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{{Short description|Theatre company based in Cardiff, Wales}}
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[[File:Cardiff - Wales Millennium Centre (geograph 3916016).jpg|upright=1.3|thumb|Wales Millennium Centre]]
[[File:WNO logo.png|upright=1.3|thumb|Logo of Welsh National Opera]]

'''Welsh National Opera''' ('''WNO'''; {{langx|cy|Opera Cenedlaethol Cymru}}) is an opera company based in [[Cardiff]], Wales.  WNO gave its first performances in 1946.  The company began as a mainly amateur body and transformed into an all-professional ensemble by 1973. In its early days, the company gave a single week's annual season in Cardiff, gradually extending its schedule to become an all-year-round operation, with its own salaried chorus and orchestra. It has been described by ''[[The New York Times]]'' as "one of the finest operatic ensembles in Europe".<ref name=nyt/>

For most of its existence the company lacked a permanent base in Cardiff, but in 2004 it moved into the new [[Wales Millennium Centre]], [[Cardiff Bay]]. The company tours nationally and internationally, giving more than 120 performances annually, with a repertoire of eight operas each year, to a combined audience of more than 150,000 people. Its most frequent venues other than Cardiff are [[Llandudno]] in Wales and [[Bristol]], Birmingham, [[Liverpool]], [[Milton Keynes]], [[Oxford]], [[Plymouth]], and [[Southampton]] in England.

Singers who have been associated with the company include [[Geraint Evans]], [[Thomas Allen (baritone)|Thomas Allen]], [[Anne Evans (soprano)|Anne Evans]], and [[Bryn Terfel]]. Guest artists from other countries have included [[Joan Hammond]], [[Tito Gobbi]] and [[Elisabeth Söderström]]. Among the conductors have been [[Charles Mackerras|Sir Charles Mackerras]], [[Reginald Goodall]], [[James Levine]] and [[Pierre Boulez]]. The company has been led by Aidan Lang as its General Director since 2019.

== Background ==
Choral singing became increasingly popular in 19th-century Wales, principally owing to the rise of the [[eisteddfod]] as a symbol of its culture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/collections/eisteddfodau/national/|title=The Beginnings of the National Eisteddfod|publisher=Museum of Wales|access-date=6 March 2016}}</ref> The first Welsh National Opera Company was formed in 1890. A local newspaper commented that it was remarkable that "a race of people to whom vocal music is a ruling passion should not generations ago have established a permanent national opera".<ref name=mt>"Welsh National Opera", ''Merthyr Times'', 21 May 1897, p. 3</ref> The company gave performances of operas by the Welsh composer [[Joseph Parry]] in Cardiff and on tour in Wales. The company, predominantly amateur with some professional guest singers from the London stage, gave numerous performances of Parry's ''[[Blodwen]]'' and ''Arienwen'', composed in 1878 and 1890 respectively.<ref name=mt/> An American tour was planned, but the company folded, and Parry's final opera, ''The Maid of Cefn Ydfa'', was given at Cardiff by the [[Moody-Manners Opera Company]] in 1902.<ref>"Welsh Opera on Tour", ''[[Western Mail (Wales)|Western Mail]]'', 5 September 1890, p. 4; and "Dr Joseph Parry", ''[[The Manchester Guardian]]'', 18 February 1903, p. 4</ref>

A Cardiff Grand Opera Society ran from 1924 to 1934.<ref name=gxvii>Griffel, p. xvii</ref> It presented week-long annual seasons of popular operas including ''[[Faust (opera)|Faust]]'', ''[[Carmen]]'' and ''[[Il trovatore]]'', and like its predecessor was mainly an amateur body, with professional guest principals.<ref>"Cardiff", ''The Era'', 14 December 1927, p. 6; and "Cardiff", ''[[Western Morning News]]'', 22 March 1930, p. 10</ref> Apart from the productions of these two enterprises, opera in Wales in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was generally presented by visiting companies from England.<ref name=gxvii/>

In the 1930s [[Idloes Owen]], a singing teacher and conductor, ran an amateur choir, the Lyrian Singers, based in Cardiff. In November 1941, together with John Morgan – a former [[Carl Rosa Opera Company|Carl Rosa]] baritone – and Morgan's fiancée Helena Hughes Brown, Owen agreed to found the Lyrian Grand Opera Company, with Brown as secretary and Owen as conductor and general manager.<ref>Fawkes, p. 2</ref> They publicised their plan and held a general meeting of potential supporters in December 1943; at that meeting the name of the proposed organisation was changed to "Welsh National Opera Company".<ref>Fawkes, p. 3</ref> By January 1944 plans were far enough advanced for the company's first rehearsals to be held. Owen recruited a local businessman, W. H. (Bill) Smith (1894–1968), who agreed to serve as business manager.<ref>Fawkes, p 7</ref> At first doubtful of the company's prospects, Smith became its dominant influence, leading fund-raiser, and chairman for twenty years from 1948.<ref>{{Cite DWB |id=s2-SMIT-HEN-1894 |title=SMITH, WILLIAM HENRY (BILL; 1894 - 1968) president of the Welsh National Opera Company |first=Mary Auronwy |last=James |year=2001 |access-date=26 February 2016}}</ref>{{refn|Smith had been secretary to the pre-war Cardiff Grand Opera Society, and when approached by Owen he was dubious that the proposed company was any likelier to survive than the old Society.<ref>Fawkes, p. 7</ref>|group= n}}

==Early years==
The new company made its debut at the [[Prince of Wales Theatre, Cardiff]] on 15 April 1946 with a double bill of ''[[Cavalleria rusticana]]'' and ''[[Pagliacci]]''. The orchestra was professional, mostly drawn from members of the [[BBC National Orchestra of Wales|BBC Welsh Orchestra]]; all the singers were amateurs, except for [[Tudor Davies]], a [[tenor]] well known at [[Royal Opera House|Covent Garden]] and [[English National Opera|Sadler's Wells]], who sang Canio in ''Pagliacci''.<ref name=f8>Fawkes, p. 8</ref> During the week-long season the new company also staged ''Faust'', with Davies in the title role.<ref>Fawkes, p. 6</ref> Although nearing the end of his career he was a considerable box-office draw, and the company played to full houses.<ref name=f8/> Nevertheless, the expense of a professional orchestra and the hire of costumes and scenery outweighed the box-office receipts, and the season made a small loss. Finance remained a recurring problem over the succeeding decades.<ref>Fawkes, pp. 10, 67 and 144</ref>

