138-623: Welsh National Opera ( WNO ) ( Welsh : Opera Cenedlaethol Cymru ) is an opera company based in Cardiff , Wales. WNO gave its first performances in 1946. The company began as a mainly amateur body and transformed into an all-professional ensemble by 1973. In its early days, the company gave a single week's annual season in Cardiff, gradually extending its schedule to become an all-year-round operation, with its own salaried chorus and orchestra. It has been described by The New York Times as "one of
276-441: A Welsh Language Scheme, which indicates its commitment to the equality of treatment principle. This is sent out in draft form for public consultation for a three-month period, whereupon comments on it may be incorporated into a final version. It requires the final approval of the now defunct Welsh Language Board ( Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg ). Thereafter, the public body is charged with implementing and fulfilling its obligations under
414-594: A Welsh-language edge inscription was used on pound coins dated 1985, 1990 and 1995, which circulated in all parts of the UK prior to their 2017 withdrawal. The wording is Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad (Welsh for 'True am I to my country'), and derives from the national anthem of Wales, " Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau ". UK banknotes are in English only. Some shops employ bilingual signage. Welsh sometimes appears on product packaging or instructions. The UK government has ratified
552-525: A celebratory CD set with contributions from many soloists who had appeared onstage with the company and some who had not, the latter including Joan Sutherland , Luciano Pavarotti , Montserrat Caballé and Thomas Hampson . The orchestra of WNO has made studio recordings of non-operatic music by Elgar , Delius , Coleridge-Taylor and George Lloyd , and several sets of traditional Welsh songs and crossover music . Welsh National Opera has been nominated for, or won nearly every UK opera prize, including winning
690-663: A census glossary of terms to support the release of results from the census, including their definition of "main language" as referring to "first or preferred language" (though that wording was not in the census questionnaire itself). The wards in England with the most people giving Welsh as their main language were the Liverpool wards of Central and Greenbank ; and Oswestry South in Shropshire . The wards of Oswestry South (1.15%), Oswestry East (0.86%) and St Oswald (0.71%) had
828-416: A few verses at a time on the back of a postcard. As Mascagni believed that the work was hastily written and not reflective of his best efforts, his courage deserted him and he placed the draft in a drawer, from where his wife, Argenide Marcellina "Lina" Mascagni, removed it and submitted it on the last day that entries would be accepted. In all, 73 operas were submitted, and on 5 March 1890, the judges selected
966-577: A former Carl Rosa baritone – and Morgan's fiancée Helena Hughes Brown, Owen agreed to found the Lyrian Grand Opera Company, with Brown as secretary and Owen as conductor and general manager. They publicised their plan and held a general meeting of potential supporters in December 1943; at that meeting the name of the proposed organisation was changed to "Welsh National Opera Company". By January 1944 plans were far enough advanced for
1104-621: A new multipurpose arts centre on the Cardiff Bay site. The centre included a 1,900-seat theatre, which, among other uses, became WNO's home base from 2004, with its own rehearsal space and offices in the complex. In the first decade of the 21st century WNO gave more than 120 performances a year, with a repertoire, generally, of eight full-scale operas. Its regular audience figures totalled over 150,000 annually, in ten principal venues, three of them in Wales and seven in England. During this period
1242-420: A new work, Figaro Gets a Divorce with music by Elena Langer and libretto by Pountney. In September 2015, WNO announced the appointment of Tomáš Hanus as its next music director, taking office for the 2016–17 season. Simultaneously, Carlo Rizzi was named the company's conductor laureate, with immediate effect. From 2019 to 2023, Aidan Lang was general director of the company. In December 2023, WNO announced
1380-405: A pretentious, silly or seriously misguided production, and neither have I seen a dull one. … The company's greatest virtue is that its work is dedicated above all to the service of composers and audiences, and not to some abstract notion of "prestige" nor to the vanity or ambition of individuals, and in this it is almost unique. In 1973 Geliot's WNO staging of Britten 's Billy Budd with Allen in
1518-479: A single discourse (known in linguistics as code-switching ). Welsh speakers are largely concentrated in the north and west of Wales, principally Gwynedd , Conwy County Borough , Denbighshire , Anglesey , Carmarthenshire , north Pembrokeshire , Ceredigion , parts of Glamorgan , and north-west and extreme south-west Powys . However, first-language and other fluent speakers can be found throughout Wales. Welsh-speaking communities persisted well into
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#17327719864241656-632: A success from its opening notes. Following Stagno's rendition of the Siciliana behind the curtain, the audience leapt to their feet with a thunderous applause not heard for many years. The Siciliana was encored as were several other numbers in the opera. It was a sensation, with Mascagni taking 40 curtain calls and winning the First Prize. Although Mascagni had started writing two other operas earlier ( Pinotta , premiered in 1932, and Guglielmo Ratcliff , premiered in 1895), Cavalleria rusticana
1794-1041: Is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people . Welsh is spoken natively in Wales , by some in England , and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province , Argentina ). It is spoken by smaller numbers of people in Canada and the United States descended from Welsh immigrants, within their households (especially in Nova Scotia ). Historically, it has also been known in English as "British", "Cambrian", "Cambric" and "Cymric". The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 gave
1932-583: Is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci , adapted from an 1880 short story of the same name and subsequent play by Giovanni Verga . Considered one of the classic verismo operas, it premiered on 17 May 1890 at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome. Since 1893 , it has often been performed in a so-called Cav/Pag double-bill with Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo . In July 1888
2070-673: Is available throughout Europe on satellite and online throughout the UK. Since the digital switchover was completed in South Wales on 31 March 2010, S4C Digidol became the main broadcasting channel and fully in Welsh. The main evening television news provided by the BBC in Welsh is available for download. There is also a Welsh-language radio station, BBC Radio Cymru , which was launched in 1977. Cavalleria rusticana Cavalleria rusticana ( pronounced [kavalleˈriːa rustiˈkaːna] ; Italian for 'Rustic Chivalry ')
2208-688: Is considered to have lasted from then until the 14th century, when the Modern Welsh period began, which in turn is divided into Early and Late Modern Welsh. The word Welsh is a descendant, via Old English wealh, wielisc , of the Proto-Germanic word * Walhaz , which was derived from the name of the Celtic people known to the Romans as Volcae and which came to refer to speakers of Celtic languages, and then indiscriminately to
