In a programme bursting with issues and things to see, it might be a little difficult to separate the worthy from the worthwhile. John-Paul Davies picks out some of the highlights from WNO’s ambitious Freedom season this June.
Brundibar – Performance
Sat 22 + Sun 23 June
Most opera lovers will be older, liberal folk, sympathetic to the plights and hardships suffered by many in this brave, highly politicised programme of operas, exhibitions and debates. Top of our list, then, are the events aimed at or themed around young people and their role in shaping our new woke world.
Brundibar is a children’s opera that was first rehearsed by children of the Jewish orphanage in Prague in 1941. Two years later, almost the entire cast and crew ended up together in the Theresienstadt concentration camp where the opera was staged and performed 55 times during the following year. WNO Youth Opera, aged 11-18, will make up the bulk of the cast in this performance of Hans Krása’s unique work.
The Girls Of Room 28 – Exhibition
Fri 7-Sun 30 June
Memories of Theresienstadt also form the content of this moving exhibition in the WMC’s Glanfa foyer. The survivors of the concentration camp felt the need to mark the passing of the girls who lived alongside them in Room 28. The girls were all murdered during the Holocaust and mementos, such as poems, letters, diaries and drawings, are used to commemorate their lives – as well as the lives of the adults from the Ghetto who preserved the artefacts and vowed that the young innocents would not be forgotten.
Future Aleppo – Exhibition (likely to take out due to interview material)
Fri 7-Sun 30 June
Future Aleppo forms part of the Freedom Immersive Exhibitions that complement the operatic programming. The exhibition film takes the audience through young Mohammed Kteish’s reconstruction of his city home of Aleppoo. Kteish built his now-abandoned original model in the hope of becoming an architect. The fragility of place, safety, art and aspiration are delicately rendered through a paper reconstruction of a city before its destruction.
Brave: Spotlight On Young Human Rights Defenders – Talk
Mon 10 June
Brave is chaired by Amnesty’s Education Officer, Hayle Davies. With the rise of young Extinction Rebellion protesters and the emergence of Greta Thunberg, WNO is right on the money here as this talk puts a panel of youth activists at the centre of its discussion. Young and old alike can be inspired by stories from the real-life campaigners who maintain the momentum behind human rights change.
The Prisoner | Fidelio Act II – Performance
Fri 14 June
The revolutionary fervour of youth is just as evident in the choice of material for the adult performers. Beethoven’s Fidelio (though only Act II is being performed) is the grandfather presiding over a gang of operas all composed between the 1940s and now. The Prisoner by Luigi Dallapiccola joins it as part of a double bill alongside Beethoven’s only opera. Both focus on themes of liberty and tyranny and will be semi-staged and directed by WNO artistic director, David Pountney.
The Consul – Performance
Wed 12 June
Menotti’s The Consul opens the lid on the slow-turning wheels of bureaucracy and the corruption of officials, as a family try to flee an unnamed European dictatorship. Having benefited from huge exposure in America, the land of the free, Menotti’s three-act workis becoming part of the modern opera canon. With a cast in single figures, a running time under two hours and a melodious score from an otherwise dissonant age, it’s easy to see why. A good introduction for opera newbies into the world of modern operatic realism.
Dead Man Walking – performance
Fri 7 June
Better still could be season opener Dead Man Walking, the debut opera by Jake Heggie, first written in 2000. Based on the book of the same name by Sister Helen Prejean and also adapted into a film starring Susan Sarandon, this now-familiar true story tells of Prejean’s time as a spiritual advisor on death row. Certainly a fine fit for the heightened drama of opera.
The Voice Of A Child – talk
Wed 17 June
The final talk of the season, The Voice Of A Child marks the 30th anniversary of the United Nations Convention On The Rights Of The Child. Chaired by Children’s Commissioner For Wales, Sally Holland, the discussion also marks the inaugural sitting of Wales’ new Youth Parliament. By positioning such engaging operatic works alongside events that place young people at the heart of political debate, WNO may have hit on a winning formula. They have created a real chance to engage a new audience and show the importance of art as social commentary in our perilous future of 21st century democracy.
Exercise your freedom to see modern opera with a message. Just make sure you bring the kids.