{{Quote box|width=300px|bgcolor=#E0E6F8|align=right|quote= The sets were faded stock with years of amateur service behind them, there were one or two experienced guest principals … and a majority of local amateurs, stiff actors, sometimes vocally overparted, absurdly costumed, yet almost all of them ejecting the primeval essence of operatic enjoyment, a passion for and in singing. |salign = left|source= ''[[The Times]]'' on the early years of Welsh National Opera.<ref>"Welsh National Opera after 15 Years", ''[[The Times]]'', 27 September 1963, p. 16</ref> }} 
Although Owen was the conductor for the performances of ''Cavalliera rusticana'', and remained as musical director of the company until 1952, his health was fragile and he conducted none of the company's other productions.<ref>Fawkes, pp. 6, 21 and 278–279</ref> His colleague, the chorus master, Ivor John, was in charge of the first season's ''Pagliacci'' and ''Faust''.<ref>Fawkes, pp. 278–279</ref>

In 1948 the organisation was registered as a [[limited company]], and the Cardiff season was extended from one week to two.<ref name=fo8/> The following year the company gave its first performances in [[Swansea]]. The chorus featured 120 performers by this time.<ref name=fo8/>

The company's first few seasons attracted little attention from the British musical establishment, but by the early 1950s London papers began to take notice. ''[[Picture Post]]'' hailed the WNO's chorus as the finest in Britain.<ref>"Wales Breaks into Opera", ''Picture Post'', 9 June 1951, pp. 16–17</ref> ''[[The Times]]'' also praised the chorus: "It has body, lightness, rhythmic precision, and, most welcome of all, unflagging and spontaneous freshness."<ref name=t1950>"Opera in Wales: National Company's Fine Achievement", ''The Times'', 22 May 1950, p. 6</ref> By this time the company had expanded its repertoire to take in ''Carmen'', ''[[La traviata]]'', ''[[Madame Butterfly]]'', ''[[The Tales of Hoffmann]]'', ''[[The Bartered Bride]]'' and ''[[Die Fledermaus]]''.<ref name=t1950/> ''The Times'' commented that Smith, Owen and their colleagues were "making history for Wales. The shackles of puritanism, which had kept this country from an art-form perfectly suited to its national talents and predilections (for histrionics and dressing-up are as natural to the Welsh as singing) had been broken for ever".<ref name=t1950/>

==Consolidating: 1950s and 60s==
[[File:New Theatre Cardiff.jpg|thumb|[[New Theatre, Cardiff|The New Theatre]], WNO's Cardiff venue for 50 years from 1954]]
In 1952 the company moved its Cardiff venue to the [[Sophia Gardens Pavilion]] (built for the [[Festival of Britain]]), with the [[Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra|Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra]] as the company's orchestra, replacing the previous ad hoc ensemble.<ref name=fo8>Forbes ''et al'', p. 8</ref> The Pavilion was acoustically mediocre and lacked an orchestra pit;<ref name=t1952>"Welsh National Opera", ''The Times'', 10 October 1952, p. 2</ref> two years later the company moved again, to the [[New Theatre, Cardiff|New Theatre]] where it played Cardiff seasons across the next fifty years.<ref>[http://www.newtheatrecardiff.co.uk/about-the-new-theatre/history/ "History"], New Theatre, Cardiff, retrieved 27 February 2016</ref> The 1952 season attracted particular interest because it included what was then a rarity: [[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]]'s ''[[Nabucco]]''.<ref name=t1952/> The company built a reputation for staging seldom-seen Verdi works, including ''[[Les vêpres siciliennes|The Sicilian Vespers]]'' staged in the same year,<ref>Forbes ''et al'', p. 10</ref> ''[[I Lombardi alla prima crociata|I Lombardi]]'' in 1956,<ref>Forbes ''et al'', p. 56</ref> and ''[[La battaglia di Legnano|The Battle of Legnano]]'', under the shortened title ''The Battle'', in 1960.<ref name=f283>Fawkes, p. 283</ref> The 1952 ''Nabucco'' was the WNO's first production for which costumes and scenery were specially designed (by Patrick Robertson) rather than hired.<ref name=f280>Fawkes, p. 280</ref>

In 1953 the company staged its first work by a Welsh composer: ''Menna'' by [[Arwel Hughes]].<ref name=f280/> The composer conducted, and the leads were sung by two professional guest stars, [[Richard Lewis (tenor)|Richard Lewis]] and [[Elsie Morison]].<ref>"Menna", ''The Times'', 10 November 1953, p. 10</ref> The same year marked WNO's first appearances outside Wales, playing a week at [[Bournemouth]] in April,<ref name=mt53>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/934693 Opera Performances"], ''The Musical Times'', June 1953, p. 275 {{subscription required}}</ref> and a week at [[Manchester]] in October, when ''[[The Manchester Guardian]]'' found the soloists first-rate but the chorus disappointing, in both ''Nabucco'' and ''Il trovatore''.<ref>[https://www.proquest.com/docview/479540686 "Welsh National Opera Company: A Revival of Verdi's ''Nabucco''"], ''[[The Manchester Guardian]]'', 6 October 1953, p. 4; and [https://www.proquest.com/docview/479539546 "Welsh National Opera Company"], ''[[The Manchester Guardian]]'', 8 October 1953, p. 5 {{subscription required}}</ref> A reviewer in ''[[The Musical Times]]'' commented on potential difficulties in assembling the wholly amateur chorus for performances beyond daily travelling range of their day jobs.<ref name=mt53/> By the time of the company's first London season – a week at Sadler's Wells in 1955 – the chorus was judged to be "lively and exciting" (''The Musical Times''), "vibrant" and "moving" (''The Times'') and "joyous" (''[[The Manchester Guardian]]'').<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/938237 "London Music"], ''[[The Musical Times]]'', September 1955, p. 484 {{subscription required}}; "Welsh National Opera", ''The Times'', 12 July 1955, p. 5; and [[Philip Hope-Wallace|Hope-Wallace, Philip]]. [https://www.proquest.com/docview/479751014 "''Menna'' at Sadler's Wells"], ''[[The Manchester Guardian]]'', 15 July 1955, p. 7 {{subscription required}}</ref> The second season at Sadler's Wells in the summer of 1956, included productions of Nabucco, I Lombardi and Lohengrin, achieving rave reviews. Kenneth Loveland of the [[South Wales Argus]]<ref>{{cite DWB | title=Loveland, Kenneth (1915–1998), journalist and music critic |id=s11-LOVE-KEN-1915 |first=Trevor |last=Herbert |date=2017-08-07 |access-date=2021-06-25}}</ref> wrote a glowing piece under his byline 'Stroller' "Tonight, amongst working-class streets of the Angel, Islington, I was privileged to witness a body of men and women doing more for Wales than all your sounding harps...or tub thumping politicians".<ref>Dann, p. 33</ref>