2346-732: Is in the air. The women leave, taking Lola with them. In a brief exchange of words, Alfio challenges Turiddu to a duel. Following Sicilian custom, the two men embrace, and Turiddu, in a token of acceptance, bites Alfio's ear, drawing blood which signifies a fight to the death. Alfio leaves and Turiddu calls Lucia back. He tells her that he is going outside to get some air and asks that she be a kindly mother to Santuzza if he should not return: "Un bacio, mamma! Un altro bacio!—Addio!" ("One kiss, mother! One more kiss! – Farewell!"). Turiddu rushes out. Lucia, weeping, wanders aimlessly around outside her house. Santuzza approaches and throws her arms around her. The villagers start to crowd around. Voices are heard in
2484-511: Is the label attached to the Welsh of the 12th to 14th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This is the language of nearly all surviving early manuscripts of the Mabinogion , although the tales themselves are certainly much older. It is also the language of the existing Welsh law manuscripts. Middle Welsh is reasonably intelligible to a modern-day Welsh speaker. The Bible translations into Welsh helped maintain
2622-732: The Cynfeirdd or "Early Poets" – is generally considered to date to the Primitive Welsh period. However, much of this poetry was supposedly composed in the Hen Ogledd , raising further questions about the dating of the material and language in which it was originally composed. This discretion stems from the fact that Cumbric was widely believed to have been the language used in Hen Ogledd. An 8th-century inscription in Tywyn shows
2760-500: The 2016 Australian census , 1,688 people noted that they spoke Welsh. In the 2011 Canadian census , 3,885 people reported Welsh as their first language . According to the 2021 Canadian census , 1,130 people noted that Welsh was their mother tongue. The 2018 New Zealand census noted that 1,083 people in New Zealand spoke Welsh. The American Community Survey 2009–2013 noted that 2,235 people aged five years and over in
2898-466: The 2021 census , 7,349 people in England recorded Welsh to be their "main language". In the 2011 census, 1,189 people aged three and over in Scotland noted that Welsh was a language (other than English) that they used at home. It is believed that there are as many as 5,000 speakers of Patagonian Welsh . In response to the question 'Does the person speak a language other than English at home?' in
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#17327719864243036-538: The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of Welsh. The language has greatly increased its prominence since the creation of the television channel S4C in November 1982, which until digital switchover in 2010 broadcast 70 per cent of Channel 4's programming along with a majority of Welsh language shows during peak viewing hours. The all-Welsh-language digital station S4C Digidol
3174-756: The Polish name for Italians) have a similar etymology. The Welsh term for the language, Cymraeg , descends from the Brythonic word combrogi , meaning 'compatriots' or 'fellow countrymen'. Welsh evolved from Common Brittonic , the Celtic language spoken by the ancient Celtic Britons . Classified as Insular Celtic , the British language probably arrived in Britain during the Bronze Age or Iron Age and
3312-521: The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in the mid-1990s, featuring Tristan und Isolde and La favorita in 1993, The Yeomen of the Guard in 1995, and The Rake's Progress and the jubilee double bill of Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci in 1996. In 1996 WNO commissioned Sir Peter Maxwell Davies to write an opera for the occasion of the company's 50th anniversary. The resulting opera
3450-640: The United States spoke Welsh at home. The highest number of those (255) lived in Florida . Sources: Calls for the Welsh language to be granted official status grew with the establishment of the nationalist political party Plaid Cymru in 1925, the establishment of the Welsh Language Society in 1962 and the rise of Welsh nationalism in the later 20th century. Of the six living Celtic languages (including two revived), Welsh has
3588-542: The "hugely important role", adding, "I look forward to working with the Welsh Government and organisations in Wales in developing the new system of standards. I will look to build on the good work that has been done by the Welsh Language Board and others to strengthen the Welsh language and ensure that it continues to thrive." First Minister Carwyn Jones said that Huws would act as a champion for
3726-596: The 1880s identified a small part of Shropshire as still then speaking Welsh, with the "Celtic Border" passing from Llanymynech through Oswestry to Chirk . The number of Welsh-speaking people in the rest of Britain has not yet been counted for statistical purposes. In 1993, the Welsh-language television channel S4C published the results of a survey into the numbers of people who spoke or understood Welsh, which estimated that there were around 133,000 Welsh-speaking people living in England, about 50,000 of them in
3864-667: The 1992 production of Debussy 's Pelléas et Mélisande , directed by Peter Stein and conducted by Pierre Boulez . The New York Times called WNO "one of the finest operatic ensembles in Europe" and noted that the first night of the Debussy work, in Cardiff, "attracted 80 critics from all over the United Kingdom and the Continent ... the most prestigious, intensely awaited event of the British operatic season." The production
4002-536: The 1993 Act nor secondary legislation made under it covers the private sector, although some organisations, notably banks and some railway companies, provide some of their information in Welsh. On 7 December 2010, the Welsh Assembly unanimously approved a set of measures to develop the use of the Welsh language within Wales. On 9 February 2011 this measure, the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 ,
4140-462: The 50th anniversary of the opera's premiere. The performance by the La Scala orchestra and chorus with Lina Bruna Rasa as Santuzza and Beniamino Gigli as Turiddu also has a spoken introduction by Mascagni. Originally released as on 78rpm discs, then an LP, it is available on CD under several historical recording labels. A double-bill performance of Cavalleria and Pagliacci was transmitted as
4278-486: The Assembly which confirms the official status of the Welsh language; which creates a strong advocate for Welsh speakers and will improve the quality and quantity of services available through the medium of Welsh. I believe that everyone who wants to access services in the Welsh language should be able to do so, and that is what this government has worked towards. This legislation is an important and historic step forward for
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4416-603: The Bournemouth and other orchestras and established its own, known at first as the Welsh Philharmonia. Three years later the last amateur element of the company was removed when the chorus became fully professional. A further broadening of the repertoire took place in the 1970s: in 1971 WNO staged the first performances in Britain of Berg 's Lulu , directed by Michael Geliot, who had succeeded Moody in 1969. In
4554-555: The Carl Rosa Company, which was in financial difficulties. The proposal was not followed through and WNO continued independently while the Carl Rosa folded. During the 1960s the company continued to widen its range. Its first Wagner production, Lohengrin , and its first Mozart, The Marriage of Figaro , were both performed in 1962, conducted by Charles Groves . Another Welsh opera, Hughes's Serch yw'r Doctor ("Love,
4692-461: The Doctor") was staged in 1960. The popular Italian repertoire remained the core of the annual seasons, mostly directed by the head of production, John Moody . Leading roles were taken by rising stars such as John Shirley-Quirk , Gwyneth Jones , Thomas Allen , Josephine Barstow and Margaret Price , the last of whom made her operatic debut with the company in 1962. Established singers guesting with
