Renowned opera director John Copley returns to Welsh National Opera with a stylish new production of Strauss’ Die Fledermaus. WNO’s Spring Season 2011 also sees the return of Verdi’s brooding tale of vengeance Il trovatore. See WNO in Cardiff, Birmingham, Llandudno, Southampton, Bristol, Plymouth and Milton Keynes.
Viennese whirl: John Copley directs a new production of Johann Strauss’ comic operetta Die Fledermaus. Copley has previously worked at the Royal Opera House, English National Opera and the Metropolitan Opera in New York and last worked at WNO on the 1980 production of Tosca, which successfully ran in the company’s repertoire until the early 1990s. The cast of this new production, designed by Tim Reed, includes Nuccia Focile as Rosalinde, and Paul Charles Clark as Alfred. Mark Stone is Eisenstein, David Stout is Dr Falke and former WNO Associate Artist Joanne Boag is Adele. Making her WNO debut this season will be Helen Lepalaan as Orlofsky. Cornish baritone Alan Opie returns to the Company as Frank.
Olivier award-winning actor Desmond Barrit will also be making his WNO debut this season, performing the non-singing role of Frosch. Swansea born Barrit is an Associate Artist at the Royal Shakespeare Company, has appeared in The History Boys for the Royal National Theatre and has had countless roles on television including Midsomer Murders and Andrew Davies’ adaption of Northanger Abbey.
Thomas Rösner conducts in Cardiff, Birmingham, Llandudno, Southampton and Bristol and last worked at WNO in 2008 when he conducted Hansel and Gretel. Andrew Greenwood conducts in Plymouth and Milton Keynes.
The costumes for Die Fledermaus are designed by award-winning Deirdre Clancy who won a BAFTA for her designs for the BBC film Mrs Brown starring Judi Dench and Billy Connolly and three Olivier awards for her work on All’s Well That Ends Well and Love’s Labour’s Lost for the Royal Shakespeare Company and A Month in the Country with Helen Mirren and John Hurt.
Fighting fire with fire – Peter Watson’s dramatic production of Il trovatore returns with David Kempster as Count di Luna. Gwyn Hughes Jones makes his role debut as Manrico. Following her critically acclaimed performance as Carmen for WNO this Spring, Patricia Bardon reprises the role of Azucena she originally created for this production for WNO in 2003. Katia Pellegrino is Leonora and David Soar is Ferrando. Andrea Licata will conduct in Cardiff, Birmingham, Llandudno, Southampton and Bristol while Simon Phillippo conducts in Plymouth and Milton Keynes.
