to Welsh
national identity,’ he says. Just as that
tune has echoed through the centuries,
Emma and David intend that the opera will
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There will be moments of lightness and humour
throughout, with the genuine excitement of the
soldiers and the jokes they share with one other
along the way, but the final image will be one of
peaceful repose.
be a call for remembrance that extends
far beyond this story of the Royal Welch
Fusiliers: ‘We hope that audiences will
remember these men of Wales who died
in Mametz Wood, who come back to life to
tell their story. But it is also about the men
at Agincourt, Arthur’s knights, those who
lost their lives at the legendary Battle of
Catraeth, indeed all warriors who have ever
been. They reach forward through time to
link minds with us and inspire us.’
This tone of positivity is at the heart of the
piece. Despite the apparent heaviness of
the subject matter, the message of
In Parenthesis will be one of hope, rooted
in the natural splendour of Mametz Wood,
which has since recovered from the
ravages of the war. ‘What’s interesting
about the battleground today is that it isn’t
a terrible place – it’s green and magical,
like something out of A Midsummer
Night’s Dream,’ says Emma. There will
be moments of lightness and humour
throughout, with the genuine excitement
of the soldiers and the jokes they share
with one other along the way, but the final
image will be one of peaceful repose.
As Emma puts it: ‘I think that audiences
will come away from the opera uplifted,
enlightened, and with a sense of having
joined the men on a transformational
odyssey into the wasteland and back
again. But what will stay with them is the
triumph of regeneration over destruction,
and of life over death.’
WNO Nicholas John Dramaturg Sophie
Rashbrook spoke to librettists David
Antrobus and Emma Jenkins, and
composer Iain Bell.
A Christmas Carol
Iain Bell
18 December 7.15pm
20 December 4pm
Weston Studio, Wales Millennium Centre
In the build up to Iain Bell’s In Parenthesis we present his adaptation of
A Christmas Carol. Bell has turned Dickens’s much-loved story into a
scintillating, one-man tour de force for tenor and chamber orchestra. Get
to know Bell’s sound world and give yourself a seasonal operatic treat.
Sung in English
Running time one hour and 30 minutes
Cavalleria rusticana
Mascagni
Pagliacci
Leoncavallo
Our 70th birthday is a time to reflect. What better way to do this than with the
double bill that started it all? This perfect pairing of tragedies was our first
performance in 1946. Cav & Pag (as they are affectionately known) are as full-on
and intense as Italian opera gets.
Each opera packs in much high drama and powerful music in just over an hour.
Cavalleria rusticana’s highlights include the glorious Easter Hymn and Intermezzo.
Pagliacci features one of the greatest of all tenor arias, ‘Vesti la giubba’, in which
the clown Canio has just learnt that his wife is having an affair. He pitifully dwells
on his situation while getting ready to take to the stage. He must act the fool on
stage while dying inside.
The sumptuous period-set production features a recreation of a Sicilian village
square. It is only fitting that the cast for these birthday performances includes
some of Wales’s greatest opera talent. Everyone who enjoys the elegance and
pageantry of opera will want to embrace Cav & Pag.
wno.org.uk/cav&pag
Timeless opera
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Mascagni
Pagliacci
Leoncavallo
Director Elijah Moshinsky
Designer Michael Yeargan
Lighting Designer Howard Harrison
Cavalleria rusticana cast
Turiddu Gwyn Hughes Jones
Alfio David Kempster
Santuzza Camilla Roberts
Mamma Lucia Anne-Marie Owens
Lola Rebecca Afonwy-Jones
Pagliacci cast
Canio Gwyn Hughes Jones
Tonio David Kempster
Nedda TBA
Silvio TBA
• Performances start at 7.15pm, except Cardiff on Sunday 29 May at 4pm
• Running time for Cavalleria rusticana approximately one hour and 10 minutes and Pagliacci approximately one hour 15 minutes, with one interval in between
• Sung in Italian with surtitles in English (and Welsh in Cardiff)
Plot summary
Passions are running high in a Sicilian village on
Easter Morning. Animal herder Alfio is inflamed
with jealousy when he learns of his wife’s
affair with the young gallant, Turiddu. The two
men resort to a duel with knives, and, despite
the protestations of Turridu’s mother and his
heartbroken lover, Santuzza, the day ends in
bloodshed.
Pagliacci
A touring troupe of actors arrives at a village in
southern Italy, to perform their play, ‘The Clown
and Columbine’, which tells the story of an
unfaithful woman, played by real-life adulterer,
Nedda. For Canio, her jealous husband in life and
on stage, the irony is too much to bear, and the
performance comes to a tragic end.
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Summer | WNO@70
WNO’s guide to
Cavalleria rusticana and
Pagliacci
‘You will find them to be tragic episodes
in low life. The characters are peasants,
mountebanks, stevedores, drunkards,
punks. The tragedy is the outcome of illicit
sexual relationships. Animal passions
rage and cry out. The elements are
squalor, lust and blood. The life depicted
is short, brutal and nasty’. Such was
the prudish dismissal, by a Boston critic
in 1896, of two new Italian operas then
enjoying enormous popular success both
sides of the Atlantic: Cavalleria rusticana
(Rustic Chivalry) by Pietro Mascagni, and
Pagliacci (Clowns) by Ruggero Leoncavallo.
Moralists and others objected to what they
saw as the vulgarity of the ‘truthfulness’ or
verismo that these two works compellingly
define in operatic terms; a verismo that
was born of the political, social and literary
upheavals then sweeping the Italy of Verdi’s
old-age.
Inspired by writers such as the
distinguished Giovanni Verga, Mascagni
and Leoncavallo joined other young
composers in rejecting the conventions of
Italian Romantic melodrama in favour of a
gritty realism. These operas are simple tales
concerning ordinary folk and blunt emotions
with which audiences could directly – and
viscerally – connect. That audiences still
do so today is reflected in the ‘Cav & Pag’
shorthand by which this beloved pairing
is commonly referred. Indeed, the operas
have worked so well together so often
since their initial double-billing in 1893
(in Rome and New York), that they can
seem intentional partners. But they were
not composed that way, and each opera
has its own distinctive qualities within a
complementary frame.
Cavalleria rusticana was Mascagni’s first
(and only well-known) opera, hurriedly
composed in 1890 for a music publisher’s
competition – which he promptly won.
The source of his libretto, by Giovanni
Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, was
that same influential Verga, who once used
an important verist phrase, ‘the science of
73
Inspired by writers such as the distinguished
Giovanni Verga, Mascagni and Leoncavallo
joined other young composers in rejecting the
conventions of Italian Romantic melodrama in
favour of a gritty realism.
the human heart’, to describe his creative
approach: in Verga’s opinion, authors
should demonstrate an intimate familiarity
with their characters so as to portray
naturally and without embellishment their
customs, habits, thoughts and language.
with deliberate lack of ceremony: ‘Turridu
has been killed!’
There is no place for sentimentality nor
subtlety in either score, which nevertheless
depict credible characters – neither wholly
‘good’ nor ‘bad’ – who pull mercilessly at
our heartstrings. And herein lies the operas’
Mascagni uses highly vivid music to bring
Verga’s Sicilian villagers to life within a short, enduring verismo power. After all, which
of us has not experienced desperation in
tautly-devised narrative contrasting love
love or grief? These characters are not just
and religious piety with sexual jealousy,
driven to the edge, however, but plunge
rage and the desire for vengeance.
headlong over it through crimes of passion
Directness of expression and authentic
which, in their brutal catharsis, paint a bleak
local colour are key, with vocal melodies
societal picture.
of raw, heightened emotion supported by
potently dramatic orchestral writing. Anyone
Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci can be especially
familiar with the films Raging Bull and The
Godfather Part III will recognise instantly the wrenching in its white-hot concision.
Spurred by the success of Cavalleria
passionate, symphonic intermezzo which,
rusticana – and supposedly based on a
in the opera, bisects the single act. The
real-life murder which took place during
pause in the action allows us to gather our
his childhood – the composer wrote both
emotional wits before an inevitable, violent
the libretto and music in 1892 (again, it
denouement, which Mascagni concludes
74
A moment with...
Sian Price Head of Wardrobe
The opera cleverly juxtaposes public persona and
private truth, reality and non-reality, by setting the
climactic action as a play within a play.
My biggest achievement is... After two years of preparing and working on it, the
opening night of Die Meistersinger.
My favourite WNO moment is... Sitting in the auditorium of Wales Millennium
Centre and hearing for the first time the overture of The Flying Dutchman. It was
so powerful it felt as if the music was inside your body.
Bass or Soprano? I like both but, having worked as a men’s cutter, I know that
basses usually have a naughty sense of humour.
Still or sparkling? Sparkling every time – the sound of the champagne cork!
