Mid Wales Opera is delighted to announce that Welsh-Ukrainian soprano Natalya Romaniw has become the company’s new Honorary Patron.
Born in Swansea, Natalya has established an international career on some of the world’s leading opera stages, including the Royal Opera House, Welsh National Opera and the Metropolitan Opera. She is recognised for her powerful voice and compelling performances, her accolades include being named Young Artist of the Year at the Gramophone Classical Music Awards and winning the Singer Award at the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards in 2020.
Her many other competition and prize wins include the First Prize and the Lovelady Song Prize from the Kathleen Ferrier Awards and from the Houston Grand Opera Eleanor McCollum Competition. She is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, at which she won the prestigious Gold Medal in her final year. She is sought-after for her portrayal of the title role of Tosca and has sung previous performances of the role at the Royal Ballet and Opera and with Staatsoper Hamburg, Oper Frankfurt, Deutsche Oper Berlin, English National Opera, and Scottish Opera.
As a Welsh artist with an international profile, Natalya’s connection to Mid Wales Opera reflects the company’s commitment to making opera accessible to audiences across Wales and the Borders, while providing opportunities for young artists to develop their professional careers.
The new patron Natalya Romaniw said
“I’m really delighted to become a patron for Mid Wales Opera, it’s something that feels particularly special to me, having grown up in Wales myself, and one of the things I really love about Mid Wales Opera is that they take opera out of the big cities and the major opera houses, and they bring it directly into smaller towns, schools, communities and to people who perhaps wouldn’t otherwise have the chance or experience to see it or hear it. I think that Mid Wales Opera are doing a wonderful job by planting that seed, instilling it in all of these small communities and towns around Wales, giving people the chance. They do a huge amount of work with young people and emerging artists and I’m really a big advocate of that. I think opera can sometimes feel like it’s a bit of an exclusive world, and it really shouldn’t, it belongs to everyone. And so I’m generally really proud to be joining Mid Wales Opera as a patron. I’m very excited to support them. You can catch them this autumn and I’m hoping to catch Gianni Schicchi myself- one of my favourite operas. I will be supporting them, championing them, and spreading the word about the fantastic work they’re doing”.
You can get tickets to see Puccini’s funniest and most entertaining works this autumn as MWO brings its SmallStages tour across Wales and the borders, with Gianni Schicchi touring to 12 venues from Newtown to Abergavenny there are plenty of opportunities to catch them on tour. With Puccini’s instantly recognisable music, plenty of comedy and a story driven by greed, family rivalry and a very determined outsider, Gianni Schicchi offers a lively introduction to staged opera as well as second half Italian concert with an eclectic mix of music for regular opera-goers to enjoy as well as those who want to experience something new. Gianni Schicchi is a particularly accessible starting point for anyone who thinks opera might not be for them: it’s short, funny, fast-moving and packed with great characters and comic events.