[[File:Geraint Evans.jpg|thumb|left|150px|[[Geraint Evans]], guest principal in 1966 and 1969]]
By the mid-1950s professional singers were cast in leading roles in most productions; they included [[Walter Midgley]] in ''[[Tosca]]'' and ''[[La bohème]]'' (1955),<ref name=f281>Fawkes, p. 281</ref> [[Raimund Herincx]] in ''[[Mefistofele]]'' (1957),<ref name=f281/> [[Heather Harper]] in ''La traviata'' (1957),<ref name=f282>Fawkes, p. 282</ref> and [[Joan Hammond]] in ''Madame Butterfly'' (1958).<ref name=f282/> A possibility of strengthening the professional element of the company was mooted in 1958, when a merger was proposed with the Carl Rosa Company, which was in financial difficulties. The proposal was not followed through and WNO continued independently while the Carl Rosa folded.<ref>Goodman and Harewood, pp. 11–12</ref>

During the 1960s the company continued to widen its range. Its first Wagner production, ''[[Lohengrin (opera)|Lohengrin]]'', and its first Mozart, ''[[The Marriage of Figaro]]'', were both performed in 1962, conducted by [[Charles Groves]].<ref>Fawkes, p. 284</ref> Another Welsh opera, Hughes's ''Serch yw'r Doctor'' ("Love, the Doctor") was staged in 1960.<ref name=f283/> The popular Italian repertoire remained the core of the annual seasons, mostly directed by the head of production, [[John Moody (opera director)|John Moody]].<ref name=grove/> Leading roles were taken by rising stars such as [[John Shirley-Quirk]], [[Gwyneth Jones (soprano)|Gwyneth Jones]], [[Thomas Allen (baritone)|Thomas Allen]], [[Josephine Barstow]] and [[Margaret Price]], the last of whom made her operatic debut with the company in 1962.<ref>Fawkes, pp. 283 – 284, and 287</ref> Established singers guesting with the company included [[Geraint Evans]] who played the title role in ''[[Don Pasquale]]'' in 1966, and [[Ian Wallace (bass-baritone)|Ian Wallace]] in the same part the following year. Evans was also seen as Leporello in ''[[Don Giovanni]]'' in 1966 and as [[Falstaff (opera)|Falstaff]] in 1969.<ref>Fawkes, pp. 285, 287 and 351</ref>

The gradual switch from amateur to professional continued in 1968, when for the first time the chorus was supplemented by a smaller, professional group of singers; the mix of amateur and professional choristers continued over the next five years.<ref name=grove>Boyd, Malcolm. [http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/O900995 "Cardiff"], ''[[The New Grove Dictionary of Opera]]'', Oxford Music Online, Oxford University Press, retrieved 26 February 2016 {{subscription required}}</ref> At the end of the 1960s the main WNO company, now a year-round operation, consisted of 8 salaried principal singers, 57 guest soloists and a chorus of 90 amateurs and 32 professionals. As well as the Bournemouth players, the company engaged the [[Royal Liverpool Philharmonic]], [[City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra|City of Birmingham Symphony]] and [[Ulster Orchestra|Ulster]] orchestras for different venues. In the last season of the decade 32 performances were given in Cardiff and 61 elsewhere in the UK.<ref name=gh16>Goodman and Harewood, p. 16</ref> In addition to the main company, WNO maintained two smaller groups: one, with orchestra, toured Welsh towns, the other, consisting of 12 singers with piano, toured 79, mostly small, towns in Wales and England.{{refn|The main company played in [[Birmingham]], Bristol, Cardiff, [[Liverpool]], [[Llandudno]], [[Stratford-upon-Avon]] and Swansea, and the medium-sized group appeared at [[Aberystwyth]], [[Haverfordwest]], [[Rhyl]] and [[Wrexham]].<ref>Goodman and Harewood, p. 67</ref>|group= n}} WNO instituted its own training scheme for young singers during the decade.<ref name=gh16/>

==Fully professional: 1970s==
In 1970 WNO stopped using the Bournemouth and other orchestras and established its own, known at first as the Welsh Philharmonia. Three years later the last amateur element of the company was removed when the chorus became fully professional.<ref name=grove/> A further broadening of the repertoire took place in the 1970s: in 1971 WNO staged the first performances in Britain of [[Alban Berg|Berg]]'s ''[[Lulu (opera)|Lulu]]'', directed by Michael Geliot, who had succeeded Moody in 1969. In the view of Malcolm Boyd in ''[[The New Grove Dictionary of Opera]]'', Geliot, "unpredictable and often controversial", largely shaped the company's style in the 1970s.<ref name=grove/> In collaboration with the company's musical director James Lockhart, Geliot is credited by ''The Times'' with introducing new young singers and "directing a host of groundbreaking productions" before leaving in 1978.<ref>[http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/13FA251580B08768?p=UKNB "Obituary: Michael Geliot"], ''The Times'', 25 June 2012, p. 48</ref> The critic [[Rodney Milnes]] wrote in 1975 about WNO's productions:
{{blockquote|I have never seen, well, hardly ever, a pretentious, silly or seriously misguided production, and neither have I seen a dull one. … The company's greatest virtue is that its work is dedicated above all to the service of composers and audiences, and not to some abstract notion of "prestige" nor to the vanity or ambition of individuals, and in this it is almost unique.<ref>''Quoted'' in Forbes ''et al'', p. 52</ref>|}}
In 1973 Geliot's WNO staging of [[Benjamin Britten|Britten]]'s ''[[Billy Budd (opera)|Billy Budd]]'' with Allen in the title role was presented on a Swiss tour, and two years later it was given in [[Barcelona]].<ref name="Forbes et al, p. 14">Forbes ''et al'', p. 14</ref> The company returned to London with its participation in the Amoco Festival of Opera at the [[Dominion Theatre]] in 1979, presenting ''[[The Makropoulos Case]]'', ''[[The Magic Flute]]'', ''[[Ernani]]'', ''Madame Butterfly'', and ''[[Tristan und Isolde|Tristan and Isolde]]'' to capacity audiences.<ref>"Theatres", ''The Times'', 11 December 1979, p. 9; 12 December 1979, p. 10; 13 December 1979, p. 7; 14 December 1979, p. 13; and 15 December 1979, p. 8</ref>