4830-550: The Greater London area. The Welsh Language Board , on the basis of an analysis of the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study, estimated there were 110,000 Welsh-speaking people in England, and another thousand in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In the 2011 census , 8,248 people in England gave Welsh in answer to the question "What is your main language?" The Office for National Statistics subsequently published
4968-649: The House of the Dead (1982). Among the guest artists who appeared with the company in the 1970s were the baritone Tito Gobbi , as Falstaff (1972), the sopranos Elisabeth Söderström as Emilia in The Makropoulos Case (1978) and Anne Evans as Senta in The Flying Dutchman (1972), and the conductors James Levine ( Aida , 1970) and Reginald Goodall ( Tristan and Isolde , 1979). In
5106-706: The Intermezzo from Cavalleria rusticana in the United States was as the theme for a regular radio broadcast, Symphony of the Rockies, which featured "a small string group playing light classical music" in the 1930s and 1940s over Denver radio station KOA , then owned and operated by the NBC network. It "was a 'feed' to the entire network from the KOA studios." Apart from video recordings of live performances, there have been several cinematic versions of Cavalleria rusticana ,
5244-800: The Lenox Lyceum, directed by Oscar Hammerstein . The opera received its first performance at the Metropolitan Opera on 30 December 1891 in a double bill with a fragment of Gluck 's Orfeo ed Euridice , and has since received over 700 performances there. The opera was played during the 1920s in African-American theaters in Chicago. For example, the Vendome, featuring the orchestra of Erskine Tate , played music from this opera. Notably, Louis Armstrong performed and memorized
5382-617: The London stage, gave numerous performances of Parry's Blodwen and Arienwen , composed in 1878 and 1890 respectively. An American tour was planned, but the company folded, and Parry's final opera, The Maid of Cefn Ydfa , was given at Cardiff by the Moody-Manners Opera Company in 1902. A Cardiff Grand Opera Society ran from 1924 to 1934. It presented week-long annual seasons of popular operas including Faust , Carmen and Il trovatore , and like its predecessor
5520-461: The Milanese music publisher Edoardo Sonzogno announced a competition open to all young Italian composers who had not yet had an opera performed on stage. They were invited to submit a one-act opera which would be judged by a jury of five prominent Italian critics and composers. The best three would be staged in Rome at Sonzogno's expense. Mascagni heard about the competition only two months before
5658-701: The Olivier Award in 1998 and in 1999. The Royal Philharmonic Society awarded its Music Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera in 1999, 2000 and 2001, giving the company the distinction as the only arts organisation to have won the Award for three consecutive years. WNO's production of Pelléas and Mélisande (1992) won the International Classical Music Awards. Phyllida Lloyd's production of Poulenc's The Carmelites for WNO won
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5796-1043: The Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera in 1999, winning jointly with ENO as co-producers. The production of The Coronation of Poppea in 1997 by David Alden won WNO more awards than any other production: winning, the Evening Standard Award, the Royal Philharmonic Society and the Barclays Theatre Awards. In 1982, WNO gained its first patron in Diana, Princess of Wales . As patron she attended many gala concerts in New Theatre, Cardiff; Dominion Theatre, London; Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York and in 1984 she opened
5934-777: The Teatro Costanzi, where it premiered on 9 April 1890. In the 1907 Sonzogno competition, Domenico Monleone submitted an opera based on the story, and likewise called Cavalleria rusticana . The opera was not successful in the competition but premiered later that year in Amsterdam and went on to a successful tour throughout Europe, ending in Turin. Sonzogno, wishing to protect the lucrative property which Mascagni's version had become, took legal action and successfully had Monleone's opera banned from performance in Italy. Monleone changed
6072-432: The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, all new signs have Welsh displayed first. There have been incidents of one of the languages being vandalised, which may be considered a hate crime . Since 2000, the teaching of Welsh has been compulsory in all schools in Wales up to age 16; this has had an effect in stabilising and reversing the decline in the language. Text on UK coins tends to be in English and Latin. However,
6210-436: The Welsh Language Scheme. The list of other public bodies which have to prepare Schemes could be added to by initially the Secretary of State for Wales, from 1993 to 1997, by way of statutory instrument . Subsequent to the forming of the National Assembly for Wales in 1997, the Government Minister responsible for the Welsh language can and has passed statutory instruments naming public bodies who have to prepare Schemes. Neither
6348-446: The Welsh as singing) had been broken for ever". In 1952 the company moved its Cardiff venue to the Sophia Gardens Pavilion (built for the Festival of Britain ), with the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra as the company's orchestra, replacing the previous ad hoc ensemble. The Pavilion was acoustically mediocre and lacked an orchestra pit; two years later the company moved again, to the New Theatre where it played Cardiff seasons across
6486-421: The Welsh language official status in Wales. Welsh and English are de jure official languages of the Welsh Parliament, the Senedd , with Welsh being the only de jure official language in any part of the United Kingdom, with English being merely de facto official. According to the 2021 census , the Welsh-speaking population of Wales aged three or older was 538,300 (17.8%) and nearly three quarters of
6624-445: The Welsh language, though some had concerns over her appointment: Plaid Cymru spokeswoman Bethan Jenkins said, "I have concerns about the transition from Meri Huws's role from the Welsh Language Board to the language commissioner, and I will be asking the Welsh government how this will be successfully managed. We must be sure that there is no conflict of interest, and that the Welsh Language Commissioner can demonstrate how she will offer
6762-426: The Welsh of the 16th century, but they are similar enough for a fluent Welsh speaker to have little trouble understanding it. During the Modern Welsh period, there has been a decline in the popularity of the Welsh language: the number of Welsh speakers declined to the point at which there was concern that the language would become extinct. During industrialisation in the late 19th century, immigrants from England led to
6900-429: The Welsh-speaking heartlands, with the number dropping to under 50 per cent in Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire for the first time. However, according to the Welsh Language Use Survey in 2019–20, 22 per cent of people aged three and over were able to speak Welsh. The Annual Population Survey (APS) by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that as of March 2024, approximately 862,700, or 28.0 per cent of
7038-480: The affair and begs Alfio to stop, but to no avail. The square is empty as the orchestra plays the famous Intermezzo . The villagers come out of the church. Turiddu is in high spirits because he is with Lola, and Santuzza appears to have gone. He invites his friends to his mother's wine shop where he sings a drinking song, "Viva, il vino spumeggiante" ("Hail to the bubbling wine!"). Alfio joins them. Turiddu offers him wine, but he refuses it. All understand that trouble
