Welsh National Opera is to bring four opera productions and a family show to Venue Cymru in Llandudno from autumn into 2025.
First up are two programmes in October: a new production of Verdi’s Rigoletto and a further showing for two of the three parts of Puccini’s one-acter triptych Il Trittico – the tragedy Suor Angelica and the comic Gianni Schicchi – which WNO will premiere in Cardiff this summer. On one night they’re also offering Opera Favourites at the Movies.
In May 2025 two operas come to the seaside: Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and Britten’s Peter Grimes, the latter a new production. There is also a Play Opera LIVE with presenter Tom Redmond, aimed at newcomers to opera and classical music. This year’s theme is “magnificent music from stage and screen” and it’s an interactive show for the whole family, with free activities using costumes, face painting and opera props before the performance.
Port Talbot-born opera and music theatre director Adele Thomas makes her WNO directorial debut in Rigoletto, conducted by Pietro Rizzo, with Gilda sung by the high-flying Royal Northern College of Music alumna Soraya Mafi. Daniel Luis de Vicente sings the title role, with Leonardo Capalbo as the Duke.
WNO will perform the complete Il Trittico in Cardiff this summer and again in the autumn, but will take only two of the three parts on tour. Originally directed by Sir David McVicar, it’s a co-production with Scottish Opera. Soprano Natalya Romaniw sings the title character in Suor Angelica, and Aluda Todua takes the title role in Gianni Schicchi, with Welsh tenor Trystan Llyr Griffiths as Rinuccio. The conductor will be Alexander Joel.
The Marriage of Figaro is a revival of Tobias Richter’s production, with Christina Gansch making her WNO and role debuts as Susanna, conducted by Kerem Hasan.
In Peter Grimes, WNO music director Tomas Hanus conducts his first Britten opera, with Nicky Spence in the title role and Dame Sarah Connolly making her role debut as Auntie. The cast includes home-grown Welsh singers, including David Kempster, Fflur Wyn, Jeffrey Lloyd Roberts (who played Grimes in Opera North’s much-lauded 2006 and 2013 production) and Sion Goronwy.
More info and ticket details (not yet on sale) here