[[File:Tito Gobbi Allan Warren.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Tito Gobbi]], WNO's Falstaff in 1972]]
The company's traditional preference for the Italian repertoire was partly redressed during the decade: productions include WNO's first staging of a [[Richard Strauss]] opera, ''[[Elektra (opera)|Elektra]]'', in 1978.<ref>Fawkes, p. 293</ref> A new Welsh work, [[Alun Hoddinott]]'s ''The Beach of Falesá'', was presented in 1974.<ref name=grove/> In 1975, in co-production with [[Scottish Opera]], WNO began a cycle of [[Leoš Janáček|Janáček]] operas, directed by [[David Pountney]]. Beginning with ''[[Jenůfa]]'', the cycle continued with ''The Makropoulos Case'' (1978), ''[[The Cunning Little Vixen]]'' (1980), ''[[Káťa Kabanová|Kátya Kabanová]]'' (1982) and ''[[From the House of the Dead]]'' (1982).<ref>Reynish, Timothy. [https://www.proquest.com/docview/185846310 "Jenufa"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 26 November 1975, p. 10; [[Stephen Walsh (writer)|Walsh, Stephen]]. [https://www.proquest.com/docview/476447842 "The elixir of life"], ''[[The Observer]]'', 10 September 1978, p. 32; Sutcliffe, Tom. [https://www.proquest.com/docview/186227941 "A bit foxed"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 15 November 1980, p. 11; Rosselli, John. [https://www.proquest.com/docview/186344868 "''Katya Kabanova''"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 20 May 1982, p. 12; and Walsh, Stephen. [https://www.proquest.com/docview/476800390 "Janacek's chain-gang"], ''The Observer'', 14 November 1982, p. 31 {{subscription required}}</ref>{{refn|These dates are those of the WNO stagings of the co-productions; the Scottish Opera stagings were in 1977, 1981, 1987, 1979 and 1987 respectively.<ref>[https://www.scottishopera.org.uk/about-us/our-history "Our history"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305024502/https://www.scottishopera.org.uk/about-us/our-history |date=5 March 2016 }}, Scottish Opera, retrieved 28 February 2016</ref>|group= n}}

Among the guest artists who appeared with the company in the 1970s were the [[baritone]] [[Tito Gobbi]], as Falstaff (1972),<ref name="Forbes et al, p. 14"/> the [[soprano]]s [[Elisabeth Söderström]] as Emilia in [[The Makropulos Affair (opera)|''The Makropoulos Case'']] (1978) and [[Anne Evans (soprano)|Anne Evans]] as Senta in ''[[The Flying Dutchman (opera)|The Flying Dutchman]]'' (1972),<ref>Fawkes, p. 78</ref> and the conductors [[James Levine]] (''[[Aida]]'', 1970) and [[Reginald Goodall]] (''Tristan and Isolde'', 1979).<ref>Fawkes, pp. 143 and 215</ref>

In the late 1970s WNO combined with the Cardiff-based Welsh Drama Company, becoming the Welsh National Opera and Drama Company. The work of the drama company came under continued criticism, the Welsh Arts Council cut its grant, and the partnership ended in 1979 with the formal closure of the Welsh Drama Company.<ref name=archives>[http://www.archiveswales.org.uk/anw/get_collection.php?coll_id=454&inst_id=1&term=Arts%20Council%20of%20Great%20Britain "National Library of Wales: Welsh National Opera Records"], Archives Wales, retrieved 28 February 2016</ref><ref>Alexander, David. "Welsh Drama Company", ''The Times'', 19 April 1978, p. 17</ref>

==1980s==
During the 1980s WNO continued to expand in scope. [[George Frideric Handel|Handel]] (''[[Rodelinda (opera)|Rodelinda]]'', 1981) and [[Bohuslav Martinů|Martinů]] (''[[The Greek Passion (opera)|The Greek Passion]]'', 1981) were added to the company's repertoire, and in 1983 ''[[Das Rheingold]]'' was staged in the WNO's first ''[[Der Ring des Nibelungen|Ring]]'' cycle, followed by the other three operas of the cycle over the next two years. ''Das Rheingold'', ''[[Siegfried (opera)|Siegfried]]'' and ''[[Götterdämmerung]]'' were conducted by the company's musical director, [[Richard Armstrong (conductor)|Richard Armstrong]]; ''[[Die Walküre]]'' (1984) was conducted by Goodall; it was seen as a coup for the company to secure his services – he was described by ''[[The Guardian]]'' as the greatest living Wagnerian conductor<ref name=ts>Sutcliffe, Tom. [https://www.proquest.com/docview/186499293 "The return of the Ring-master"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 20 February 1984, p. 9 {{subscription required}}</ref> – but the casting of the whole cycle was criticised for some serious weaknesses among the principal singers, and reviewers were generally unimpressed by Göran Järvefelt's production.<ref name=ts/><ref>Boyd, Malcolm. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/961579 "Cardiff"], ''The Musical Times'', May 1984, pp. 284–285 {{subscription required}}; and Griffiths, Paul. "More subtlety in sound than in staging", ''The Times'', 20 February 1984, p. 7</ref>

The chief executive, [[Brian McMaster]], did not appoint a replacement to Geliot as principal director during the 1980s, preferring to engage guest producers. Boyd mentions [[Andrei Serban]]'s ''[[Eugene Onegin (opera)|Eugene Onegin]]'' (1980) among the successes and [[Lucian Pintilie]]'s ''Carmen'' (1983) and [[Ruth Berghaus]]'s ''Don Giovanni'' (1984) as productions that received more mixed responses.<ref name=grove/> [[Charles Mackerras|Sir Charles Mackerras]], the conductor for ''Don Giovanni'', was open in his contempt for Berghaus's production.<ref>Simeone and Tyrrell, p. 75</ref> [[Harry Kupfer]]'s ''[[Fidelio]]'' (1981) was condemned by ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' as "a piece of Marxist polemic" making "political sport" of [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]]'s work.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20141030024225/http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/9a484654c718415281c6f5fcf8ee59c3 "Welsh National Opera presents Fidelio"] BBC Genome, retrieved 28 February 2016</ref> McMaster was thought by some too inclined to favour radical eastern European directors: [[Jonathan Miller]], a leading English director, commented that he did not intend to take Bulgarian nationality, although it was "a must before Brian pays any attention".<ref>Gilbert, p. 334</ref>