Hills or Valleys? Being a Valleys’ girl myself, what else could it be?
is the only well-known of his works). The
opera cleverly juxtaposes public persona
and private truth, reality and non-reality,
by setting the climactic action as a play
within a play. The protagonists are travelling
commedia dell’arte players, enabling
Leoncavallo to incorporate this traditional,
highly physical theatre of masked comic
‘types’ into a Calabrian village setting. But it
is the composer’s searing portrait of aging,
washed-up clowns and hopeless love
outside a failed and bitter marriage which
grab and hold us fast.
In an opening prologue, the fool Tonio
appeals to us directly as the archetypal
suffering comedian, forced to perform
for the crowd; a predicament which
the cuckolded Canio violently rejects in
anguished double murder within two,
fast-moving acts. The music is intensely
expressive; the more so for contrasting
the stylised antiquity of the troupe’s stage
personas with their febrile emotional lives.
Indeed, that tension of appearance and
reality goes to the heart of operatic verismo,
which lasted a mere two or so decades,
but which left its mark on Puccini and
other composers in Italy and beyond. For
the ‘truth’ for us all, as proposed by both
Leoncavallo and Mascagni, lies behind
the social roles and masks we assume,
and is inexorably revealed when ordinary
situations become extreme. In that sense,
the truncated final cry of Pagliacci carries a
suggestive but unequivocal message of this
most pessimistic yet emotionally liberating
operatic movement: ‘The comedy is ended!’
Steph Power is an author and critic.
© Steph Power
Photo: A costume in Escamillo's dressing room
76
Transforming Lives
WNO’s Director of Engagement & Partnerships, Emma
Flatley, talks about our work beyond the main stage.
What does WNO’s Youth and Community department do?
We work with all kinds of different ages and groups of people from school children and
young adults to entire communities. Each project brings music, singing, storytelling and
design together in a way that only opera can, with the aim to engage, challenge and
inspire. We aim to create memorable and meaningful experiences that are just the start
of a journey with us.
What do you think was Youth and Community’s best achievement in 2014?
There’s a lot to choose from. We commissioned and performed a powerful new opera
by Errollyn Wallen, Anon across Wales and England. It was created for and by young
women, exploring difficult untold stories of some of the challenges they face. We were
also privileged to work with over 4,000 participants from a range of schools across
Wrexham in Street Songs. We drew to a close three years working at the heart of the
community by focusing on developing artistic projects and collaborations in areas we
had not worked with before.
What is the most satisfying aspect of your role?
Working with new audiences across Wales and England means that we meet a diverse
range of talented people and it’s a privilege to work with groups of people who have
never encountered opera before or who previously thought ‘this is not for me’. It’s
satisfying when we know we have created a meaningful opportunity that defies their
expectations.
Can you give a flavour of the kind of projects planned for the 2015/2016 Season?
We will continue to deliver projects to engage communities across England and Wales,
especially in areas where opportunities to experience the arts are less accessible. From
September 2015 we will begin our schools programme working with pupils to create
a piece inspired by the season's themes, culminating in a site specific performance.
We will also be auditioning and staging a new youth opera production, performed by
16–25 year olds, offering the chance to work with experienced directors, conductors
and singers to develop technique and explore repertoire. We will also be commissioning
digital projects to tell stories with opera at their centre and we are looking forward to
meeting you along the way and hearing your stories online or in person.
2015/2016 Season
Performance and
booking information
wno.org.uk
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Birmingham Hippodrome
Autumn 2015
I puritani Tuesday 17 November 7pm
Orlando Wednesday 18 November 7.15pm
Sweeney Todd Thursday 19, Friday 20 & Saturday 21 November 7.15pm
Spring 2016
The Barber of Seville Tuesday 1 & Friday 4 March 7.15pm
The Marriage of Figaro Wednesday 2 & Saturday 5 March 7pm
Figaro Gets a Divorce Thursday 3 March 7.15pm
Summer 2016
Cavalleria rusticana & Pagliacci Thursday 9 & Saturday
11 June 7.15pm
In Parenthesis Friday 10 June 7.15pm
HOW TO BOOK
Book online birminghamhippodrome.com
By phone 0844 338 5000*
Group Sales 0844 338 7000*
Transaction charge included in group ticket
price.
By post or in person Ticket Sales,
Birmingham Hippodrome, Hurst Street,
Southside, Birmingham B5 4TB
*Calls cost from 5p per minute
TICKET PRICES*
Stalls £52.50 | £46.20 | £39.38 | £26.78
Circle £52.50 | £46.20 | £39.38 | £26.78
| £17.33
Boxes £52.50 | £39.38 | £17.35
*These prices include a 5% transaction
charge to clearly show the maximum
you will pay. This fee does not apply to
in person cash bookings. Bookings are
also subject to an additional £1 postage
charge. Transaction charges are levied and
retained in their entirety by Birmingham
Hippodrome.
Surtitles are available at every performance
(except Sweeney Todd), please check
when booking to ensure visibility.
ON SALE DATES
WNO Friends & Partners booking opens
Friday 27 February at 10am (phone only)
General booking opens Friday 6 March at
10am (online, phone and in person)
BOOKING DETAILS
Ticket Sales is open from 10am to 8pm,
6pm on non-performance days (phone and
counter) Monday to Saturday, Groups Sales
10am to 5pm Monday to Friday.
Cheques should be made payable to
‘Birmingham Hippodrome’. Most major
credit cards accepted.
MULTI BUY
Explore with us and save
Multi-buy is a simple and flexible way to
save money on your opera tickets. It is
available on all operas on sale at any one
time. You do not have to book the same
number of tickets for each opera. You can
also book for different seating areas/price
bands for each opera. Available in top four
price bands.
Book any three operas and save 10%
Book any four operas and save 15%
Book any five operas and save 20%
Book any six operas and save 25%
Book seven or eight operas and save 30%
OTHER DISCOUNTS
Groups 10+
10+ £3 discount per ticket
(Includes £1 transaction charge. Organiser
goes free on group bookings 35+. Access
discounts available on top three price
bands) Not available on Saturday evening
performances.
Patrons with disabilities
£5 off each ticket for patrons with
disabilities or two tickets for the price of one
for those with disabilities who require the
support of a companion.
Discounts available on top three price
bands.
60+, Registered Claimants, Passport to
Leisure
£3 off. Discount applies in top three price
bands. Not available on Saturday evening
performances.
Under 30s
A minimum of 60 tickets available at every
performance for £5 (subject to transaction
charge, please note that fees are not
charged for bookings paid for by cash in
person). Seats located within top three
price bands. Tickets must be booked
in person no later than 48 hours prior to
performance. ID required for each ticket
purchased. Subject to availability.
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Season | Title
Student and Passport to Leisure
standby
May be available 24 hours prior to
performance, best available seats for the
lowest price, limited to two per booker. ID
required for each ticket purchased. Subject
to availability. Not available on Saturday
evening performances.
Schools
£13.50 each plus eleventh ticket for teacher
free. Available on lowest three prices only.
Only one discount per ticket may apply.
Valid ID must be presented where
applicable. Discounts are generally
available on the top three price bands only.
All discounts are subject to availability and
restrictions may apply for certain shows.
Birmingham Hippodrome and WNO
reserve the right to change ticket prices
and remove or limit discounts at any time.
Please ask Ticket Sales for full details.
SPRING 2016
Tuesday 1 March 5.45pm
Wednesday 2 March 5.30pm
Thursday 3 March 5.45pm
SUMMER 2016
Thursday 9 & Saturday 11 June 5.45pm
In Parenthesis
Friday 10 June 5.45pm
AUDIO DESCRIPTION
Sweeney Todd 21 November
Free touch tour 6.15pm
Performance 7.15pm
The Barber of Seville 4 March
Performance 7.15pm
11 June
Performance 7.15pm
FREE PRE-PERFORMANCE TALKS
WNO’s Nicholas John Dramaturg,
Tickets for free Pre-Performance Talks and
Sophie Rashbrook, gives you everything
you need to know to enjoy the performance. Touch Tours can be booked at the same
time as booking your opera tickets.
Tickets must be booked in advance.