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#17327719864247176-536: The appointment of Christopher Barron as interim general director, effective January 2024. Barron is scheduled to remain in the post through September 2024. In July 2024, WNO announced the appointments of Adele Thomas and Sarah Crabtree as joint holders of the posts of general director and chief executive officer, effective January 2025. Although the chorus and orchestra of Welsh National Opera have appeared on many commercial recordings, often featuring regular WNO soloists, there have been few sets, either audio or video, of
7314-408: The census. In terms of usage, ONS also reported that 14.4 per cent (443,800) of people aged three or older in Wales reported that they spoke Welsh daily in March 2024, with 5.4 per cent (165,500) speaking it weekly and 6.5 per cent (201,200) less often. Approximately 1.7 per cent (51,700) reported that they never spoke Welsh despite being able to speak the language, with the remaining 72.0 per cent of
7452-520: The chorus disappointing, in both Nabucco and Il trovatore . A reviewer in The Musical Times commented on potential difficulties in assembling the wholly amateur chorus for performances beyond daily travelling range of their day jobs. By the time of the company's first London season – a week at Sadler's Wells in 1955 – the chorus was judged to be "lively and exciting" ( The Musical Times ), "vibrant" and "moving" ( The Times ) and "joyous" ( The Manchester Guardian ). The second season at Sadler's Wells in
7590-517: The church is heard singing the " Regina coeli ." Outside, the villagers sing an Easter Hymn, "Inneggiamo, il Signor non è morto" ("Let us sing hymns, the Lord is not dead," or "We rejoice that our Saviour is living!" in the English version) joined by Santuzza. The villagers enter the church, while Santuzza and Lucia remain outside. Lucia asks Santuzza why she signalled her to remain silent when Alfio said that he had seen Turiddu that morning. Santuzza exclaims, "Voi lo sapete" ("You well know") and tells Lucia
7728-425: The closing date and asked his friend Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti, a poet and professor of literature at the Italian Royal Naval Academy in Livorno , to provide a libretto. Targioni-Tozzetti chose Cavalleria rusticana , a popular short story (and play) by Giovanni Verga , as the basis for the opera. He and his colleague Guido Menasci set about composing the libretto, sending it to Mascagni in fragments, sometimes only
7866-467: The company include Geraint Evans , Thomas Allen , Anne Evans , and Bryn Terfel . Guest artists from other countries have included Joan Hammond , Tito Gobbi and Elisabeth Söderström . Among the conductors have been Sir Charles Mackerras , Reginald Goodall , James Levine and Pierre Boulez . The company has been led by Aidan Lang as its General Director since 2019. Choral singing became increasingly popular in 19th-century Wales, principally owing to
8004-400: The company included Geraint Evans who played the title role in Don Pasquale in 1966, and Ian Wallace in the same part the following year. Evans was also seen as Leporello in Don Giovanni in 1966 and as Falstaff in 1969. The gradual switch from amateur to professional continued in 1968, when for the first time the chorus was supplemented by a smaller, professional group of singers;
8142-514: The company played to full houses. Nevertheless, the expense of a professional orchestra and the hire of costumes and scenery outweighed the box-office receipts, and the season made a small loss. Finance remained a recurring problem over the succeeding decades. The sets were faded stock with years of amateur service behind them, there were one or two experienced guest principals … and a majority of local amateurs, stiff actors, sometimes vocally overparted, absurdly costumed, yet almost all of them ejecting
8280-407: The company staged its first work by a Welsh composer: Menna by Arwel Hughes . The composer conducted, and the leads were sung by two professional guest stars, Richard Lewis and Elsie Morison . The same year marked WNO's first appearances outside Wales, playing a week at Bournemouth in April, and a week at Manchester in October, when The Manchester Guardian found the soloists first-rate but
8418-429: The company was criticised for being insufficiently Welsh. A local politician, Adam Price, said that WNO ought to have a Welsh musical director; Alun Hoddinott said in 2004, "WNO has put on perhaps four or five Welsh operas over 20 years. ... They just seem to have an anti-Welsh music bias. I am sad that they do not do something for Welsh composers, especially young ones." A more positive view of WNO came from Scotland, where
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#17327719864248556-468: The company's first rehearsals to be held. Owen recruited a local businessman, W. H. (Bill) Smith (1894–1968), who agreed to serve as business manager. At first doubtful of the company's prospects, Smith became its dominant influence, leading fund-raiser, and chairman for twenty years from 1948. The new company made its debut at the Prince of Wales Theatre, Cardiff on 15 April 1946 with a double bill of Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci . The orchestra
8694-541: The company's own productions. Among those are Tristan und Isolde conducted by Goodall (1981), Pelléas et Mélisande conducted by Boulez (1992), The Yeomen of the Guard , conducted by Mackerras (1995), The Doctor of Myddfai conducted by Armstrong (1998), and Ariodante conducted by Ivor Bolton , directed by David Alden (1999). The BBC made a studio video recording of a WNO cast in Katya Kabanova , conducted by Armstrong in 1982. The WNO chorus and orchestra have been engaged for studio opera recordings unconnected with
8832-411: The company's productions, including Hamlet (1983), Norma (1984), Anna Bolena (1987), Ernani (1987) and Adriana Lecouvreur (1988) conducted by Richard Bonynge , Faust (1993) and Katya Kabanova (1994) conducted by Rizzi; and Gloriana (1993), Eugene Onegin (1994) and Jenůfa (2004) conducted by Mackerras. For the WNO jubilee in 1996, Decca drew on some of its studio recordings for
8970-415: The company's repertoire, and in 1983 Das Rheingold was staged in the WNO's first Ring cycle, followed by the other three operas of the cycle over the next two years. Das Rheingold , Siegfried and Götterdämmerung were conducted by the company's musical director, Richard Armstrong ; Die Walküre (1984) was conducted by Goodall; it was seen as a coup for the company to secure his services – he
9108-414: The course of the 20th century this monolingual population all but disappeared, but a small percentage remained at the time of the 1981 census. Most Welsh-speaking people in Wales also speak English. However, many Welsh-speaking people are more comfortable expressing themselves in Welsh than in English. A speaker's choice of language can vary according to the subject domain and the social context, even within
9246-489: The creation of Old Welsh, Davies suggests it may be more appropriate to refer to this derivative language as Lingua Britannica rather than characterising it as a new language altogether. The argued dates for the period of "Primitive Welsh" are widely debated, with some historians' suggestions differing by hundreds of years. The next main period is Old Welsh ( Hen Gymraeg , 9th to 11th centuries); poetry from both Wales and Scotland has been preserved in this form of
9384-408: The decline in Welsh speakers particularly in the South Wales Valleys. Welsh government processes and legislation have worked to increase the proliferation of the Welsh language, for example through education. Welsh has been spoken continuously in Wales throughout history; however, by 1911, it had become a minority language, spoken by 43.5 per cent of the population. While this decline continued over
