WNO MAX will be focusing its work on North Wales over the next three years. Alongside our mainscale tour to Venue Cymru in Llandudno, a number of different participatory projects will bring opera to different areas of North Wales.

2011 / 2012

Wrexham Street Songs

WNO will be working with communities in Wrexham to explore what opera can offer to the town. The first year of this project will be a soap opera writing project – Nine Stories High. From September to May, a writer and composer will work with different groups across Wrexham to collect personal stories and make them into an episodic soap opera. There will be one 5 minute episode every month, performed live on the streets of Wrexham and made available to view online.

Gair ar Gnawd

Gair ar Gnawd is a new choral commission, composed by Pwyll ap Siôn, with a welsh libretto by Menna Elfyn and performed by community singers in North West Wales.

Recruitment for the community choir will take place in September / October 2011 and will be open to anyone. Gair ar Gnawd will be rehearsed in Caernarfon with the community singers from November 2011 and performed at Galeri Caernarfon on 12 March 2012.

Gair ar Gnawd tells the story of Anwar and Awen, who both share a workspace in a converted chapel. They speak the same language but find it hard to understand each other. When the chapel and their shared heritage are threatened, they must find a way to work together.

Llandudno Open House

In March 2012, WNO’s Open House will be held in Venue Cymru, Llandudno. Open House offers a packed programme of free workshops, performances, exhibitions and other activities designed to give audiences a unique insight into the work of the Company.

If you are interested in supporting WNO’s work in North Wales, please click here to find out how.