WNO, Bryn Terfel & Wagner: At Buckingham Palace

Members of Welsh National Opera performed before Prince Charles and more than 200 guests at the opera company’s first Royal Gala at Buckingham Palace last night (21^st June 2012).

The Company’s Patron, The Prince of Wales, had invited WNO to perform at the Palace and the event showcased the full WNO Chorus together with opera stars Bryn Terfel and Rebecca Evans singing excerpts from Wagner, Chabrier, Davies and Bernstein.

Also performing were former WNO Associate Artists Elizabeth Donovan, Patricia Orr and Carolyn Dobbin.  The singers were accompanied by pianists from WNO music staff, Stephen Wood and James Southall.

 35 members of WNO’s Singing Club, aged between 10-14, performed as guests arrived.

The Gala was a chance to thank supporters of the WNO’s Futures Appeal which has raised money for the Company’s ambitious new artistic plans over the next few years, as recently announced by Artistic Director David Pountney.  These future plans include new productions of Manon Lescaut, Boulevard Solitude, Moses und Aron, Nabucco, Lohengrin, a four-year long exploration of the Bel Canto repertoire and a four-year series presenting the British premieres of new operas - opening with Jonathan Harvey’s Wagner Dream in 2013. 

Photos:  Paul Burns