[[File:Sir Charles Mackerras.jpg|thumb|[[Charles Mackerras|Sir Charles Mackerras]] (pictured in 2005) became musical director in 1986.]]
Armstrong stepped down in 1986 after thirteen years as musical director; he was succeeded by Mackerras, whose association with the company dated back more than thirty years.{{refn|Mackerras had first worked with WNO in 1950, when as a young conductor he had been in charge for ''The Tales of Hoffmann''. At that time he privately wrote of "an atrocious orchestra ... shockingly out of tune" and the singers "mainly amateur and unreliable".<ref>Simeone and Tyrrell, p. 10</ref>|group= n}} Among the features of his six-year tenure was an increasing use of [[surtitles]] for performances not given in English. In the company's early days, all operas had been sung in English, but as more international stars began to appear as guest principals the language policy had to be reconsidered: few of the leading names in world opera were interested in relearning their roles in English.<ref>"What Sort of Opera for Covent Garden?", ''The Times'', 9 December 1960, p. 18</ref> WNO steered a middle course between the practices of the two main London companies; after the 1960s [[The Royal Opera]] had generally given operas in the original language, and [[English National Opera]] was committed to opera in English.<ref>Lebrecht, p. 198; and Gilbert, p. 557.</ref> WNO's practice varied, after its early years. Examples from the 1980s include Wagner's ''Tristan und Isolde'' sung in German, and the ''Ring'' in English;<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160307122702/http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/6b952e3be98949aab79923d4c0e90b0e "''Tristan und Isolde''"], and [https://web.archive.org/web/20160307130810/http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/be20f9ec9b3b4d1392ba0337a9119a41 "''Der Ring des Nibelungen''"], BBC Genome, retrieved 28 February 2016</ref> and Verdi's ''[[La forza del destino|The Force of Destiny]]'' given in English and ''[[Otello]]'' in Italian.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20141029221118/http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/d504f89c9ac04249ad23516e8a428165 "The Force of Destiny"], and [https://web.archive.org/web/20160307113508/http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/cdeff0cb153f483eb8b08a941ae8bbfb "Otello"], BBC Genome, retrieved 28 February 2016</ref> Mackerras was a strong advocate of performance in the original language, with surtitles: "I can't imagine a greater advance for opera. … What a gift! It's like Siegfried understanding the woodbird."<ref>Widdicombe, Gillian. [https://www.proquest.com/docview/477513279 "The flicker of understanding"], ''The Observer'', 25 April 1993, p. 59 {{subscription required}}</ref>{{refn|In Wagner's ''[[Siegfried (opera)|Siegfried]]'', the eponymous hero, after tasting the blood of a dragon, is suddenly able to understand what a friendly bird is trying to tell him.<ref>Bassett, p. 111</ref>|group= n}}

==1990s==
McMaster resigned in 1991, having led the company to international status, with performances at [[La Scala|La Scala, Milan]]; the [[Metropolitan Opera]], New York; and in [[Bunkamura|Tokyo]].<ref>"The fine art of marking culture pay", ''[[The Times]]'', 9 May 1991, p. 35</ref><ref name=a16>Atkinson, p. 16</ref> One of the last legacies of his tenure was the 1992 production of [[Claude Debussy|Debussy]]'s ''[[Pelléas et Mélisande (opera)|Pelléas et Mélisande]]'', directed by [[Peter Stein (director)|Peter Stein]] and conducted by [[Pierre Boulez]]. ''[[The New York Times]]'' called WNO "one of the finest operatic ensembles in Europe" and noted that the first night of the Debussy work, in Cardiff, "attracted 80 critics from all over the United Kingdom and the Continent ... the most prestigious, intensely awaited event of the British operatic season."<ref name=nyt>[[John Rockwell|Rockwell, John]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/24/arts/boulez-and-stein-stage-pelleas-with-modern-nuances-in-wales.html?pagewanted=all "Boulez and Stein Stage ''Pelleas'' With Modern Nuances in Wales"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', 24 February 1992</ref> The production was given at the [[Théâtre du Châtelet]], Paris, a few weeks afterwards.<ref>Hornsby, Michael and Sean Mac Carthaigh. "French ram ousts Blodwen the operatic ewe", ''[[The Times]]'', 20 April 1992, p. 1</ref>

McMaster was followed as chief executive by Matthew Epstein, whose three years in charge (1991–94) were described in a 2006 study by Paul Atkinson as "a less happy and less successful period".<ref name=a16/> Epstein was replaced by Anthony Freud, under whom, according to Atkinson, productions became "consistently strong, musically well prepared, intelligently staged and well cast."<ref name=a16/> Mackerras was succeeded in 1992 by [[Carlo Rizzi (conductor)|Carlo Rizzi]], who was music director at the time of WNO's [[golden jubilee]] in 1996. When the occasion was marked with a new production of the [[Double feature#Early opera use|"''Cav and Pag''"]] double bill that had launched the company in 1946, the BBC commented that WNO was "one of the most respected opera companies in the world".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160307123150/http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/6897e473c12b45bb989ebc4099610278 "The Sunday Feature: Welsh National Opera at 50"], BBC Genome, retrieved 28 February 2016</ref> In ''The Observer'', Michael Ratcliffe called the company "the most popular, populist and consistently successful arts organisation ever to come out of Wales ... with the loyalty and affection of audiences in Cardiff and across England … 'The people's opera' is not a myth. It happened here."<ref name=mr>Ratcliffe, Michael. [https://www.proquest.com/docview/477801898 "Phantom at Welsh opera's birthday feast"], ''The Observer '', 17 March 1996. p. C10 {{subscription required}}</ref> The jubilee celebrations were overshadowed by the collapse of a plan for a purpose-built home for the company, the [[Cardiff Bay Opera House]].<ref name=mr/>

During the 1990s WNO made its [[the Proms|Proms]] debut, with a complete performance of Mozart's ''[[Idomeneo]]'', conducted by Mackerras in 1991.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/emdfxj "Prom 66"], Proms database, BBC, retrieved 29 February 2016</ref> The company played three short seasons at the [[Royal Opera House|Royal Opera House, Covent Garden]] in the mid-1990s, featuring ''Tristan und Isolde'' and ''[[La favorita]]'' in 1993, ''[[The Yeomen of the Guard]]'' in 1995, and ''[[The Rake's Progress]]'' and the jubilee double bill of ''Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' in 1996.<ref>[http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/SearchResults.aspx?searchtype=performance&company=Welsh%20National%20Opera&page=0 "Welsh National Opera"], Royal Opera House Collections Online, retrieved 29 February 2016</ref>{{refn|The performances of ''The Yeomen of the Guard'' (a co-production with the [[Glimmerglass Festival]]), were the first staging of any [[Savoy Opera]] at Covent Garden, and gained WNO praise at the Royal Opera's expense for ending the century-long absence of [[Gilbert and Sullivan]] from the Royal Opera House.<ref>West, William. [https://www.proquest.com/docview/1788615 "In review: Cooperstown, N.Y."], ''Opera News'', November 1995 {{subscription required}}</ref><ref>Davalle, Peter. "Yeomen end a long wait", ''The Times'', 26 April 1995, p. 42</ref>|group= n}} In 1996 WNO commissioned Sir [[Peter Maxwell Davies]] to write an opera for the occasion of the company's 50th anniversary. The resulting opera was [[The Doctor of Myddfai]], whose libretto written by [[David Pountney]] and included Welsh-language songs, based on a 12th-century folk tale. It premiered on 10 July 1996 at the North Wales Theatre in Llandudno with following performances in 1996.<ref>Carloine Leech, Welsh National Opera (2006), p.153</ref> It was designed by Sue Huntley and Donna Muir.