AUTUMN 2015
I puritani
Tuesday 17 November 5.30pm
Orlando
Wednesday 18 November 5.45pm
Sweeney Todd
Thursday 19 November 5.45pm
Photo: The dressing room for the ladies of the Chorus
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84
85
The Bristol Hippodrome
Autumn 2015
I puritani Tuesday 20 October 7pm
Orlando Wednesday 21 October 7.15pm
Sweeney Todd Thursday 22, Friday 23 & Saturday 24 October 7.15pm
ON SALE DATES
Monday 2 March at 10am (post, phone and
online)
Spring 2016
General booking opens Monday 9 March at
HOW TO BOOK
Book online atgtickets.com/bristol*†
By phone 0844 871 3012*
Group bookings Groups of 10+
0844 871 3032
(Mon – Fri 10am – 6pm)
Access for all 0117 3023 222
(Mon – Fri 10am - 6pm)
By post or in person The Bristol
Hippodrome, St Augustine’s Parade, Bristol
BS1 4UZ
†Some concessions are not available online
TICKET PRICES*
Stalls £45.90 | £39.90 | £31.90
Grand Circle £45.90 | £39.90 | £31.90
Upper Circle £21.90 | £11.40
Boxes £45.90 (Rear Stalls Box) £39.90
(Front Side-View Box)
*Includes a £2.90 – £3.90 per ticket
booking fee applicable to online and
telephone bookings. All online and
telephone bookings are also subject to a
£4 transaction fee. Booking and transaction
fees do not apply to Groups and Theatre
Card, post, and in person bookings. The
booking and transaction fees are levied and
retained in their entirety by Ambassador
Theatre Group. Booking charges are
subject to change. Please check at time of
booking. Prices include a theatre restoration
levy of £1 which is retained by Ambassador
Theatre Group.
SUBSCRIPTION DEALS
Book five or six operas and save 30%
Book any three or four operas and
save 25%
Book any two operas and save 20%
Simply book for two operas or more to
take advantage of our discounts. You can
buy your Subscription over the phone or in
person. You do not have to book the same
also book for different seating areas / price
bands for each opera. Please note does
not apply to lowest price tickets.
BOOKING DETAILS
The Box Office is open from 10am to 6pm
Monday – Saturday (extending to 15 minutes
after curtain-up on performance days).
Cheques should be made payable to ATG
London Ltd. Cheques are accepted for
postal bookings only (please allow 28 days
for delivery of tickets). Please enclose a
stamped addressed envelope for return of
your tickets.
OTHER DISCOUNTS
Senior Citizens and Claimants
£5 off top four price bands
Groups of 10+
£3 off top three price bands plus one seat
free with every 10 purchased.
ATG Theatre Card Members
£5 off top four price bands for first
performance of each opera
Under 30s
person). Seats located within first three price
bands. Tickets must be booked in person
no later than 48 hours prior to performance.
ID required for each ticket purchased. When
allocation is sold out tickets for Under 30s
and full-time students are available at half
price. Subject to availability.
Schools and colleges
Buy any £28 seats for £18 or any £18 seats
for £8.50.
Restricted mobility
If you have access requirements or are a
wheelchair user please contact our Access
Officer on 0117 302 3222 for availability and
prices.
Discounted seats are allocated at the
discretion of The Bristol Hippodrome
and WNO and may be limited. Only one
discount applies per ticket. Prices are
subject to change and discounts can be
withdrawn.
86
Season | Title
WNO’s Nicholas John Dramaturg, Sophie
Rashbrook, gives you everything you need
to know to enjoy the performance. Tickets
must be booked in advance.
AUTUMN 2015
I puritani
Tuesday 20 October 5.30pm
Orlando
Wednesday 21 October 5.45pm
Sweeney Todd
Thursday 22 October 5.45pm
SPRING 2016
AUDIO DESCRIPTION
Sweeney Todd 24 October
Performance 7.15pm
Performance 7.15pm
Touch Tours can be booked at the same
Photo: The children wait backstage
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Wales Millennium Centre
Autumn 2015
I puritani Friday 11, Saturday 19 September 7pm;
Sunday 4 October 4pm
Orlando Sunday 27 September 4pm; Saturday 3 & Wednesday
7 October 7.15pm
Sweeney Todd Thursday 8 & Friday 9 October 7.30pm;
Tuesday 24, Wednesday 25, Thursday 26, Friday 27 & Saturday 28
November 7.30pm; Thursday 26, Saturday 28 & Sunday 29
November 2pm
A Christmas Carol Friday 18 December 7.15pm & Sunday 20
December at 4pm
Spring 2016
The Barber of Seville Saturday 13, Wednesday 17, Friday 19,
Tuesday 23 & Thursday 25 February 7.15pm
The Marriage of Figaro Thursday 18, Saturday 20, Wednesday 24,
Friday 26 February 7pm
Figaro Gets a Divorce Sunday 21 February 4pm & Saturday 27
February 7.15pm
Summer 2016
In Parenthesis Friday 13, Saturday 21 May & Friday 3 June 7.15pm
Cavalleria rusticana & Pagliacci Thursday 26 May 7.15pm; Sunday
29 May 4pm; Wednesday 1 & Saturday 4 June 7.15pm
HOW TO BOOK
Book online wmc.org.uk
By phone 029 2063 6464
Group bookings 029 2063 6464 option 4
In person (from 5 March)
Wales Millennium Centre, Bute Place,
Cardiff, CF10 5AL
TICKET PRICES*
I puritani, Orlando, Figaro Gets a
Divorce, In Parenthesis
Stalls & Circle £42.50 | £38.50 | £34.50
Upper Circle £26.50** | £20.50 | £14.50 | £6.50
*These prices include a £1.50 booking
fee to clearly show the maximum you will
pay. This fee does not apply to in person
cash bookings. Subscriptions are subject
to a one-off booking fee of £4 and the per
ticket fees indicated are not charged on
Subscriptions. Booking fees are retained in
their entirety by Wales Millennium Centre.
The Barber of Seville, The Marriage
**Please note that there is a handrail on
of Figaro and Cavalleria rusticana &
the front of the Upper Circle which may
Pagliacci
cause a restricted view for some audience
Stalls & Circle £42.50| £38.50
Upper Circle £26.50** | £20.50 | £14.50 members.
†
| £6.50
£6.50 only available on 8 & 9 October
Sweeney Todd (Fri & Sat performances)
Stalls and Circle £55 | £45 | £41
Upper Circle £37** | £29 | £20 | £6.50†
(except Sweeney Todd), please check when
booking to ensure visibility.
Sweeney Todd (all other performances)
Stalls and Circle £53 | £43 | £39
Upper Circle £35** | £27 | £18 | £6.50†
A Christmas Carol £21.50
ON SALE DATES
Subscription booking (WNO Partners and
Friends only) opens Tuesday 17 February
(phone and online only)
Subscription booking (General) opens
Thursday 26 February (phone and online only)
Individual operas (WNO Friends & Partners
only) opens Thursday 5 March (phone, online
and in person)
Individual operas (General) opens Thursday
12 March (phone, online and in person)
SUBSCRIPTION DEALS
Book any four operas and save 15%
Book any five operas and save 20%
Book any six operas and save 25%
Book seven or eight operas and save 30%
You simply need to book for a minimum of
three operas to book a Subscription.
The saving quoted is off the total cost of
your booking. Subscriptions are flexible
so you do not have to book the same
90
also book for different seating areas/price
bands for each opera. Please note that for
online subscriptions the number of people
attending each opera must be the same.
Only one discount applies per ticket. Does
not include £6.50 seats for any performance.
Subscription discounts do not apply to
performances of Sweeney Todd from 25–29
November. Does not include A Christmas
Carol. If you require advice or assistance
please call Wales Millennium Centre’s
Subscription Information line on 029 2063
4663 (10am – 6pm Monday to Friday).
Please note that bookings cannot be taken
on this line.
BOOKING DETAILS
Payments can be made using the following
credit and debit cards – Visa, MasterCard,
MasterCard Debit, Visa Debit / Delta,
Maestro and Electron, by cheque (payable
to Wales Millennium Centre). Tickets must
be paid for at the time of booking. Tickets
can only be reserved for group bookings of
10 or more, or temporarily while we process
your access application. No fees apply if
you book in person and pay by cash or
Wales Millennium Centre Gift Certificates.
There is a fee-free Lloyds cash point
situated in the Glanfa Foyer at the Centre.
By telephone: Phone lines are open
Monday to Saturday 10am – 7pm on
performance days and 10am – 6pm on
non-performance days. On Sundays lines
open for four hours before the start of the
first performance and on non-performance
days lines are closed.
In person: On performance days the Ticket
Desk is open from 10am until 30 minutes
after the start of the last performance. The
Information Desk will remain open for any
ticketing enquiries until the end of the last
Donald Gordon Theatre performance. On
non-performance days the Ticket Desk is
open 10am – 6pm.
Only one discount applies per ticket. The
Ticket Office will endeavour to exchange
your tickets from one performance to another
performance in the same season, up to
24 hours prior to the original performance
(subject to availability). A £1 handling fee
will be charged per ticket. The Ticket Office
will also accept tickets for re-sale subject to
a 10% fee but cannot guarantee that a new
purchaser will be found.
Full terms and conditions are available
online.
OTHER DISCOUNTS
Patrons with disabilities
Customers who require a personal assistant
to support them at the Centre can now join
the Access Scheme. Where applicable
the Centre offers either a discounted or
complimentary seat to carers so please visit
the Centre's website for further information:
wmc.org.uk/access. If you have any queries
please do get in touch with the Ticket Office
who will be happy to explain the system in
more detail.