9522-538: The distance and a woman cries, "They have murdered Turiddu!" Santuzza faints and Lucia collapses in the arms of the women villagers. Mascagni calls for a standard-sized orchestra consisting of 2 flutes , 2 piccolos , 2 oboes , 2 clarinets , 2 bassoons , 4 horns , 2 trumpets , 3 trombones , tuba , timpani , percussion ( triangle , cymbals , bass drum , side drum , tamtam , tubular bells ), 2 harps , organ and strings . There have been over 100 full-length recordings of Cavalleria rusticana published since it
9660-729: The early 1950s London papers began to take notice. Picture Post hailed the WNO's chorus as the finest in Britain. The Times also praised the chorus: "It has body, lightness, rhythmic precision, and, most welcome of all, unflagging and spontaneous freshness." By this time the company had expanded its repertoire to take in Carmen , La traviata , Madame Butterfly , The Tales of Hoffmann , The Bartered Bride and Die Fledermaus . The Times commented that Smith, Owen and their colleagues were "making history for Wales. The shackles of puritanism, which had kept this country from an art-form perfectly suited to its national talents and predilections (for histrionics and dressing-up are as natural to
9798-419: The features of his six-year tenure was an increasing use of surtitles for performances not given in English. In the company's early days, all operas had been sung in English, but as more international stars began to appear as guest principals the language policy had to be reconsidered: few of the leading names in world opera were interested in relearning their roles in English. WNO steered a middle course between
9936-407: The final three: Niccola Spinelli 's Labilia , Vincenzo Ferroni [ it ] 's Rudello , and Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana . There have been two other operas based on Verga's story. The first, Mala Pasqua! (Bad Easter!) by Stanislao Gastaldon , was entered in the same competition as Mascagni's. However, Gastaldon withdrew it when he received an opportunity to have it performed at
10074-602: The finest operatic ensembles in Europe". For most of its existence the company lacked a permanent base in Cardiff, but in 2004 it moved into the new Wales Millennium Centre , Cardiff Bay . The company tours nationally and internationally, giving more than 120 performances annually, with a repertoire of eight operas each year, to a combined audience of more than 150,000 people. Its most frequent venues other than Cardiff are Llandudno in Wales and Bristol , Birmingham, Liverpool , Milton Keynes , Oxford , Plymouth , and Southampton in England. Singers who have been associated with
10212-657: The first broadcast by New York City's Metropolitan Opera on 11 December 1910. Radio pioneer Lee de Forest talked Giulio Gatti-Casazza , the Met manager, into sending the program over the airwaves by using a backstage radio transmitter and a rooftop antenna, "using a long fishing pole for his mast." Enrico Caruso and Emmy Destinn were in the leading roles. Few listened. There were no radios. But public receivers had been set up in several well-advertised locations in New York City, and people could catch at least an inkling of
10350-612: The first to present the opera in that country. Cavalleria rusticana finally had its American premiere in Philadelphia at the Grand Opera House on 9 September 1891, followed by a performance in Chicago on 30 September 1891. The opera premiered in New York City on 1 October 1891, with two rival performances on the same day: an afternoon performance at the Casino, directed by Rudolph Aronson , and an evening performance at
10488-491: The following decades, the language did not die out. The smallest number of speakers was recorded in 1981 with 503,000 although the lowest percentage was recorded in the most recent census in 2021 at 17.8 per cent. By the start of the 21st century, numbers began to increase once more, at least partly as a result of the increase in Welsh-medium education . The 2004 Welsh Language Use Survey showed that 21.7 per cent of
10626-581: The following year. Rizzi agreed to reorganise his schedule, and, to public and critical acclaim, returned to the musical directorship in time to prepare the company for its long-awaited move into a permanent base in Cardiff. After the collapse of the Cardiff Bay Opera House scheme, a new project, the Wales Millennium Centre , met with more success. The necessary consents and funding were obtained, and work began in 2002 on
10764-554: The green edges," rendered as "The air is sweet with orange blossoms" in the English libretto) and a hymn to the Blessed Virgin Mary . Some villagers enter the church, and others wander off still singing. Santuzza, having slept with Turiddu and suspecting that he has betrayed her for Lola, is distraught and approaches Lucia as she comes out of her house. Santuzza asks for Turiddu, but Lucia replies that he has gone to another town to fetch some wine. Santuzza tells her that he
10902-469: The highest number of native speakers who use the language on a daily basis, and it is the Celtic language which is considered the least endangered by UNESCO . The Welsh Language Act 1993 and the Government of Wales Act 1998 provide that the Welsh and English languages be treated equally in the public sector, as far as is reasonable and practicable. Each public body is required to prepare for approval
11040-476: The highest percentage of residents giving Welsh as their main language. The census also revealed that 3,528 wards in England, or 46% of the total number, contained at least one resident whose main language is Welsh. In terms of the regions of England , North West England (1,945), London (1,310) and the West Midlands (1,265) had the highest number of people noting Welsh as their main language. According to
11178-456: The history of Welsh, with rather indistinct boundaries: Primitive Welsh, Old Welsh, Middle Welsh, and Modern Welsh. The period immediately following the language's emergence is sometimes referred to as Primitive Welsh, followed by the Old Welsh period – which is generally considered to stretch from the beginning of the 9th century to sometime during the 12th century. The Middle Welsh period
11316-595: The language already dropping inflections in the declension of nouns. Janet Davies proposed that the origins of the Welsh language were much less definite; in The Welsh Language: A History , she proposes that Welsh may have been around even earlier than 600 AD. This is evidenced by the dropping of final syllables from Brittonic: * bardos 'poet' became bardd , and * abona 'river' became afon . Though both Davies and Jackson cite minor changes in syllable structure and sounds as evidence for
11454-506: The language, its speakers and for the nation." The measure was not welcomed warmly by all supporters: Bethan Williams, chairman of the Welsh Language Society, gave a mixed response to the move, saying, "Through this measure we have won official status for the language and that has been warmly welcomed. But there was a core principle missing in the law passed by the Assembly before Christmas. It doesn't give language rights to
11592-555: The language. As Germanic and Gaelic colonisation of Britain proceeded, the Brittonic speakers in Wales were split off from those in northern England, speaking Cumbric, and those in the southwest, speaking what would become Cornish , so the languages diverged. Both the works of Aneirin ( Canu Aneirin , c. 600 ) and the Book of Taliesin ( Canu Taliesin ) were written during this era. Middle Welsh ( Cymraeg Canol )
11730-409: The last season of the decade 32 performances were given in Cardiff and 61 elsewhere in the UK. In addition to the main company, WNO maintained two smaller groups: one, with orchestra, toured Welsh towns, the other, consisting of 12 singers with piano, toured 79, mostly small, towns in Wales and England. WNO instituted its own training scheme for young singers during the decade. In 1970 WNO stopped using
