WNO AUTUMN SEASON 2018
Following the success of their music-hall opera Rhondda Rips It Up, Welsh National Opera kick off their autumn season with a new production of Prokofiev’s War And Peace, based on Tolstoy’s doorstopper of a novel. Set amidst Napoleon’s 1812 invasion, it concerns the fates of two young lovers, Natasha (Lauren Michelle) and Andrei (Jonathan McGovern), as they try to navigate their private romance through a time of political upheaval. Prokofiev composed his operatic adaptation of Tolstoy in the aftermath of the German invasion of the Soviet Union, finding parallels with the unrest and devastation depicted in the novel. Directed by the company’s Artistic Director David Pountney and conducted by Music Director Tomás Hanus, the production promises to be “as ambitious as the novel itself”.
Alongside War And Peace, there are two favourites of the repertoire. Verdi’s La Traviata returns to the Centre in this revival of Sir David McVicar’s opulent production, first staged in 2009. Telling the tragic love story of Parisian courtesan Violetta Valéry, this classic production also sees the WNO debuts of two performers: Armenian soprano Anush Hovhannisyan, who shares the leading role with Linda Richardson, and Australian-Chinese tenor Kang Wang, as her admirer Alfredo. Both Wang and Hovhannisyan last appeared in the Welsh capital representing Australia and Armenia at BBC Cardiff Singer Of The World 2017. Heartbreaking and enduringly powerful, La Traviata would be the perfect introduction for anyone looking to experience their first opera.
Rounding off the season is La Cenerentola, Rossini’s riotous retelling of Cinderella, featuring six singers making their WNO debut. Choreographer Xevi Dorca revives the production (originally directed by Joan Font) with mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught in the role of Angelina, or Cinderella. If you’re eager to learn more about the ins-and-outs of WNO’s autumn season, pop along to Opera Insight, a discussion and Q&A happening on Sun 2 Sept, in which Pountney, Hanus and members of the War And Peace cast will give an insight into their creative process and the particular version of the opera they have chosen to perform. SAM PRYCE
Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay, Sat 15 Sept-Sat 24 Nov. Tickets: £10-£49.50. Info: 029 2063 6464 / www.wmc.org.uk