==21st century==
The company entered the new millennium in a state of some turmoil. A financial crisis had led to redundancies in the orchestra and the curtailment of the touring schedule; the conservative works chosen for 2001–02 were condemned by the press as "the dullest programme in recent memory"; and Rizzi was about to be replaced by a young and untried successor, [[Tugan Sokhiev]].<ref>Christiansen, Rupert. [http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/0F3200DE33C49D85?p=UKNB "The bean counters take over: Welsh National Opera is an outstanding company with a global – reputation – so why is the workforce mutinous and morale at a damagingly low ebb?"], ''The Daily Telegraph'', 14 January 2002 {{subscription required}}</ref> Rizzi had gained great respect and affection during his nine-year term as musical director; his successor's reign was brief and unhappy. Having taken up post in 2003, Sohkiev resigned precipitately the following year. Rizzi agreed to reorganise his schedule, and, to public and critical acclaim, returned to the musical directorship in time to prepare the company for its long-awaited move into a permanent base in Cardiff.<ref>Canning, Hugh. [http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/10543ED5F010AEC7?p=UKNB "Rizzi's honour"], ''The Sunday Times'', 19 September 2004 {{subscription required}}</ref>

[[File:Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff.jpg|thumb|Welsh Millennium Centre, Cardiff, WNO's home base since 2004]]
After the collapse of the Cardiff Bay Opera House scheme, a new project, the [[Wales Millennium Centre]], met with more success. The necessary consents and funding were obtained, and work began in 2002 on a new multipurpose [[arts centre]] on the Cardiff Bay site. The centre included a 1,900-seat theatre, which, among other uses, became WNO's home base from 2004, with its own rehearsal space and offices in the complex.<ref>[[Jonathan Glancey|Glancey, Jonathan]]. [https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2004/sep/27/architecture.regeneration "Inside the whale"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 27 September 2004</ref>

In the first decade of the 21st century WNO gave more than 120 performances a year, with a repertoire, generally, of eight full-scale operas. Its regular audience figures totalled over 150,000 annually, in ten principal venues, three of them in Wales and seven in England.<ref name=shipton>Shipton, Martin. [http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/12B187C99400B270?p=UKNB " WNO is accused of simply not being Welsh enough"], ''[[Western Mail (Wales)|Western Mail]]'', 8 July 2009 {{subscription required}}</ref>{{refn|The ten venues were Cardiff, Swansea and Llandudno in Wales and Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool, Oxford, Milton Keynes, Plymouth and Southampton in England.<ref name=shipton/>|group= n}} During this period the company was criticised for being insufficiently Welsh. A local politician, Adam Price, said that WNO ought to have a Welsh musical director; Alun Hoddinott said in 2004, "WNO has put on perhaps four or five Welsh operas over 20 years. ... They just seem to have an anti-Welsh music bias. I am sad that they do not do something for Welsh composers, especially young ones."<ref name=shipton/> A more positive view of WNO came from Scotland, where the two main newspapers, ''[[The Scotsman]]'' and ''[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]]'', greeted a visit from the company in 2005 with enthusiastic praise, contrasting the flourishing of opera in Wales with its neglect by politicians in Scotland and the consequent decline of Scottish Opera.<ref>MacLeod, Murdo. [http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/10D2EA6DCCCA8940?p=UKNB "An operatic tragedy – Wales shows us how it's done"], ''The Scotsman'', 9 October 2005 {{subscription required}}; and Tumelty, Michael. [http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/10CFF314252959F8?p=UKNB "Sorry tale of two operas"], ''The Herald'', 1 October 2005 {{subscription required}}</ref> In 2010 WNO commissioned ''Gair ar Gnawd'' ("Word on Flesh"), by Pwyll ap Siôn and [[Menna Elfyn]], with words in Welsh, described as "a contemporary story about Wales today ... inspired by the translation of the Bible".<ref>Bagnall, Steve. [http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/133ADA71A7407640?p=UKNB "We'll bring opera to all in N.Wales"], ''[[Liverpool Daily Post]]'', 22 November 2010 {{subscription required}}; and Price, Karen. [http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/154A47956B4DFFA0?p=UKNB "Opera on the box"], ''[[Western Mail (Wales)|Western Mail]]'', 11 April 2015 {{subscription required}}</ref>
{{Quote box|width=300px|bgcolor=#E0E6F8|align=right|quote=It's a long haul, if you go by the clock – into the theatre at four, out at ten – but if you go by the exhilaration surging through your veins during this Welsh National Opera triumph, it's an extended moment of operatic bliss that you never want to end.|salign = left|source= [[Richard Morrison (music critic)|Richard Morrison]] in ''The Times'' on WNO's 2010 ''[[Die Meistersinger]]''.<ref>Morrison, Richard. [http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/1307E39F5D217178?p=UKNB "Bryn Terfel and six hours of bliss"], ''The Times'', 21 June 2010 {{subscription required}}</ref> }}

From 2006 to 2011, the chief executive (titled "artistic director") was [[John Fisher (opera director)|John Fisher]]. His term overlapped with that of [[Lothar Koenigs]], who was music director from 2009 to 2016. A highlight of this period was the 2010 production of ''[[Die Meistersinger]]'', produced by Richard Jones, with [[Bryn Terfel]] as Hans Sachs.<ref>Canning, Hugh. [http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/1309DEE2C88B5508?p=UKNB "Master and commander – Sachs doesn't get better than this, says Hugh Canning, as Bryn Terfel stars in WNO's miraculous Die Meistersinger"], ''The Sunday Times'', 27 June 2010 {{subscription required}}; and Clark, Andrew. [http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/1307BD34E0F2F3A8?p=UKNB ""Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg"], ''The Financial Times'', 20 June 2010 {{subscription required}}</ref>