Groups (all operas excluding Sweeney
Todd)
Get a group of 10 together and get one extra
ticket free (that’s two additional free tickets
for a group of 20 etc). This offer only applies
to top three prices. Tickets for groups
booking two or more operas go on sale on
26 February. Group bookings for one opera
opens on 12 March.
91
Under 30s
Minimum of 60 tickets available at every
performance for £5 (subject to booking and
transaction fees, please note that fees are
not charged for bookings paid for by cash
in person). In person bookings only, ID
required and subject to availability. Booking
opens 12 March.
All discounts are subject to availability. Only
one discount applies per ticket.
DISCOUNTS FOR SWEENEY TODD
Groups
10+ £4 off, 20+ £5 off and 50+ £6 off
second and third prices plus free ticket for
group organiser for groups of 20+.
AUTUMN 2015
I puritani
Friday 11, Saturday 19 September 6pm;
Sunday 4 October 3pm
Orlando
Sunday 27 September 3pm; Saturday 3 &
Sweeney Todd
Thursday 8 & Friday 9 October 6.30pm
Over 60s, Patrons with disabilities,
Unwaged, Students, Under 16s
£4 off second and third prices.
All discounts are subject to availability and
cannot be applied retrospectively. Only one
discount applies per ticket.
PRE-SHOW DINING
Pre-show meals at ffresh Restaurant at the
Centre cost from £19.50 for two courses
and £23.50 for three courses*. Menus and
serving times are available at ffresh.org.uk
You can book a two course meal with your
subscription or when booking individual
operas through the Ticket Office. For three
courses a top up fee can be paid at the
restaurant. *Subject to change.
WNO PROGRAMMES
Our season programmes are an
indispensable guide to all three operas
each season. Each programme is £5 and
can be pre-ordered at the same time as
you book your Subscription (phone only).
You will receive a voucher to exchange for a
programme directly before the performance.
SPRING 2016
Saturday 13, Wednesday 17, Friday 19,
Tuesday 23 & Thursday 25 February
6:15pm
Thursday 18, Saturday 20, Wednesday 24
& Friday 26 February 6pm
Sunday 21 February 3pm; Saturday 27
February 6.15pm
SUMMER 2016
In Parenthesis
Friday 13, Saturday 21 May & Friday 3 June
6.15pm
Thursday 26 May, Wednesday 1 & Saturday
4 June 6.15pm; Sunday 29 May 3pm
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AUDIO DESCRIPTION
Sweeney Todd 28 November
Performance 7.30pm
The Barber of Seville 19 February
Performance 7.15pm
4 June
Performance 7.15pm
Photo: The children’s dressing room
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94
95
Tymor 2015/2016 WNO
Canolfan Mileniwm Cymru
Hydref 2015
I puritani Nos Wener 11, nos Sadwrn 19 Medi 7pm;
dydd Sul 4 Hydref 4pm
Orlando Dydd Sul 27 Medi 4pm; nos Sadwrn 3 a nos Fercher 7 Hydref
7.15pm
Sweeney Todd Nos Iau 8 a nos Wener 9 Hydref 7.30pm
nos Fawrth 24, nos Fercher 25, nos Iau 26, nos Wener 27 a nos
Sadwrn 28 Tachwedd 7.30pm; dydd Iau 26, dydd Sadwrn 28 a dydd
Sul 29 Tachwedd 2pm
A Christmas Carol Nos Wener 18 Rhagfyr 7.15pm a dydd Sul 20
Rhagfyr 4pm
Gwanwyn 2016
The Barber of Seville Nos Sadwrn 13, nos Fercher 17, nos Wener
19, nos Fawrth 23 a nos Iau 25 Chwefror 7.15pm
The Marriage of Figaro Nos Iau 18, nos Sadwrn 20, nos Fercher
24, nos Wener 26 Chwefror 7pm
Figaro Gets a Divorce Dydd Sul 21 Chwefror 4pm a nos Sadwrn
27 Chwefror 7.15pm
Haf 2016
In Parenthesis Nos Wener 13, nos Sadwrn 21 Mai a nos Wener
3 Mehefin 7.15pm
Cavalleria rusticana a Pagliacci Nos Iau 26 Mai 7.15pm;
nos Sul 29 Mai 4pm; nos Fercher 1 a nos Sadwrn 4 Mehefin 7.15pm
SUT I ARCHEBU
Archebu ar-lein yganolfan.org.uk
Ar y ffôn 029 2063 6464
Archebion grŵp 029 2063 6464 dewis 4
Wyneb yn wyneb (o 5 Mawrth ymlaen)
Canolfan Mileniwm Cymru, Plas Bute,
Caerdydd, CF10 5AL
PRISIAU TOCYNNAU*
I puritani, Orlando, Figaro Gets a
Divorce, In Parenthesis
Seddau a’r Cylch £42.50 | £38.50
| £34.50
Cylch Uchaf £26.50** | £20.50 | £14.50 | £6.50
The Barber of Seville, The Marriage
of Figaro a Cavalleria rusticana a
Pagliacci
Seddau a’r Cylch £42.50| £38.50
Cylch Uchaf £26.50** | £20.50 | £14.50 | £6.50
*Mae’r prisiau hyn yn cynnwys ffi archebu
o £1.50 i ddangos yn glir y mwyafswm y
byddwch yn ei dalu. Nid yw’r ffi hwn yn
gymwys i archebion wyneb yn wyneb ag
arian parod.
Tanysgrifiadau yn amodol ar ffi archebu
untro o £4 ac nid yw ffioedd fesul tocyn
yn cael eu codi ar danysgrifiadau. Cedwir
y ffioedd archebu yn eu cyfanrwydd gan
Ganolfan Mileniwm Cymru.
** Nodwch fod yna ganllaw ar flaen y Cylch
Uchaf a allai amharu ar yr hyn y gall rhai
aelodau o'r gynulleidfa ei weld.
†
£6.50 ar gael ar 8 a 9 Hydref yn unig
Sweeney Todd (Perfformiadau Gwener
a Sadwrn)
Seddau a’r Cylch £55 | £45 | £41
Cylch Uchaf £37** | £29 | £20 | £6.50†
Mae uwchdeitlau ar gael ym mhob
perfformiad (ac eithrio Sweeney Todd),
holwch wrth archebu i sicrhau y byddwch
chi'n gweld yr uwchdeitlau.
Sweeney Todd (Pob perfformiad arall)
Seddau a’r Cylch £53 | £43 | £39
Cylch Uchaf £35** | £27 | £18 | £6.50†
A Christmas Carol £21.50
DYDDIADAU GWERTHU
Archebu tanysgrifiadau (Partneriaid a
Chyfeillion WNO yn unig) yn agor ddydd
Mawrth 17 Chwefror (ar y ffôn ac ar-lein yn
unig)
Archebu tanysgrifiadau (Cyffredinol) yn
agor ddydd Iau 26 Chwefror (ar y ffôn ac
ar-lein yn unig)
Operâu unigol (Partneriaid a Chyfeillion
WNO yn unig) yn agor ddydd Iau 5 Mawrth
(ar y ffôn, ar-lein ac wyneb yn wyneb)
Operâu unigol (Cyffredinol) yn agor ddydd
Iau 12 Mawrth (ar y ffôn, ar-lein ac wyneb yn
wyneb)
BARGEINION TANYSGRIFIO
Archwiliwch gyda ni ac arbedwch arian
Archebwch docynnau i unrhyw dair opera
ac arbedwch 10%
Archebwch docynnau i unrhyw bedair
opera ac arbedwch 15%
Archebwch docynnau i unrhyw bum opera
ac arbedwch 20%
Archebwch docynnau i unrhyw chwe opera
ac arbedwch 25%
Archebwch docynnau i saith neu wyth
opera ac arbedwch 30%
Mae angen i chi archebu lleiafswm o dair
opera i archebu Tanysgrifiad.
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Tymor 2015/2016 WNO
Mae'r arbediad a ddyfynnir oddi ar
gyfanswm cost eich archeb. Tanysgrifiadau
yn hyblyg felly nad oes rhaid i chi archebu'r
un nifer o docynnau ar gyfer pob opera.
Gallwch hefyd archebu seddi mewn
gwahanol fannau eistedd neu brisiau
gwahanol ar gyfer pob opera. Sylwch
fod rhaid i nifer y bobl sy'n mynychu pob
opera fod yr un fath am danysgrifiadau
ar-lein. Dim ond un gostyngiad fesul tocyn.
Nid yw'n cynnwys seddi £6.50 ar gyfer
unrhyw berfformiad. Nid yw gostyngiadau
Tanysgrifiad yn berthnasol i berfformiadau
o Sweeney Todd o 25–29 Tachwedd. Nid
yw'n cynnwys A Christmas Carol. Am ragor
o wybodaeth neu gymorth, ffoniwch Linell
Wybodaeth Tanysgrifiad Canolfan Mileniwm
Cymru ar 029 2063 4663 (Ar agor 10am –
6pm, dydd Llun i Gwener). Ni ellir archebu
tocynnau drwy’r ffonio’r rhif yma.
