Welsh National Opera Orchestra are currently undertaking a tour giving audiences the chance to hear them perform a range of concerts across England, Wales and beyond.
The Orchestra are in concert at St David’s Hall as part of the International Concert Series on 14
January under the baton of WNO Music Director Tomáš Hanus. The programme will include
Beethoven’s intense and passionate Overture Egmont and Dvořák’s Symphony No 9 From the New World. The Orchestra will also be joined by Henning Kraggerud for the concert. Norwegian violinist and composer Kraggerud is Artistic Director of the Arctic Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra and joins the Orchestra for a performance of Mendelssohn’s much-loved Violin Concerto.
As joint hosts of the Association of British Orchestras’ annual conference from 24-26 January, WNO Orchestra will also co-present a concert with BBC National Orchestra of Wales at BBC Hoddinott Hall on 24 January. The concert will feature WNO performing Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier Suite conducted by Music Director Tomáš Hanus, followed by a performance of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade by BBC NOW with their Principal Conductor Thomas Søndergård.
Welsh National Opera Orchestra are undertaking several performances across Wales, England and abroad during Spring 2018.
In March, the Orchestra will be heading to Hong Kong when the Company take its critically-acclaimed production of Pelléas and Mélisande, originally directed by David Pountney, to the Hong Kong Arts Festival, marking the centenary of composer Debussy’s death. Performances will take place on 15 and 17 March conducted by former WNO Music Director Lothar Koenigs. In addition on 16 March the Orchestra will also perform a Family Concert O is for Opera introducing families to opera and classical music with a programme of opera classics and favourites at the concert hall at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, along with an Opera Adventures Day, an open event for audiences to see behind the scenes of an international opera company, with make-up demonstrations, costume displays, family workshops and concerts.
The spring season will also see WNO Orchestra give a Family Concert in Southampton for the first time (25 March, Turner Sims Concert Hall). Conductor James Southall will be joined by presenter Wynne Evans who will present a fun and informative concert to introduce audiences of all ages to some of opera’s most iconic arias, with popular orchestral classics as well as music from film scores. The concert is a great opportunity for families to enjoy an afternoon of music and free family-friendly foyer activities. A further Family Concert is scheduled to take place at Birmingham Town Hall on 27 June.
On 29 April the Orchestra return to the St David’s Hall stage with Music Director Tomáš Hanus for a further concert in the International Concert Series for a programme that includes Prokofiev’s Suite No 1 from the colourful ballet Cinderella, Grieg’s melodic Piano Concerto and Beethoven’s energetic Symphony No 7. Pianist Peter Donohoe joins the Orchestra for Grieg’s work.
In addition, the Orchestra will be performing the main scale season of operas with the company when Welsh National Opera presents a feast of Italian operas from three of the greatest composers for its spring season. The season, entitled Rabble Rousers, will feature a new production of Verdi’s La forza del destino alongside revivals of Puccini’s Tosca and Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Opening at Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff, the company will then tour to Birmingham, Southampton, Plymouth, Milton Keynes, Bristol and Llandudno until the end of April.
- Visit wno.org.uk for further details.