11868-753: The late 1970s WNO combined with the Cardiff-based Welsh Drama Company, becoming the Welsh National Opera and Drama Company. The work of the drama company came under continued criticism, the Welsh Arts Council cut its grant, and the partnership ended in 1979 with the formal closure of the Welsh Drama Company. During the 1980s WNO continued to expand in scope. Handel ( Rodelinda , 1981) and Martinů ( The Greek Passion , 1981) were added to
12006-517: The loyalty and affection of audiences in Cardiff and across England … 'The people's opera' is not a myth. It happened here." The jubilee celebrations were overshadowed by the collapse of a plan for a purpose-built home for the company, the Cardiff Bay Opera House . During the 1990s WNO made its Proms debut, with a complete performance of Mozart's Idomeneo , conducted by Mackerras in 1991. The company played three short seasons at
12144-632: The mid-1950s professional singers were cast in leading roles in most productions; they included Walter Midgley in Tosca and La bohème (1955), Raimund Herincx in Mefistofele (1957), Heather Harper in La traviata (1957), and Joan Hammond in Madame Butterfly (1958). A possibility of strengthening the professional element of the company was mooted in 1958, when a merger was proposed with
12282-569: The mix of amateur and professional choristers continued over the next five years. At the end of the 1960s the main WNO company, now a year-round operation, consisted of 8 salaried principal singers, 57 guest soloists and a chorus of 90 amateurs and 32 professionals. As well as the Bournemouth players, the company engaged the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic , City of Birmingham Symphony and Ulster orchestras for different venues. In
12420-622: The modern period across the border in England. Archenfield was still Welsh enough in the time of Elizabeth I for the Bishop of Hereford to be made responsible, together with the four Welsh bishops, for the translation of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer into Welsh. Welsh was still commonly spoken there in the first half of the 19th century, and churchwardens' notices were put up in both Welsh and English until about 1860. Alexander John Ellis in
12558-470: The most notable of which are: Costumed excerpts from the opera are performed in Mario Lanza 's popular films The Great Caruso (1951) and Because You're Mine (1952). The opera's symphonic Intermezzo has figured in the soundtrack of several films, most notably in the opening and closing credits of Raging Bull and in the finale of The Godfather Part III , which also featured a performance of
12696-525: The music on earphones. The next day, The New York Times reported that static and other interference "kept the homeless song waves from finding themselves." In Los Angeles, an "Italian Night" concert was heard live "in its entirety" on May 6, 1930, as the third program of the Adohr opera series over radio station KFI , featuring "A distinguished cast ... headed by Lisa Roma , noted lyric soprano ... Music lovers should not fail to tune in." A notable use of
12834-659: The new purpose-built headquarters, Princess of Wales Building in John Street, Cardiff. Her attendance at a performance by WNO in New York in 1989 caused much excitement and for road repairs to be immediately carried out. Their visit was seen in an episode of episode 10 'War', series 4 of The Crown . When in 1996 Princess Diana resigned as patron, WNO welcomed HRH Charles Prince of Wales as their new patron. Welsh language Welsh ( Cymraeg [kəmˈraːiɡ] or y Gymraeg [ə ɡəmˈraːiɡ] )
12972-523: The next fifty years. The 1952 season attracted particular interest because it included what was then a rarity: Verdi 's Nabucco . The company built a reputation for staging seldom-seen Verdi works, including The Sicilian Vespers staged in the same year, I Lombardi in 1956, and The Battle of Legnano , under the shortened title The Battle , in 1960. The 1952 Nabucco was the WNO's first production for which costumes and scenery were specially designed (by Patrick Robertson) rather than hired. In 1953
13110-448: The number of Welsh-language speakers to one million by 2050. Since 1980, the number of children attending Welsh-medium schools has increased, while the number going to Welsh bilingual and dual-medium schools has decreased. Welsh is considered the least endangered Celtic language by UNESCO . The language of the Welsh developed from the language of Britons . The emergence of Welsh was not instantaneous and clearly identifiable. Instead,
13248-533: The opera had been performed more than 14,000 times in Italy alone. In 1890, following its run of sold-out performances at the Teatro Costanzi, the opera was produced throughout Italy and in Berlin. It received its London premiere at the Shaftesbury Theatre on 19 October 1891 and its Covent Garden premiere on 16 May 1892. American producers vied with each other (sometimes through the courts) to be
13386-402: The opera ‘beyond recognition’, setting the music to a new libretto. In this form it was presented as La giostra dei falchi in 1914. Cavalleria rusticana opened on the evening of 17 May 1890 at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome to a half empty house. However, the audience included not only the most authoritative music critics in the country but also Queen Margherita , a great music lover. It was
13524-457: The orchestra and the curtailment of the touring schedule; the conservative works chosen for 2001–02 were condemned by the press as "the dullest programme in recent memory"; and Rizzi was about to be replaced by a young and untried successor, Tugan Sokhiev . Rizzi had gained great respect and affection during his nine-year term as musical director; his successor's reign was brief and unhappy. Having taken up post in 2003, Sohkiev resigned precipitately
13662-473: The people of Wales in every aspect of their lives. Despite that, an amendment to that effect was supported by 18 Assembly Members from three different parties, and that was a significant step forward." On 5 October 2011, Meri Huws , Chair of the Welsh Language Board , was appointed the new Welsh Language Commissioner. She released a statement that she was "delighted" to have been appointed to
13800-551: The people of the Western Roman Empire . In Old English the term went through semantic narrowing , coming to refer to either Britons in particular or, in some contexts, slaves. The plural form Wēalas evolved into the name for their territory, Wales. The modern names for various Romance-speaking people in Continental Europe (e.g. Walloons , Valaisans , Vlachs / Wallachians , and Włosi ,
13938-488: The population in Wales said they had no Welsh language skills. Other estimates suggest that 862,700 people (28.0%) aged three or older in Wales could speak Welsh in March 2024. Almost half of all Welsh speakers consider themselves fluent, while 20 per cent are able to speak a fair amount. 56 per cent of Welsh speakers speak the language daily, and 19 per cent speak the language weekly. The Welsh Government plans to increase
14076-471: The population not being able to speak it. The National Survey for Wales, conducted by Welsh Government, has also tended to report a higher percentage of Welsh speakers than the census, with the most recent results for 2022–2023 suggesting that 18 per cent of the population aged 3 and over were able to speak Welsh, with an additional 16 per cent noting that they had some Welsh-speaking ability. Historically, large numbers of Welsh people spoke only Welsh. Over
14214-502: The population of Wales aged 3 and over, were able to speak the language. Children and young people aged three to 15 years old were more likely to report that they could speak Welsh than any other age group (48.4 per cent, 241,300). Around 1,001,500 people, or 32.5 per cent, reported that they could understand spoken Welsh. 24.7 per cent (759,200) could read and 22.2 per cent (684,500) could write in Welsh. The APS estimates of Welsh language ability are historically higher than those produced by