MANYLION ARCHEBU
Gellir gwneud taliadau drwy ddefnyddio'r
cardiau credyd a debyd – Visa, MasterCard,
MasterCard Debit, Visa Debit / Delta, Maestro
ac Electron, gyda siec (yn daladwy i Ganolfan
Mileniwm Cymru). Rhaid talu am docynnau
wrth eu harchebu. Dim ond ar gyfer
archebion grŵp o 10 neu ragor y gellir neilltuo
tocynnau, neu dros dro wrth i ni brosesu eich
cais mynediad. Nid yw ffioedd yn berthnasol
os ydych yn archebu wyneb yn wyneb ac yn
talu ag arian parod neu Dystysgrifau Rhodd
Canolfan Mileniwm Cymru. Mae man codi
arian parod di-dâl gan Lloyds yng Nghyntedd
Glanfa yn y Ganolfan.
Ar y ffôn: Mae'r llinellau ffôn yn agored o
ddydd Llun i ddydd Sadwrn 10am – 7pm ar
ddiwrnodau perfformiad a 10am – 6pm ar
ddiwrnodau lle nad oes perfformiadau. Ar
ddyddiau Sul bydd y llinellau yn agored am
bedair awr cyn dechrau'r perfformiad cyntaf,
a bydd y llinellau wedi cau ar ddiwrnodau
pan nad oes perfformiadau.
Wyneb yn wyneb: Ar ddiwrnodau
perfformiad, bydd y Ddesg Docynnau yn
agored o 10am tan 30 munud ar ôl dechrau
perfformiad olaf y diwrnod. Bydd y Ddesg
Wybodaeth yn parhau yn agored ar gyfer
unrhyw ymholiad ynghylch tocynnau tan
ddiwedd y perfformiad olaf yn Theatr Donald
Gordon. Ar ddiwrnodau pan nad oes
perfformiadau, bydd y Ddesg Docynnau yn
agored rhwng 10am a 6pm.
Dim ond un gostyngiad fesul tocyn. Bydd
y Swyddfa Docynnau yn ymdrechu i
gyfnewid eich tocynnau o un perfformiad i
berfformiad arall yn yr un tymor, hyd at 24
awr cyn y perfformiad gwreiddiol (yn amodol
ar argaeledd). Codir ffi trafod o £1 am bob
tocyn. Bydd y Swyddfa Docynnau hefyd yn
derbyn tocynnau i'w hailwerthu yn amodol
ar ffi o 10%, ond ni allwn warantu y deuwn
o hyd i brynwr newydd. Mae’r telerau ac
amodau llawn ar gael ar-lein.
GOSTYNGIADAU ERAILL
Noddwyr ag anableddau
Gall cwsmeriaid sydd angen cynorthwyydd
personol i'w cynorthwyo yn y Ganolfan
ymuno â'r Cynllun Mynediad erbyn hyn. Lle
bo'n berthnasol mae'r Ganolfan yn cynnig
naill ai sedd am bris gostyngol neu am ddim
i ofalwyr, felly ewch i'n gwefan am ragor o
wybodaeth: yganolfan.org.uk/hygyrchedd.
Os oes gennych unrhyw ymholiad, cofiwch
gysylltu â'r Swyddfa Docynnau, a bydd y staff
yn gallu esbonio'r system yn fanylach.
Grwpiau (pob opera ac eithrio Sweeney
Todd)
Trefnwch fod grŵp o 10 yn dod at ei gilydd
ac fe gewch un tocyn ychwanegol am
ddim (dau docyn am ddim ychwanegol
ar gyfer grŵp o 20, ac ati). Dim ond ar
gyfer y tri phris uchaf y mae’r cynnig hwn
yn berthnasol. Bydd tocynnau ar gyfer
archebion grŵp i ddwy neu ragor o operâu
ar werth ar 26 Chwefror. Bydd archebion
grŵp ar gyfer operâu unigol yn agor ar 12
Mawrth.
97
BWYTA CYN Y SIOE
Mae prydau cyn y sioe ym Mwyty ffresh yn
y Ganolfan yn costio cyn lleied â £19.50 am
ddau gwrs a £23.50 am dri chwrs*. Mae
bwydlenni ac amseroedd gweini i’w gweld
ar ffresh.org.uk Gallwch archebu pryd o
fwyd dau gwrs gyda'ch tanysgrifiad, neu
wrth archebu operâu unigol drwy'r Swyddfa
Docynnau. Ar gyfer prydau tri chwrs, gellir talu
ffi atodol yn y bwyty. *Gallai’r manylion newid.
RHAGLENNI WNO
Mae ein rhaglenni tymor yn ganllaw
anhepgor i bob un o'r tair opera bob tymor.
Pobl dan 30 oed
Mae pob rhaglen yn costio £5 a gellir eu
Mae lleiafrif o 60 o docynnau ar gael ym
harchebu ymlaen llaw ar yr un pryd ag y
mhob perfformiad am £5 (yn amodol ar
ffioedd archebu a thrafod. Nodwch nad yw byddwch yn archebu eich Tanysgrifiad (ar
ffioedd yn gymwys pan delir ag arian wyneb y ffôn yn unig). Byddwch yn cael taleb i’w
chyfnewid am raglen yn uniongyrchol cyn y
yn wyneb). Archebion wyneb yn wyneb yn
unig, bydd angen dangos dull adnabod ac perfformiad.
mae’r cynnig yn amodol ar argaeledd. Gellir
Mae pob gostyngiad yn amodol ar
archebu o 12 Mawrth ymlaen.
argaeledd. Dim ond un disgownt fesul tocyn.
GOSTYNGIADAU AR GYFER SWEENEY
SGYRSIAU AM DDIM CYN
TODD
PERFFORMIADAU
Grwpiau
10+ £4 oddi ar y pris, 20+ £5 oddi ar y pris Bydd Dramaturg Nicholas John WNO,
Sophie Rashbrook, yn darparu popeth
a 50+ £6 oddi ar y prisiau (ail a thrydydd)
y byddwch angen ei wybod i fwynhau’r
ynghyd â thocyn am ddim i drefnwr y grŵp
perfformiad. Rhaid archebu tocynnau
os oes mwy na 20 o bobl yn y grŵp.
ymlaen llaw.
Dros 60 oed, pobl ag anableddau,
HYDREF 2015
digyflog, myfyrwyr a phobl ifanc dan
I puritani
16 oed
Nos Wener 11, nos Sadwrn 19 Medi 6pm;
£4 oddi ar y prisiau (ail a thrydydd).
dydd Sul 4 Hydref 3pm
Orlando
Mae pob gostyngiad yn amodol ar
Nos Sul 27 Medi 3pm; nos Sadwrn 3 a nos
argaeledd ac ni ellir eu cymhwyso yn ôlFercher 7 Hydref 6.15pm
weithredol.
Sweeney Todd
Nos Iau 8 a nos Wener 9 Hydref 6.30pm
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Tymor 2015/2016 WNO
GWANWYN 2016
Nos Sadwrn 13, nos Fercher 17, nos Wener
19, nos Fawrth 23 a nos Iau 25 Chwefror
6.15pm
Nos Iau 18, nos Sadwrn 20, nos Fercher 24
a nos Wener 26 Chwefror 6pm
Dydd Sul 21 Chwefror 3pm; nos Sadwrn
27 Chwefror 6.15pm
SAIN DDISGRIFIAD
Sweeney Todd 28 Tachwedd
Taith gyffwrdd am ddim 6.30pm
Perfformiad 7.30pm
The Barber of Seville 19 Chwefror
Perfformiad 7.15pm
Cavalleria rusticana a Pagliacci
4 Mehefin
Perfformiad 7.15pm
HAF 2016
In Parenthesis
Nos Wener 13, nos Sadwrn 21 Mai a nos
Wener 3 Mehefin 6.15pm
Cavalleria rusticana a Pagliacci
Nos Iau 26 Mai, nos Fercher 1 a nos
Sadwrn 4 Mehefin 6.15pm; dydd Sul 29
Mai 3pm
Gellir archebu tocynnau ar gyfer sgyrsiau
cyn perfformiadau a theithiau cyffwrdd yr
un pryd â phan fyddwch yn archebu eich
tocynnau opera.
Photo: An afternoon rehearsal takes place
99
100
101
Liverpool Empire Theatre
Sweeney Todd Friday 13 & Saturday 14 November 7.15pm
HOW TO BOOK
Book online atgtickets.com/liverpool
By phone 0844 871 3017
(Mon to Sat 9am – 10pm, Sun 10am –
8pm)
Groups 0844 871 3037
(Mon – Fri, 10am – 6pm)
Access for All 0844 871 7677 (Mon – Sat
9am – 10pm, Sun 10am – 8pm)
By post Liverpool Empire Theatre, Lime
Street, Liverpool, L1 1JE
In person Mon – Sat, from 10am, closing
times and Sunday opening times vary.