In 2011, David Pountney was appointed to succeed Fisher as chief executive. He had worked with the company since the 1970s, most recently on a 2006 ''The Flying Dutchman'' with Terfel which was set in space.<ref>[http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/136603F56CBF3B10?p=UKNB "David Pountney appointed artistic director of Welsh National Opera"], ''[[Western Mail (Wales)|Western Mail]]'', 2 April 2011 {{subscription required}}</ref> In 2013 he programmed a trilogy of operas set in [[Tudor era|Tudor]] England: [[Gaetano Donizetti|Donizetti]]'s ''[[Anna Bolena]]'', ''[[Maria Stuarda]]'' and ''[[Roberto Devereux]]'',<ref>[http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/1486393A20869578?p=UKNB "The Tudors"], ''The Times'', 24 August 2013 {{subscription required}}</ref> with another trilogy the following year, on the theme of [[fallen woman|fallen women]] – [[Giacomo Puccini|Puccini]]'s ''[[Manon Lescaut (Puccini)|Manon Lescaut]]'', [[Hans Werner Henze|Henze]]'s ''[[Boulevard Solitude]]'' and Verdi's ''La traviata''.<ref>Price, Karen. [http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/14B64DB6D70E1D68?p=UKNB "People might think it's sexist"], ''[[Western Mail (Wales)|Western Mail]]'', 17 January 2014 {{subscription required}}</ref> For 2016 Pountney scheduled another trilogy, this time on the theme of Figaro, consisting of Mozart's ''The Marriage of Figaro'' and [[Gioachino Rossini|Rossini]]'s ''[[The Barber of Seville]]'' and a new work, ''[[Figaro Gets a Divorce]]'' with music by [[Elena Langer]] and libretto by Pountney.<ref>[https://www.wno.org.uk/divorce "Figaro Gets a Divorce"], Welsh National Opera, retrieved 29 February 2016</ref>

In September 2015, WNO announced the appointment of Tomáš Hanus as its next music director, taking office for the 2016–17 season. Simultaneously, Carlo Rizzi was named the company's conductor laureate, with immediate effect.  From 2019 to 2023, Aidan Lang was general director of the company.<ref>{{cite press release | url=https://wno.org.uk/press/aidan-lang-to-retire-as-wno-general-director | title=Aidan Lang to retire as WNO General Director | publisher=Welsh National Opera | date=26 September 2023 | access-date=2024-07-16}}</ref>  In December 2023, WNO announced the appointment of Christopher Barron as interim general director, effective January 2024.<ref>{{cite press release | url=https://wno.org.uk/press/welsh-national-opera-appoints-interim-general-director | title= Welsh National Opera appoints Interim General Director | publisher=Welsh National Opera | date=4 December 2023 | access-date=2024-07-16}}</ref>  Barron is scheduled to remain in the post through September 2024.  In July 2024, WNO announced the appointments of Adele Thomas and Sarah Crabtree as joint holders of the posts of general director and chief executive officer, effective January 2025.<ref>{{cite press release | url=https://wno.org.uk/news/welsh-national-opera-announce-appointment-of-general-director-ceo | title= Welsh National Opera Announce Appointment of General Director & CEO | publisher=Welsh National Opera | date=11 July 2024 | access-date=2024-07-16}}</ref>

==Recordings==
Although the chorus and orchestra of Welsh National Opera have appeared on many commercial recordings, often featuring regular WNO soloists, there have been few sets, either audio or video, of the company's own productions. Among those are ''Tristan und Isolde'' conducted by Goodall (1981),<ref name=d>Stuart, Philip. [http://www.charm.rhul.ac.uk/discography/decca.html ''Decca Classical, 1929–2009''], retrieved 29 February 2016</ref> ''Pelléas et Mélisande'' conducted by Boulez (1992),<ref>[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/51230919 Pelléas et Mélisande"], World Cat, retrieved 29 February 2016</ref> ''The Yeomen of the Guard'', conducted by Mackerras (1995),{{refn|Substantially the same forces also recorded four other Gilbert and Sullivan operas – ''[[Trial by Jury]]'' (1995), ''[[H.M.S. Pinafore]]'' (1994), ''[[The Pirates of Penzance]]'' (1993) and ''[[The Mikado]]'' (1991), but these sets were not made in conjunction with WNO stage productions, the company not having staged the works.<ref>Simeone and Tyrrell, p. 112</ref><ref>[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/43048644 "The Mikado, The Pirates of Penzance, H.M.S. Pinafore, Trial by Jury, The Yeomen of the Guard"], World Cat, retrieved 29 February 2016</ref>|group= n}} ''The Doctor of Myddfai'' conducted by Armstrong (1998),<ref>[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/40114481 "The Doctor of Myddfai"], World Cat, retrieved 29 February 2016</ref> and ''[[Ariodante]]'' conducted by [[Ivor Bolton]], directed by [[David Alden]] (1999).<ref>[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/49909458 "''Ariodante''"], World Cat, retrieved 29 February 2016</ref> The BBC made a studio video recording of a WNO cast in ''[[Katya Kabanova]]'', conducted by Armstrong in 1982.<ref>[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/301973238 "''Katya Kabanova''"], World Cat, retrieved 29 February 2016</ref>

The WNO chorus and orchestra have been engaged for studio opera recordings unconnected with the company's productions, including ''[[Hamlet (Thomas)|Hamlet]]'' (1983), ''[[Norma (opera)|Norma]]'' (1984), ''Anna Bolena'' (1987), ''Ernani'' (1987) and ''[[Adriana Lecouvreur]]'' (1988) conducted by [[Richard Bonynge]],<ref name=d/> ''Faust'' (1993) and ''Katya Kabanova'' (1994) conducted by Rizzi; and ''[[Gloriana]]'' (1993), ''Eugene Onegin'' (1994) and ''Jenůfa'' (2004) conducted by Mackerras.<ref name=wc/> For the WNO jubilee in 1996, [[Decca Classics|Decca]] drew on some of its studio recordings for a celebratory CD set with contributions from many soloists who had appeared onstage with the company and some who had not, the latter including [[Joan Sutherland]], [[Luciano Pavarotti]], [[Montserrat Caballé]] and [[Thomas Hampson]].<ref>[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/81095335 "Welsh National Opera: A Celebration"], World Cat, retrieved 29 February 2016</ref> The orchestra of WNO has made studio recordings of non-operatic music by [[Edward Elgar|Elgar]], [[Frederick Delius|Delius]], [[Samuel Coleridge-Taylor|Coleridge-Taylor]] and [[George Lloyd (composer)|George Lloyd]], and several sets of traditional Welsh songs and [[crossover music]].<ref name=d/><ref name=wc>[http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=%22Welsh+National+Opera%22&qt=results_page#%2528x0%253Amusic%2Bx4%253Acd%2529format "Welsh National Opera"] World Cat, retrieved 29 February 2016</ref>

==Music directors==
{{col div|colwidth=18em}}
* [[Idloes Owen]] (1943–1952)
*[[Leo Quayle]] (1952–1953)
*Frederick Behrend (1953–1955)
* [[Vilém Tauský]] (1955)
* [[Warwick Braithwaite]] (1956–1961)
* [[Charles Groves]] (1961–1963)
* [[Bryan Balkwill]] (1963–1966)
* [[James Lockhart (music director)|James Lockhart]] (1968–1973)
* [[Richard Armstrong (conductor)|Richard Armstrong]] (1973–1986)
* [[Charles Mackerras|Sir Charles Mackerras]] (1987–1992)
* [[Carlo Rizzi (conductor)|Carlo Rizzi]] (1992–2001)
* [[Tugan Sokhiev]] (2003–2004)
* Carlo Rizzi (2004–2007)
* [[Lothar Koenigs]] (2009–2016)
* Tomáš Hanus (2016–present)
{{div col end}}
::Source: ''Oxford Dictionary of Music'' (1943–2009) and WNO (2009–16).<ref>Kennedy ''et al'', p. 915; and [https://www.wno.org.uk/news/wno-announces-new-music-director-and-new-conductor-laureate "WNO announces new Music Director and new Conductor Laureate"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304142739/http://www.wno.org.uk/news/wno-announces-new-music-director-and-new-conductor-laureate |date=4 March 2016 }}, Welsh National Opera, 23 September 2015</ref>

