... a gripping tale of power, manipulation and tragic descent as Macbeth, a valiant general, succumbs to his wife’s persuasion, leading to a ruthless quest for the Scottish throne. Sung in English, accompanied by Ensemble Cymru and with a large cast, supplemented by community choruses, Mid Wales Opera presents its first-ever production of Verdi’s Macbeth as the culmination of its Shakespeare Season.
Berlioz’s final opera sets to music the wild and illogical whirlwind of falling in love, bringing a rich warmth of invention to Shakespeare that virtually no other composer has achieved. MWO’s production features six singers and four musicians, with an English singing translation by Amanda Holden, together with Shakespeare’s original texts adapted by Richard Studer and a new chamber arrangement by Jonathan Lyness.
Based on the Brothers Grimm’s fairytale, two children are banished to the enchanted woods by their hungry, frustrated parents. There, they wander into the clutches of a wicked witch determined to fatten them up and turn them into gingerbread. With only their cunning to protect them, how will they ever escape the oven?
Premiered in Barcelona in 1948, and rarely performed, this age-old children’s story tells of the wealth-seeking, match-making cat who, in return for a hat, a sword and a pair of boots, secures for his young master (a lowly miller) a kingdom and a royal marriage to a princess, tricking a slow-witted ogre out of his castle along the way.
It’s Christmas Eve and high above the streets of Paris a knock at the door begins the timeless love story of poet Rodolfo and his neighbour Mimi. Their fairytale romance feels like a Christmas miracle, but even the warmth of their love can’t defeat the winter chill – Mimi is desperately ill, and Rodolfo and his fellow bohemians can’t afford the help she needs.
Mid Wales Opera presents Puccini’s passionate late masterpiece Il tabarro, or ‘The Cloak’. Set on the banks of the Seine, this one act opera tells the short story of the barge owner Michele who suspects his young wife Giorgetta of being unfaithful. Packed with side plots and characters bringing to life the sights and sounds of 1900s Paris, the opera reaches its dramatic conclusion when Michele unexpectedly catches his wife’s lover at the strike of a match. With alluring melodies and a fast-moving pace, Il tabarro sees the great opera composer at the very height of his powers.
MWO bring a fresh approach to Mozart’s enduring masterpiece for their 2020 Spring tour. Using Amanda Holden’s English translation filled with ‘uninhibited mirth’ and our own Music Director’s orchestral arrangement of Mozart’s sublime score, our brand-new production will be tailor made in Wales with international performers joined on stage by young talent from the Wales International Academy of Voice. Join Figaro and Susanna on their marriage merry go round, as servants outwit their masters, women outwit their men and true love triumphs against the odds.
MWO’s SmallStages romps onto stage with a radical reworking of The Beggar’s Opera – Mrs Peachum’s Guide to Love and Marriage. Join Mrs Peachum and her daughter Polly in a rumbustious tragicomic tale of love, loyalty and London gin. MWO are delighted to premiere this new one act opera, adapted by Richard Studer, in a new musical version by Jonathan Lyness, accompanied by MWO’s SmallStages Ensemble of four musicians and starring Northern Irish mezzo Carolyn Dobbin as Mrs Peachum and Welsh soprano Alys Mererid Roberts as her feckless daughter.
Putting on an opera in a week was always going to be a challenge, putting on an opera in a week from scratch with a cast, chorus and musicians largely inexperienced in opera even more so….but then we’re never known to shy away from a challenge at MWO and we’ve been absolutely blown away by the success of our first OpenStages project. Our production of Dido and Aeneas in St Andrew’s Church, Presteigne began rehearsals on Bank Holiday Monday, April 22nd 2019, and was performed to two sold out audiences the following Saturday, April 27th.
