Welsh National Opera

Welsh National Opera
Europe's busiest touring opera company

Welsh National Opera is one of the most prolific and prestigious opera organizations of its kind. The company tours the world, with a strong focus on Wales and the United Kingdom, and gives over 120 annual performances that are attended by over 150,000 people. Welsh National Opera is an award-winning company, and it produces a mix of traditional and obscure operas, with a focus on opera sung in its original languages.

Founded in Cardiff, Wales in 1943, Welsh National Opera has brought the appeal of opera to a younger audience. Currently it boasts a permanent company of 250 people, including production, technical staff, orchestra, chorus, principal singers, music staff and administration. In August of 2004, the touring opera company moved into its first home theatre in Cardiff Bay. With this home base for its operations, the company will have better resources to work on its touring schedule. The new home theatre is the Wales Millennium Centre, and it serves as Welsh National Opera's rehearsal and administrative operational base. The Wales Millennium Centre will also be the location for a large amount of the opera's technical production work and is known as one of the most exciting art centres to have been created in Europe in recent memory.

On top of Welsh National Opera's prolific performance schedule, the organization also presents a major season in London every two years. The chorus and the orchestra are also recognized as world-class performing ensembles and take part in numerous other projects, including education and outreach programs.

Welsh National Opera has won many awards, including an Evening Standard Award, a Barclays Theatre Award, two Laurence Olivier Awards and three highly prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Awards. In addition, Welsh National Opera was awarded a Classic FM Red F Award during Classic FM's 10th birthday celebrations.

In addition to its committments as an international-level arts organization, Welsh National Opera is heavily involved in community projects. WNO MAX, the education department, creates participatory projects, collaborations and events beyond opera on the main stage of the Wales Millennium center, and centres on creating objectives for artists, young people and teachers. WNO MAX is active throughout Wales and England, and organizes a number of programs that seek to bring the appeal of opera to schoolchildren and teenagers, sponsoring demonstrations, performances and workshops geared to young people with an interest in the performance arts.

Welsh National Opera celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2006.