TICKET PRICES*
Stalls £39.90 | £29.90 | £6
Circle £39.90 | £29.90 | £19.90 | £6
*Ticket prices include a £2.90 – £3.90 per
ticket booking fee applicable to online and
telephone bookings (except £6 tickets).
There is, in addition, a £2.85 transaction
fee but booking and transaction fees
do not apply to Groups and Theatre
Card, postal and in person bookings.
The booking and transaction fees are
levied and retained in their entirety by
Ambassador Theatre Group. Booking
charges are subject to change. Please
check at time of booking. Prices include
a theatre restoration levy of £1 which is
retained by Ambassador Theatre Group.
ON SALE DATES
online)
OTHER DISCOUNTS
Contact Access for All on 0844 871 7677
for availability and prices.
Groups
8–15 £5 off top two ticket prices
16+ £10 off top two ticket prices
Tickets available through Groups booking
line only.
Under 30s
Tickets available at every performance for
£5 (subject to booking and transaction
fees, please note that fees are not
person). Seats located within top two price
bands. Tickets must be booked in person
no later than 48 hours prior to performance.
ID required for each ticket purchased.
Subject to availability.
FREE PRE-PERFORMANCE TALK
to know to enjoy Sweeney Todd.
Tickets must be booked in advance.
Friday 13 November 5.45pm
School groups
All seats £10, accompanying teacher goes
free. Tickets available through Groups
booking line only.
Senior Citizens, Registered
Unemployed, Students & Children
£5 off top two ticket prices.
ATG Theatre Card
£7.50 off top two tickets prices.
discretion of the Box Office Manager and
may be limited. Only one discount per ticket
applies.
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103
Venue Cymru
Autumn 2015
Spring 2016
HOW TO BOOK
Book online venuecymru.co.uk
By phone 01492 872000
Group bookings
01492 872001
[email protected]
By post and in person Venue Cymru,
Promenade, Llandudno, LL30 1BB
The Box Office is open Monday – Saturday
10am – 7.45pm on the counter and 10am
– 7pm on the phone lines. Box Office is
closed on Sunday and Bank Holidays on
non-show days and is open one hour prior
to the show on performance days (counter
service only).
ON SALE DATES
Monday 2 March at 10am (phone and
counter only)
TICKET PRICES*
Stalls £40 | £35 | £23
Circle £40 | £35 | £23 | £10
*All bookings subject to a £3
administration fee.
(except Sweeney Todd), please check when
booking to ensure visibility.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Book for two operas and save 20%
Book three or four operas and save 25%
Book five or more operas and save 30%
Simply book for two performances or more
and take advantage of our discounts. You
can buy your subscription over the phone or
in person. You do not have to book the same
number of tickets for each performance. You
can also book for different seating areas /
price bands for each performance. Please
note does not apply to lowest price tickets.
OPERA HOLIDAYS
Llandudno Opera Holidays are the perfect
way to gain even more enjoyment from
Welsh National Opera performances.
For details contact Barbara Sandbach,
Opera Holidays Administrator on
01492 879526 or email
[email protected]
llandudnooperaholidays.co.uk
OTHER DISCOUNTS
Groups of 10 or more
10% off the top three prices.
Wheelchair Users & Registered
Disabled
Zero-rated companion seat for all wheelchair
users & registered disabled who require a
personal assistant to aid them in attending
the performance. Must be on the Venue
Cymru Access Scheme in order to qualify.
Please direct all enquiries and bookings to
Venue Cymru Box Office.
Under 30s
A minimum of 60 tickets available at
every performance for £5 (subject to £3
administration fee). Seats located within first
three price bands. Tickets must be booked
Only one discount applies per ticket.
All tickets are subject to availability.
AUTUMN 2015
I puritani
Tuesday 27 October 3pm & 5.30pm
Orlando
Wednesday 28 October 3pm & 5.45pm
Sweeney Todd
Thursday 29 October 3pm & 5.45pm
SPRING 2016
Tuesday 8 & Friday 11 March 3pm
& 5.45pm
Wednesday 9 & Saturday 12 March 3pm
& 5.30pm
Thursday 10 March 3pm & 5.45pm
AUDIO DESCRIPTION
Sweeney Todd 31 October
Performance 7.15pm
Performance 7.15pm
time as booking your opera tickets by
phone and counter only.
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Venue Cymru
Hydref 2015
I puritani Nos Fawrth 27 Hydref 7pm
Orlando Nos Fercher 28 Hydref 7.15pm
Sweeney Todd Nos Iau 29, nos Wener 30 a nos Sadwrn 31 Hydref
7.15pm
Gwanwyn 2016
The Barber of Seville Nos Fawrth 8 a nos Wener 11 Mawrth 7.15pm
The Marriage of Figaro Nos Fercher 9 a nos Sadwrn 12 Mawrth 7pm
Figaro Gets a Divorce Nos Iau 10 Mawrth 7.15pm
SUT I ARCHEBU
Archebu ar-lein venuecymru.co.uk
Ar y ffôn 01492 872000
Archebion grŵp
01492 872001 [email protected]
Drwy’r post ac wyneb yn wyneb Venue
Cymru, y Promenâd, Llandudno, LL30 1BB
Mae’r Swyddfa Docynnau yn agored o
ddydd Llun i ddydd Sadwrn 10am – 7.45pm
ar y cownter a 10am – 7pm ar y llinellau
ffôn. Mae’r Swyddfa Docynnau wedi cau ar
ddydd Sul a Gwyliau Banc ar ddiwrnodau
pan nad oes sioe, ac ar agor un awr cyn y
sioe ar ddiwrnodau perfformiad (gwasanaeth
cownter yn unig).
DYDDIADAU GWERTHU
Cyfeillion a Phartneriaid WNO – y broses
archebu’n agor ddydd Llun 2 Mawrth am
10am (ffôn a’r cownter yn unig)
Archebion cyffredinol yn agor ddydd Llun
9 Mawrth am 10am (ar-lein, dros y ffôn ac
wyneb yn wyneb)
PRISIAU TOCYNNAU*
Seddau £40 | £35 | £23
Cylch £40 | £35 | £23 | £10
*Mae pob archeb yn amodol ar ffi
weinyddol o £3.
Mae uwchdeitlau ar gael ym mhob
perfformiad (ac eithrio Sweeney Todd),
holwch wrth archebu i sicrhau y byddwch
chi'n gweld yr uwchdeitlau.
TANYSGRIFIADAU
Archebwch docynnau i ddwy opera ac
arbedwch 20%
Archebwch docynnau i dair neu bedair opera
ac arbedwch 25%
Archebwch docynnau i bump neu ragor o
operâu ac arbedwch 30%
Archebwch docynnau ar gyfer dau neu
ragor o berfformiadau a manteisiwch ar
ein gostyngiadau. Gallwch brynu eich
tanysgrifiad dros y ffôn neu wyneb yn
wyneb. Nid oes rhaid i chi archebu’r un
nifer o docynnau ar gyfer pob perfformiad.
Gallwch hefyd archebu ar gyfer gwahanol
fannau eistedd / bandiau pris ar gyfer pob
perfformiad. Noder nad yw’r cynnig yn
berthnasol i’r tocynnau pris isaf.
GWYLIAU OPERA
Gwyliau Opera Llandudno yw’r ffordd
berffaith o gael hyd yn oed mwy o fwynhad o
berfformiadau WNO. Am fanylion cysylltwch
â Barbara Sandbach, Gweinyddwr y Gwyliau
Opera ar 01492 879526 neu anfonwch
e-bost [email protected]
llandudnooperaholidays.co.uk
GOSTYNGIADAU ERAILL
Grwpiau o 10 neu ragor
10% oddi ar y tri phris uchaf.
Defnyddwyr cadair olwyn a phobl a
gofrestrwyd yn anabl
Sedd cydymaith cyfradd sero i holl
ddefnyddwyr cadair olwyn a phobl
a gofrestrwyd yn anabl sydd angen
cynorthwyydd personol i’w cynorthwyo i fynd
i’r perfformiad. Rhaid bod yn rhan o Gynllun
Mynediad Venue Cymru er mwyn bod yn
gymwys. Cyfeiriwch bob ymholiad ac archeb i
Swyddfa Docynnau Venue Cymru.
Pobl dan 30 oed
O leiaf 60 o docynnau ar gael ym mhob
perfformiad am £5 (yn amodol ar ffi weinyddol
o £3). Bydd y seddau yn y tri band pris cyntaf.
Rhaid archebu tocynnau wyneb yn wyneb
ddim hwyrach na 48 awr cyn y perfformiad.
Bydd angen dangos dull adnabod ar gyfer
pob tocyn a brynir. Yn amodol ar argaeledd.