14352-407: The population of Wales spoke Welsh, compared with 20.8 per cent in the 2001 census , and 18.5 per cent in the 1991 census . Since 2001, however, the number of Welsh speakers has declined in both the 2011 and 2021 censuses to about 538,300 or 17.8 per cent in 2021, lower than 1991, although it is still higher in absolute terms. The 2011 census also showed a "big drop" in the number of speakers in
14490-598: The practices of the two main London companies; after the 1960s The Royal Opera had generally given operas in the original language, and English National Opera was committed to opera in English. WNO's practice varied, after its early years. Examples from the 1980s include Wagner's Tristan und Isolde sung in German, and the Ring in English; and Verdi's The Force of Destiny given in English and Otello in Italian. Mackerras
14628-405: The primeval essence of operatic enjoyment, a passion for and in singing. The Times on the early years of Welsh National Opera. Although Owen was the conductor for the performances of Cavalliera rusticana , and remained as musical director of the company until 1952, his health was fragile and he conducted none of the company's other productions. His colleague, the chorus master, Ivor John,
14766-542: The required fresh approach to this new role." Huws started her role as the Welsh Language Commissioner on 1 April 2012. Local councils and the Senedd use Welsh, issuing Welsh versions of their literature, to varying degrees. Road signs in Wales are in Welsh and English. Prior to 2016, the choice of which language to display first was the responsibility of the local council. Since then, as part of
14904-489: The rise of the eisteddfod as a symbol of its culture. The first Welsh National Opera Company was formed in 1890. A local newspaper commented that it was remarkable that "a race of people to whom vocal music is a ruling passion should not generations ago have established a permanent national opera". The company gave performances of operas by the Welsh composer Joseph Parry in Cardiff and on tour in Wales. The company, predominantly amateur with some professional guest singers from
15042-651: The shift occurred over a long period, with some historians claiming that it had happened by as late as the 9th century , with a watershed moment being that proposed by linguist Kenneth H. Jackson , the Battle of Dyrham , a military battle between the West Saxons and the Britons in 577 AD, which split the South Western British from direct overland contact with the Welsh. Four periods are identified in
15180-458: The story of her seduction by Turiddu and his affair with Lola. Lucia pities Santuzza, who feels dishonoured, having been seduced by Turiddu only to be abandoned by him for his old flame, Lola. Santuzza feels she cannot enter the church, but begs Lucia to go inside herself and pray for her. Santuzza stays behind to try to plead with Turiddu to leave Lola and return to her. Turiddu arrives. Santuzza upbraids him for pretending to have gone away, when he
15318-425: The successes and Lucian Pintilie 's Carmen (1983) and Ruth Berghaus 's Don Giovanni (1984) as productions that received more mixed responses. Sir Charles Mackerras , the conductor for Don Giovanni , was open in his contempt for Berghaus's production. Harry Kupfer 's Fidelio (1981) was condemned by The Daily Telegraph as "a piece of Marxist polemic" making "political sport" of Beethoven 's work. McMaster
15456-519: The summer of 1956, included productions of Nabucco, I Lombardi and Lohengrin, achieving rave reviews. Kenneth Loveland of the South Wales Argus wrote a glowing piece under his byline 'Stroller' "Tonight, amongst working-class streets of the Angel, Islington, I was privileged to witness a body of men and women doing more for Wales than all your sounding harps...or tub thumping politicians". By
15594-606: The title role was presented on a Swiss tour, and two years later it was given in Barcelona . The company returned to London with its participation in the Amoco Festival of Opera at the Dominion Theatre in 1979, presenting The Makropoulos Case , The Magic Flute , Ernani , Madame Butterfly , and Tristan and Isolde to capacity audiences. The company's traditional preference for the Italian repertoire
15732-490: The translation of the Bible". It's a long haul, if you go by the clock – into the theatre at four, out at ten – but if you go by the exhilaration surging through your veins during this Welsh National Opera triumph, it's an extended moment of operatic bliss that you never want to end. Richard Morrison in The Times on WNO's 2010 Die Meistersinger . From 2006 to 2011, the chief executive (titled "artistic director")
15870-448: The trumpet solo, coming out of the pit and mounting the stage to play it. Before the action takes place, the young villager Turiddu returns from military service to find out that his fiancée Lola had married the carter Alfio while he was away. In revenge, Turiddu seduced Santuzza, a young woman in the village. As the opera begins, Lola, overcome by her jealousy of Santuzza, has begun an adulterous affair with Turiddu. The main square of
16008-450: The two main newspapers, The Scotsman and The Herald , greeted a visit from the company in 2005 with enthusiastic praise, contrasting the flourishing of opera in Wales with its neglect by politicians in Scotland and the consequent decline of Scottish Opera. In 2010 WNO commissioned Gair ar Gnawd ("Word on Flesh"), by Pwyll ap Siôn and Menna Elfyn , with words in Welsh, described as "a contemporary story about Wales today ... inspired by
16146-526: The use of Welsh in daily life, and standardised spelling. The New Testament was translated by William Salesbury in 1567, and the complete Bible by William Morgan in 1588. Modern Welsh is subdivided into Early Modern Welsh and Late Modern Welsh. Early Modern Welsh ran from the 15th century through to the end of the 16th century, and the Late Modern Welsh period roughly dates from the 16th century onwards. Contemporary Welsh differs greatly from
16284-560: The view of Malcolm Boyd in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera , Geliot, "unpredictable and often controversial", largely shaped the company's style in the 1970s. In collaboration with the company's musical director James Lockhart, Geliot is credited by The Times with introducing new young singers and "directing a host of groundbreaking productions" before leaving in 1978. The critic Rodney Milnes wrote in 1975 about WNO's productions: I have never seen, well, hardly ever,
16422-493: The village Offstage, Turiddu is heard singing a siciliana , "O Lola ch'ai di latti la cammisa" ("O Lola, you whose blouse is as white as milk," commonly rendered in English as "O Lola! like the snow, pure in thy whiteness!"). To one side is the church; to the other is Lucia's wine shop and the house where she lives with her son, Turiddu. The villagers move about the square, singing of the beautiful spring day, "Gli aranci olezzano sui verdi margini" (literally, "Oranges smell good on
16560-439: Was John Fisher . His term overlapped with that of Lothar Koenigs , who was music director from 2009 to 2016. A highlight of this period was the 2010 production of Die Meistersinger , produced by Richard Jones, with Bryn Terfel as Hans Sachs. In 2011, David Pountney was appointed to succeed Fisher as chief executive. He had worked with the company since the 1970s, most recently on a 2006 The Flying Dutchman with Terfel which
16698-537: Was The Doctor of Myddfai , whose libretto written by David Pountney and included Welsh-language songs, based on a 12th-century folk tale. It premiered on 10 July 1996 at the North Wales Theatre in Llandudno with following performances in 1996. It was designed by Sue Huntley and Donna Muir. The company entered the new millennium in a state of some turmoil. A financial crisis had led to redundancies in