==Awards==
Welsh National Opera has been nominated for, or won nearly every UK opera prize, including winning the Olivier Award in 1998 and in 1999. The Royal Philharmonic Society awarded its Music Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera in 1999, 2000 and 2001, giving the company the distinction as the only arts organisation to have won the Award for three consecutive years.<ref>Caroline Leech, 'Welsh National Opera', 2006, p. 53.</ref> WNO's production of ''[[Pelléas and Mélisande]]'' (1992) won the International Classical Music Awards. Phyllida Lloyd's production of Poulenc's [[Dialogues of the Carmelites|''The Carmelites'']] for WNO won the Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera in 1999, winning jointly with ENO as co-producers.<ref>Caroline Leech, Welsh National Opera (2006), p.61</ref> The production of [[L'incoronazione di Poppea|''The Coronation of Poppea'']] in 1997 by David Alden won WNO more awards than any other production: winning, the Evening Standard Award, the Royal Philharmonic  Society and the Barclays Theatre Awards.<ref>Caroline Leech (2006).</ref>

==Patrons==
In 1982, WNO gained its first patron in [[Diana, Princess of Wales]]. As patron she attended many gala concerts in New Theatre, Cardiff; Dominion Theatre, London; Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York and in 1984 she opened the new purpose-built headquarters, Princess of Wales Building in John Street, Cardiff. Her attendance at a performance by WNO in New York in 1989 caused much excitement and for road repairs to be immediately carried out. Their visit was seen in an episode of episode 10 'War', series 4 of [[The Crown (TV series)|''The Crown'']].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://wno.org.uk/news/wno-and-the-royal-family-a-romantic-story | title=WNO and the Royal Family; a romantic story | date=9 June 2022 }}</ref>
When in 1996 Princess Diana resigned as patron, WNO welcomed HRH Charles [[Charles, Prince of Wales|Prince of Wales]] as their new patron.

==See also==
{{Portal|Opera}}
* ''[[After Aida]]''
* [[List of opera houses]]
* [[Lists of opera companies]]

==Notes, references and sources==
===Notes===
{{Reflist|group=n|colwidth=45em}}

===References===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
* {{cite book | last= Atkinson| first= Paul | title=Everyday Arias: An Operatic Ethnography | year=2006 | location=Lanham, Maryland | publisher= AltaMira Press | isbn=978-0-7591-0139-5  }} 
* {{cite book | last=Bassett | first=Peter  | title=The Nibelung's Ring: A Guide to Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen | year= 2003| location=Kent Town, S Australia | publisher= Wakefield Press | isbn=978-1-86254-624-0  }}
* {{cite book | last=Dann | first=John | title= A Welsh Uncle, Memories of Tom Morgan 1898–1957 |year=2018 |location=Peterborough |isbn=978-178456-597-8}}
* {{cite book | last= Fawkes| first=Richard|author-link=Richard Fawkes| title= Welsh National Opera| year= 1986 | location= London | publisher= MacRae| isbn=978-0-86203-184-8 }}
* {{cite book | last=Forbes | first= Elizabeth|author-link=Elizabeth Forbes (musicologist)| title=Welsh National Opera: 30th Anniversary | year=1976 | location= Cardiff| publisher=WNO | oclc= 222309358|display-authors=etal}}
* {{cite book|last=Gilbert |first= Susie|year=2009 |title=Opera for Everybody |location=London |publisher=Faber and Faber |isbn= 978-0-571-22493-7}}
* {{cite book|last1=Goodman|first1=Lord|author1-link=Arnold Goodman, Baron Goodman|author2=[[George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood|Lord Harewood]]|year=1969|title=A Report on Opera and Ballet in the United Kingdom, 1966–69|location=London|publisher=Arts Council of Great Britain|oclc= 81272}}
* {{cite book | last= Griffel| first= Margaret Ross | title= Operas in English: A Dictionary| year= 2013 | location=Lanham, Maryland | publisher= Scarecrow Press| isbn=978-0-8108-8272-0| author-link= Margaret Ross Griffel}}
* {{cite book | last1=Kennedy|first1=Michael|author1-link=Michael Kennedy (music critic)|author2=Joyce Bourne Kennedy|author3= Tim Rutherford-Johnson|title= The Oxford Dictionary of Music| year= 2013| edition=sixth|location=Oxford | publisher= Oxford University Press| isbn=978-0-19-957854-2}}
* {{cite book| last= Lebrecht|first=Norman|author-link=Norman Lebrecht| title= Covent Garden: The Untold Story| year= 2001| location= Boston| publisher= Northeastern University Press| isbn= 978-1-55553-488-2| url-access= registration| url= https://archive.org/details/coventgardenunto00norm}}
* {{cite book | last=Simeone| first=Nigel |author2=John Tyrrell|author2-link=John Tyrrell (musicologist)| title= Charles Mackerras| year= 2015| location= Woodbridge| publisher= Boydell Press| isbn=978-1-84383-966-8 }}

== External links ==
*{{Official website|http://www.wno.org.uk/}}
*[http://www.wmc.org.uk/ Wales Millennium Centre: Home to WNO]
*[http://www.kensingtonhotel-llandudno.co.uk/venue_cymru/welsh_national_opera_breaks.cfm Welsh National Opera Theatre Breaks] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218052402/http://www.kensingtonhotel-llandudno.co.uk/venue_cymru/welsh_national_opera_breaks.cfm |date=18 December 2008 }}
*[http://www.bruceduffie.com/goodall.html "The First Digital Tristan – a talk with the Maestro, the Hero and the Boss"] by Bruce Duffie.  Wagner News, February 1982.

{{Culture in Cardiff}}
{{Economy and industry of Cardiff}}
{{OlivierAward OperaProduction 1993–2000}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Economy of Cardiff]]
[[Category:British opera companies]]
[[Category:Music in Cardiff]]
[[Category:Theatre companies in Wales]]
[[Category:Classical music in Wales]]
[[Category:Organisations based in Cardiff]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1943]]
[[Category:Companies based in Cardiff]]
[[Category:1943 establishments in Wales]]