SGYRSIAU AM DDIM CYN Y
PERFFORMIAD
Bydd Draaturg Nicholas John WNO, Sophie
Rashbrook, yn cynnig popeth y byddwch
angen ei wybod i fwynhau’r perfformiad.
Rhaid archebu tocynnau ymlaen llaw.
HYDREF 2015
I puritani
Dydd Mawrth 27 Hydref 3pm a 5.30pm
Orlando
Dydd Mercher 28 Hydref 3pm a 5.45pm
Sweeney Todd
Dydd Iau 29 Hydref 3pm a 5.45pm
GWANWYN 2016
Dydd Mawrth 8 a dydd Gwener 11 Mawrth
3pm a 5.45pm
Dydd Mercher 9 a dydd Sadwrn 12 Mawrth
3pm a 5.30pm
Dydd Iau 10 Mawrth 3pm a 5.45pm
SAIN DDISGRIFIAD
Sweeney Todd 31 Hydref
Perfformiad 7.15pm
The Barber of Seville 11 Mawrth
Perfformiad 7.15pm
Gellir archebu tocynnau ar gyfer Sgyrsiau
Cyn Perfformiadau a Theithiau Cyffwrdd rhad
ac am ddim yr un pryd ag y byddwch yn
archebu eich tocynnau opera dros y ffôn ac
wrth y cownter yn unig.
106
107
Milton Keynes Theatre
Spring 2016
The Barber of Seville Tuesday 29 March & Friday 1 April 7.15pm
The Marriage of Figaro Wednesday 30 March &
Saturday 2 April 7pm
HOW TO BOOK
Book online atgtickets.com/
miltonkeynes*
By phone 0844 871 7652*
Group bookings 10+ 01908 547 609
Access bookings 0844 871 7677*
By post and in person Milton Keynes
Theatre, Marlborough Gate,
Central Milton Keynes, MK9 3NZ
*Booking fee applies
TICKET PRICES*
Stalls & Circle (Bands A–C)
£53.90 | £43.90 | £35.90
Upper Circle (Bands B–E)
£43.90 | £35.90 | £29.90 | £21.90
*include a £3.90 per ticket booking
fee applicable to online and telephone
bookings. There is, in addition, a £2.85
transaction fee but booking and transaction
fees do not apply to Groups and Theatre
Card bookings, and in person bookings.
The booking and transaction fees are
levied and retained in their entirety by
Ambassador Theatre Group. Booking
check at time of booking. Prices Include
a theatre restoration levy of £1 which is
retained by Ambassador Theatre Group.
Prices subject to change.
Surtitles may not be visible all seats, please
check with the Box Office or website when
booking.
ON SALE DATES
online)
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Book any 3 operas and save 25%
Book any 2 operas and save 20%
Simply book for two operas or more to
take advantage of our discounts. You can
buy your subscription over the phone or in
also book for different seating areas / price
bands for each opera. Please note this
does not apply to lowest price tickets.
BOOKING DETAILS
Telephone Sales: Monday to Saturday
9am – 10pm and Sunday 10am – 8pm
Counter Service: Monday to Saturday
10am until 15 minutes after the last
performance commences, closing at 6pm
when there is no evening performance.
Sundays open from 1 hour and 30 minutes
prior to the first show, closing 15 minutes
after the last performance commences.
OTHER DISCOUNTS
Senior Citizens and Registered
Unemployed
£2 off bands A – C (Tue, Wed, Fri only)
Equal Access
All customers who require additional
assistance to attend should make this
known at the time of booking.
£4 off bands A and B
£7.50 off bands A and B
Under 30s
person). Seats located within first three
price bands. Tickets must be booked
ATG Theatre Card
£5 off bands A – C
may be limited.
SPRING 2016
108
109
New Theatre Oxford
Autumn 2015
I puritani Tuesday 3 November 7pm
Orlando Wednesday 4 November 7.15pm
Sweeney Todd Thursday 5, Friday 6 & Saturday 7 November 7.15pm
ON SALE DATES
online)
HOW TO BOOK
Book online atgtickets.com/oxford*
By phone 0844 871 3020*
Group bookings 0844 871 3040
Disabled Access Enquiries and
Bookings 01865 320770
By post and in person New Theatre,
George Street, Oxford, OX1 2AG
*Booking fee applies
TICKET PRICES*
Stalls (Bands A–D) £58.90 | £41.90 |
£29.90** | £17.90**
Circle (Bands A–D) £58.90 | £41.90 |
£29.90 | £17.90**
Balcony (Bands C–D) £29.90 | £17.90
*Ticket prices include a £2.90 – £4.90 per
ticket booking fee applicable to online and
telephone bookings. There is, in addition,
a £4 transaction fee but booking and
transaction fees do not apply to Groups
and Theatre Card, post, and in person
bookings. The booking and transaction
fees are levied and retained in their entirety
by Ambassador Theatre Group. Booking
check at time of booking. Includes £1
restoration levy retained by the theatre.
** Some seats have restricted views,
please check when booking.
BOOKING DETAILS
The Box Office is open 10am – 5pm
Monday to Saturday (on performance days
the Box Office closes 30 minutes after the
advertised performance time).
Cheques should be made payable to ATG
London Ltd and can only be accepted
no later than four weeks prior to the
performance.
Post No fee, please send SAE for return of
tickets
In Person No fee
Telephone & Online Booking and
transaction fees apply
Group Bookings 10+ No fee when
booking on 0844 871 3040
PACKAGE DEALS
Book two operas and save 20%
Book three operas and save 25%
You can buy your Package Deal over the
phone or in person. You do not have to
book the same number of tickets for each
opera. You can also book for different
seating areas / price bands for each opera.
Please note does not apply to lowest price
tickets.
OTHER DISCOUNTS
Early Booking Offer
Book before Friday 24 July 2015 and get
£10 off bands A & B. This offer applies to
concessionary tickets only, which includes
Seniors and Claimants.
ATG Theatre Card members: Book
before Friday 24 July 2015 and get £10 off
bands A & B. Book from 25 July get £5 off
bands A & B.
Under 30s
person). Seats located within bands A – C.
Tickets must be booked in person no later
than 48 hours prior to performance. ID
required for each ticket purchased. Subject
to availability.
Groups of 10+
£8 off tickets in bands A & B.
Standby
Available one week before the performance:
Seniors / Students / Under 18s / Claimants:
£5 off selected seats.
School groups
£12.50 per pupil and 1 teacher free with
every 10 pupils (bands B and C).
110
111
Access
If you have access requirements or are a
wheelchair user please contact our Access
Team on 01865 320770 for availability and
prices (Mon – Fri 10am – 6pm).
may be limited.
to know to enjoy the performance. Talks
are held at the Wesley Memorial Hall and
tickets must be booked in advance.
I puritani
Tuesday 3 November 6pm
Orlando
Wednesday 4 November 6.15pm
Sweeney Todd
Thursday 5 November 6.15pm
Photo: Carmen on stage
112
113
The Lyric, Theatre Royal Plymouth
Spring 2016
The Barber of Seville Tuesday 5 & Friday 8 April 7.15pm
The Marriage of Figaro Wednesday 6 & Saturday 9 April 7pm
Figaro Gets a Divorce Thursday 7 April 7.15pm
HOW TO BOOK
Book online theatreroyal.com
By phone 01752 267222
In person Theatre Royal Plymouth,
Royal Parade, Plymouth, PL1 2TR
TICKET PRICES
Stalls £51 | £44 | £12*
Circle £51 | £33 | £12*
Upper Circle £31 | £22 | £12*
Ticket price includes £1.25 Theatre Royal
Plymouth Future Fund contribution.
*Restricted view
Surtitles are available at every
performance, please check when booking
to ensure visibility.
ON SALE DATES
Monday 2 March at 10am (phone only)
Groups and Schools booking open
Thursday 5 March at 10am
General booking opens Monday 9 March
at 10am
BOOKING DETAILS
Box Office: Telephone bookings are open
10am – 7pm Monday to Saturday and
personal bookings are open 10.30am –
8pm Monday to Saturday (10.30am – 6pm
on non-performance days).
PACKAGE DEALS
Book any two operas and save 20%
You can buy your Package Deal over
the phone or in person. Tickets must be
purchased in the same price band for each
opera. Package Deals only apply to the top
three price bands.
OTHER DISCOUNTS
Groups
Groups of 10+ – £2.50 off each ticket
(top three prices only)
Over 60s & Disabled
£5 off top three ticket prices, for all
performances.
Under 30s
A minimum of 60 tickets available at
every performance for £5.70 (ticket prices
include 70p per ticket booking fee, up to
a maximum of nine tickets). Seats located
within first three price bands. Tickets must
be booked in person. ID required for each
ticket purchased. Subject to availability.
School groups of 10+
£10 seats for top three price band for all
performances.
