Credit: Banner artwork by Clive Hicks-Jenkins Fairy Tales are nightmare, not dreamscapes. They play on our primitive and primordial fears. They are the knock in the dark, the crack of a branch, the footstep on the stair rousing you from your slumber. They are our first moral compass and a navigational tool to steer us through childhood, to warn of the consequences of erring in our youthful ways. Stray from the path and punishment is swift. Trespass upon the forbidden bridge, leave the yellow bricks, taste forbidden fruit and you damn yourself forever more, for the wolf (or the troll) will sure ..read more

With less than a month to go until opening night in Newtown on March 4th we caught up with the stars of our first ever production of Hansel and Gretel in rehearsals. We’re working with some familiar faces – including soprano Alys Mererid Roberts and baritone Philip Smith, our Princess and King from this Autumn’s Puss in Boots tour who carry on their father/daughter relationship as Gretel and her Father. We’re also delighted to welcome some newcomers to MWO including Plymouth born singer Charlotte Badham who is joining us as Hansel. Charlotte grew up with folk music, and Hansel was her first ..read more

“Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel would never have existed if it wasn’t for the composer’s sister, the German folklore enthusiast Adelheid Wette” Adelheid Wette The story of Hansel and Gretel begins in 1812 when two academic brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, publish a set of stories entitled Kinder und Hausmärchen (Children’s and Household Tales). The collection was huge and included the old German tale of Hansel and Gretel. But the opera we know today would never have existed if it wasn’t for the German author, composer, poet and folklore enthusiast Adelheid Wette. Born in Siegburg, near Bonn ..read more

We’re excited to announce the cast of MWO’s first ever production of Humperdinck’s fabulous fairy tale opera Hansel and Gretel. We will be joined by some familiar faces from our Puss in Boots tour including Philip Smith (Father) and Alys Mererid Roberts (Gretel) as well as welcoming talented young performers Charlotte Badham (Hansel), Sian Roberts (Dew Fairy) and Beca Davies (Sandman) to their first MWO productions. We’re also thrilled to be joined by Rebecca Afonwy-Jones in the twin role of Mother/Witch (a position familiar to many parents we’re sure). Rebecca has sung for prestigious compan ..read more

In honour of MWO’s first ever production of Humperdinck’s classic opera Hansel and Gretel which opens at Hafren in Newtown on Saturday 4th March 2023 and then tours Wales and the Borders, we’re running our very own MWO Bake/Make Off. In Humperdinck’s opera, the children Hansel and Gretel are sent off into the woods by their exhausted mother and wander into the clutches of the wicked witch, tempted by her house made of gingerbread and sugary treats. an extreme gingerbread house photographed by our Executive Director Lydia Bassett while working with Kettuki in Finland We want you to send us phot ..read more

Once upon a time, an author was commissioned to produce a charming tale as a primer book for children to help them to learn to read. He was so frustrated with the list of prescribed words he was allowed to use that, one day, whilst sitting at his desk he resolved to weave a story around the first two words in the list that rhymed. The first two words he came across were Hat and Cat, and in that moment one of the world’s best loved books was born and the author lived very happily ever after. Who doesn’t love an animal in a costume? A cursory search of social media will produce a multitude of i ..read more

Since first encountering Xavier Montsalvatge’s music, way back in 1995, MWO’s Music Director has been fascinated by the Catalan composer’s work. Now for our SmallStages tour this Autumn, twenty years after the composer’s death, MWO are thrilled to bring Montsalvatge’s opera El Gato Con Botas/Puss in Boots to new audiences with a chamber arrangement by Jonathan Lyness. MWO have secured the rights from the Montsalvatge Estate to produce the opera with a new chamber arrangement and a new English translation by our Artistic Director Richard Studer. It will be published by Peermusic, New York makin ..read more

We’re inviting you to join us in a fairytale world of magic and myth with our new season launched at Gregynog Hall on Sunday. Launching our Fairy Tales season at our annual Friends of MWO Gala, Executive Director Lydia Bassett said: “Lots of people are struggling at the moment, and there’s something magical about letting someone sing you a story. We want these magical Fairy Tales to transport you to another world for the evening, full of witches and ogres, a princess and the mischievous Puss in Boots. They’re familiar stories with an operatic twist and we’re excited to be sharing them with au ..read more

Once a year we send Team MWO back to school, taking over the curriculum for a full week and working with children in a primary school to create their own opera from scratch. After two years without a school residency project because of Covid restrictions, it was an absolute pleasure to take over a week’s worth of classes for 44 Year 5 pupils at Newtown’s Ysgol Penygloddfa to help them write a script and songs and create costumes for The Adventures of Frankie the Fox. The week started with our Artistic Director Richard Studer sharing his cartoon sketches, loosely based on Janacek’s The Cunning ..read more

On Thursday 17 March Mid Wales Opera performs La bohème at The Riverfront, Newport with BSL interpretation by Julie Doyle. Sign Language Week runs from 14-20 March. The annual celebration, organised by the British Deaf Association (BDA), promotes awareness of issues affecting sign-language users and the welfare of deaf people in the UK. The theme for Sign Language Week 2022 is: ‘BSL Brings Us Together’. The aim of the campaign is to encourage people of all ages across the UK to take up the challenge of learning BSL for themselves and finding out more about th ..read more