16836-451: Was a strong advocate of performance in the original language, with surtitles: "I can't imagine a greater advance for opera. … What a gift! It's like Siegfried understanding the woodbird." McMaster resigned in 1991, having led the company to international status, with performances at La Scala, Milan ; the Metropolitan Opera , New York; and in Tokyo . One of the last legacies of his tenure was
16974-474: Was actually seeing Lola. Lola enters the square singing. She mocks Santuzza and goes inside the church. Turiddu turns to follow Lola, but Santuzza begs him to stay. Turiddu pushes her away. She clings to him. He loosens her hands, throws her to the ground, and enters the church. Alfio arrives looking for Lola. Santuzza tells him that his wife has betrayed him with Turiddu. Alfio swears to take vendetta (revenge) which causes Santuzza to repent for having disclosed
17112-622: Was complete by around AD 550, and labelled the period between then and about AD 800 "Primitive Welsh". This Primitive Welsh may have been spoken in both Wales and the Hen Ogledd ('Old North') – the Brittonic-speaking areas of what are now northern England and southern Scotland – and therefore may have been the ancestor of Cumbric as well as Welsh. Jackson, however, believed that the two varieties were already distinct by that time. The earliest Welsh poetry – that attributed to
17250-481: Was described by The Guardian as the greatest living Wagnerian conductor – but the casting of the whole cycle was criticised for some serious weaknesses among the principal singers, and reviewers were generally unimpressed by Göran Järvefelt's production. The chief executive, Brian McMaster , did not appoint a replacement to Geliot as principal director during the 1980s, preferring to engage guest producers. Boyd mentions Andrei Serban 's Eugene Onegin (1980) among
17388-481: Was first recorded in Germany in 1909. As in live performances of the opera, recordings of the work have often been paired with Ruggero Leoncavallo 's Pagliacci . In addition to the original Italian, recordings of the work in the English, French, German, and Hungarian languages have been released. Mascagni himself conducted the opera in two recordings, the better-known of which is the 1940 EMI recording made to mark
17526-506: Was given at the Théâtre du Châtelet , Paris, a few weeks afterwards. McMaster was followed as chief executive by Matthew Epstein, whose three years in charge (1991–94) were described in a 2006 study by Paul Atkinson as "a less happy and less successful period". Epstein was replaced by Anthony Freud, under whom, according to Atkinson, productions became "consistently strong, musically well prepared, intelligently staged and well cast." Mackerras
17664-428: Was his first opera to be completed and performed. It remains the best known of his fifteen operas and one operetta ( Sì ). Apart from Cavalleria rusticana , only Iris and L'amico Fritz have remained in the standard repertory, with Isabeau and Il piccolo Marat on the fringes of the Italian repertoire. Its success has been phenomenal ever since its first performance. At the time of Mascagni's death in 1945,
17802-468: Was in charge of the first season's Pagliacci and Faust . In 1948 the organisation was registered as a limited company , and the Cardiff season was extended from one week to two. The following year the company gave its first performances in Swansea . The chorus featured 120 performers by this time. The company's first few seasons attracted little attention from the British musical establishment, but by
17940-466: Was mainly an amateur body, with professional guest principals. Apart from the productions of these two enterprises, opera in Wales in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was generally presented by visiting companies from England. In the 1930s Idloes Owen , a singing teacher and conductor, ran an amateur choir, the Lyrian Singers, based in Cardiff. In November 1941, together with John Morgan –
18078-489: Was partly redressed during the decade: productions include WNO's first staging of a Richard Strauss opera, Elektra , in 1978. A new Welsh work, Alun Hoddinott 's The Beach of Falesá , was presented in 1974. In 1975, in co-production with Scottish Opera , WNO began a cycle of Janáček operas, directed by David Pountney . Beginning with Jenůfa , the cycle continued with The Makropoulos Case (1978), The Cunning Little Vixen (1980), Kátya Kabanová (1982) and From
18216-518: Was passed and received Royal Assent, thus making the Welsh language an officially recognised language within Wales. The measure: The measure required public bodies and some private companies to provide services in Welsh. The Welsh government's Minister for Heritage at the time, Alun Ffred Jones , said, "The Welsh language is a source of great pride for the people of Wales, whether they speak it or not, and I am delighted that this measure has now become law. I am very proud to have steered legislation through
18354-517: Was probably spoken throughout the island south of the Firth of Forth . During the Early Middle Ages the British language began to fragment due to increased dialect differentiation, thus evolving into Welsh and the other Brittonic languages. It is not clear when Welsh became distinct. Linguist Kenneth H. Jackson has suggested that the evolution in syllabic structure and sound pattern
18492-528: Was professional, mostly drawn from members of the BBC Welsh Orchestra ; all the singers were amateurs, except for Tudor Davies , a tenor well known at Covent Garden and Sadler's Wells , who sang Canio in Pagliacci . During the week-long season the new company also staged Faust , with Davies in the title role. Although nearing the end of his career he was a considerable box-office draw, and
18630-515: Was seen during the night in the village. Lucia asks her inside to talk, but just at that moment, Alfio arrives on his wagon, accompanied by the villagers. He praises the joys of a teamster 's life and the beauty of Lola his bride. Alfio asks Lucia for some of her fine old wine. She tells him it has run out and Turiddu has gone away to buy more. Alfio replies that he had seen Turiddu early that morning near his cottage. Lucia starts to express surprise, but Santuzza stops her. Alfio leaves. The choir inside
18768-572: Was set in space. In 2013 he programmed a trilogy of operas set in Tudor England: Donizetti 's Anna Bolena , Maria Stuarda and Roberto Devereux , with another trilogy the following year, on the theme of fallen women – Puccini 's Manon Lescaut , Henze 's Boulevard Solitude and Verdi's La traviata . For 2016 Pountney scheduled another trilogy, this time on the theme of Figaro, consisting of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro and Rossini 's The Barber of Seville and
18906-539: Was succeeded in 1992 by Carlo Rizzi , who was music director at the time of WNO's golden jubilee in 1996. When the occasion was marked with a new production of the " Cav and Pag " double bill that had launched the company in 1946, the BBC commented that WNO was "one of the most respected opera companies in the world". In The Observer , Michael Ratcliffe called the company "the most popular, populist and consistently successful arts organisation ever to come out of Wales ... with
19044-429: Was thought by some too inclined to favour radical eastern European directors: Jonathan Miller , a leading English director, commented that he did not intend to take Bulgarian nationality, although it was "a must before Brian pays any attention". Armstrong stepped down in 1986 after thirteen years as musical director; he was succeeded by Mackerras, whose association with the company dated back more than thirty years. Among
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