Students, Under 16s, Young Company
Members & Unwaged
Half price for top three price bands for all
performances.
TRAC
£4 off top three ticket prices for all
performances
Discounts are subject to availability.
Tuesday 5 April 5.45pm
Wednesday 6 April 5.30pm
Thursday 7 April 5.45pm
Tickets to free Pre-Performance Talks can
be booked through the theatre Box Office
at the same time as booking your opera
tickets.
114
115
Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
Autumn 2015
Spring 2016
The Barber of Seville Tuesday 22 March 7.15pm
HOW TO BOOK
Book online mayflower.org.uk
By phone 02380 711811
Group bookings 8+ 02380 711812
In person Mayflower Theatre, Commercial
Road, Southampton SO15 1GE
ON SALE DATES
Monday 2 March at 9.30am (phone only)
9.30am (online, phone and in person)
TICKET PRICES
Stalls £44 | £39 | £28 | £21.50 | £8
Circle £44 | £39 | £21.50 | £8
Balcony £28 | £21.50 | £17.50 | £8
BOOKING DETAILS
Book by telephone, online or in person.
Tickets may be booked in person at
Mayflower Theatre. All major credit cards
are welcome, except American Express
and Electron. Students must present ID on
entering the performance.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Book 2 operas and save 20%
Book 3 or 4 operas and save 25%
Book 5 or 6 operas and save 30%
Simply book for two operas or more to take
advantage of our discounts. You can buy
your Subscription over the phone or in
also book for different seating areas
/ price bands for each opera. Please note
does not apply to lowest price tickets.
Subscription bookings can be made for a
maximum 9 tickets per opera.
Subscriptions can not be booked online.
OTHER DISCOUNTS
Groups of 8 or more
£3 off each ticket and one free ticket with
every 20 purchased. Only available on £39
and £28 tickets.
Concessions (Senior Citizens, Full
Time Students and those receiving Job
Seekers or Disability Living
Allowance)
£6 off £39 seats in Stalls and Rear Circle
Under 30s
A maximum of 60 tickets available at every
performance for £5. Seats located within
first three price bands. Tickets must be
booked in person no later than 48 hours
prior to performance. ID required for each
ticket purchased. Subject to availability.
must be booked in advance through
Mayflower Theatre Box Office on
02380 711811.
AUTUMN 2015
I puritani
Tuesday 13 October 5.30pm
Orlando
Sweeney Todd
Thursday 15 October 5.45pm
SPRING 2016
Keep in touch
wno.org.uk
Our website is the place to go to find out more about this
season’s operas. You’ll find detailed casting information,
plot summaries, videos, images, blogs and expert articles.
Facebook
Join our lively Facebook community
facebook.com/welshnationalopera
e-newsletter
Sign-up for our regular e-newsletter and receive the latest
news and exclusive content from behind the scenes at WNO
wno.org.uk/register
Twitter
Follow WNOtweet, our behind the scenes Twitter stream
twitter.com/WNOtweet or twitter.com/OperaCenCymru
Phone
If you have any questions about our productions and
performances, call us on 029 2063 5030. The line is staffed
Monday – Friday 9.30am – 5.30pm.
Photo: Escamillo’s dressing room
118
119
Season at a glance
Autumn 2015
Opera
TimeVenue
Friday 11
I puritani 7pm
Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff
Saturday 19
I puritani 7pm
Sunday 27
Orlando
4pm
September
October Saturday 3
Orlando
7.15pm
Sunday 4
I puritani 4pm
Wednesday 7
Orlando
7.15pm
Thursday 8
Sweeney Todd
7.30pm
Friday 9
Sweeney Todd
7.30pm
Tuesday 13
I puritani 7pm
Wednesday 14
Orlando
7.15pm
Thursday 15
Sweeney Todd
7.15pm
Friday 16
Sweeney Todd
7.15pm
Saturday 17
Sweeney Todd
7.15pm
Tuesday 20
I puritani 7pm
Wednesday 21
Orlando
7.15pm
Thursday 22
Sweeney Todd
7.15pm
Friday 23
Sweeney Todd
7.15pm
Saturday 24
Sweeney Todd
7.15pm
The Bristol Hippodromel
Tuesday 27
I puritani 7pm
Venue Cymru, Llandudno
Wednesday 28
Orlando
7.15pm
Thursday 29
Sweeney Todd
7.15pm
Friday 30
Sweeney Todd
7.15pm
Saturday 31
Sweeney Todd
7.15pm
120
Season at a glance | Autumn 2015
November
Tuesday 3
I puritani 7pm
New Theatre Oxford
Wednesday 4
Orlando
7.15pm
New Theatre Oxford
Thursday 5
Sweeney Todd
7.15pm
New Theatre Oxford
Friday 6
Sweeney Todd
7.15pm
New Theatre Oxford
Saturday 7
Sweeney Todd
7.15pm
New Theatre Oxford
Thursday 12
WNO Orchestra
7.30pm
St David’s Hall, Cardiff
Friday 13
Sweeney Todd
7.15pm
Saturday 14
Sweeney Todd
7.15pm
Tuesday 17
I puritani 7pm
Wednesday 18
Orlando
7.15pm
Thursday 19
Sweeney Todd
7.15pm
Friday 20
Sweeney Todd
7.15pm
Saturday 21 Sweeney Todd
7.15pm
Tuesday 24
Sweeney Todd
7.30pm
Wednesday 25
Sweeney Todd
7.30pm
Thursday 26
Sweeney Todd
2.00pm
Thursday 26
Sweeney Todd
7.30pm
Friday 27
Sweeney Todd
7.30pm
Saturday 28
Sweeney Todd
2pm
Saturday 28
Sweeney Todd
7.30pm
Sunday 29
Sweeney Todd
2pm
Friday 18 A Christmas Carol 7.15pm Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff
Sunday 20 A Christmas Carol 4pm Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff
December
121
122
123
Season at a glance
Spring 2016
Opera
TimeVenue
WNO Orchestra
7.30pm
Saturday 13
The Barber Of Seville 7.15pm
Wednesday 17
The Barber Of Seville
7.15pm
Thursday 18
7pm
Friday 19
7.15pm
Saturday 20
7pm
Sunday 21
4pm
Tuesday 23
7.15pm
Wednesday 24
7pm
Thursday 25
7.15pm
Friday 26
7pm
Saturday 27
7.15pm
January
Friday 15
February
March
Tuesday 1
7.15pm
Wednesday 2
7pm
Thursday 3
7.15pm
Friday 4
7.15pm
Saturday 5
7pm
Tuesday 8
7.15pm
Wednesday 9
7pm
Thursday 10
7.15pm
Friday 11
7.15pm
Saturday 12
7pm
124
Season at a glance | Spring 2016
Tuesday 15
7.15pm
Wednesday 16
7pm
Thursday 17
7.15pm
Friday 18
7.15pm
Saturday 19
7pm
Tuesday 22
7.15pm
Wednesday 23
7pm
Thursday 24
7.15pm
Saturday 26
7pm
Tuesday 29
7.15pm
Wednesday 30
7pm
Thursday 31
7.15pm
April
Friday 1
7.15pm
Saturday 2
7pm
Tuesday 5
7.15pm
Theatre Royal Plymouth
Wednesday 6
7pm
Thursday 7
7.15pm
Friday 8
7.15pm
Saturday 9
7pm
125
126
Season at a glance | Summer 2016
Season at a glance
Summer 2016
Opera
TimeVenue
May
Sunday 1
WNO Orchestra
7.30pm
Friday 13
In Parenthesis
7.15pm
Saturday 21
In Parenthesis
7.15pm
Thursday 26
7.15pm
Sunday 29
4pm
June
Wednesday 1
7.15pm
Friday 3
In Parenthesis
7.15pm
Saturday 4
7.15pm
Thursday 9
7.15pm
Friday 10
In Parenthesis
7.15pm
Saturday 11
7.15pm
Wednesday 29
In Parenthesis
7.30pm
Royal Opera House, London*
July
Friday 1
In Parenthesis
7.30pm
Royal Opera House, London*
*Performances go on sale in 2016, please visit
roh.org.uk for details.
127
128
We are immensely grateful to our supporters. As we
approach our 70th year, there is no more fitting time
to say a special thank you. Your support has made it
possible for us to become the artistic force we are
today.
It’s also time to look forward. We want to go further.
We need you to help us towards even greater
success over the next 70 years.
Support us by becoming a WNO Partner.
Join us
Contact: Sally-Ann Bird on 029 2063 5015
or [email protected]
wno.org.uk/partners
The information printed in this brochure is printed in good faith and all information is
correct at the time of going to press. WNO reserves the right to alter the programme or
casting without prior notice.
Image credits: Photo of David Pountney by Nick Treharne, photo on page 77 by
Gareth Iwan Jones, all other photos by Matt Stuart.
wno.org.uk

WNO 15/16 Season Brochure

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