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Music.
Theatre.
Wales.

Re-imagining opera

About

Music Theatre Wales (MTW) exists to breathe new life into opera, presenting it as storytelling in music and seeking to revitalise opera as an expressive form for anyone. We nurture artists who will create the opera of the future and present opera in imaginative ways that will help change the preconceptions of what opera is and can be. We are asking: What is Opera? Who is making it? and Who is it for?

Our work has two integrated strands:

Artform Development – driven by diversity and exploring new ways of creating and presenting opera – as live performance in theatres and community spaces, as short form digital work, as street art opera, in Welsh and in collaboration with multiple different partners.

Community Cohesion – offering opera as storytelling in music as a means of expression and creative development for communities who have traditionally been ignored or excluded from opera.

Our Values

We are committed to developing opera as an art-form that is representative and accessible for everyone and to achieving greater equality as an organisation and as an employer.

We want to learn and our work will be led by the creativity of the people we work with. We believe the only way to progress is to learn from the experience and knowledge of others.

We respect and nurture the potential of everyone we work with and will support their continued development whenever possible.

We value the arts and believe a healthy society needs the arts to thrive, to give voice to ideas and identities, to help us see and understand the world we live in, and to bring us together.

We are Welsh and proud to support and showcase Welsh talent, and to play our part in the well-being and cultural life of Wales.

About

Our Story

Founded in 1988 through the merger of Cardiff New Opera Group (co-founded by Michael McCarthy and Michael Rafferty) and St Donats Music Theatre Ensemble (founded by John Metcalf), Music Theatre Wales has been a pioneering force in new opera across the UK. Throughout our history we have created transformational opportunities for artists and audiences, working with many of the most acclaimed composers of our time, and we have helped shift the idea of what opera is, but we know there is a lot more to do.

Since 2022, the range of our work and the way we are working has evolved, but our core mission remains the same: To present opera as a contemporary artform. And by contemporary we mean NOW – as society is and striving to respond to change. We see this as a creative opportunity as well as an imperative, seeking to share work in ways that is truly relevant and engaging. Everything we do will remain characterised by excellence – in creation and performance, in engagement and inclusion, in organisation and execution, in impact and responsibility.

We have created 62 productions, including 22 world premieres plus 9 newly created digital works. Our future programme includes new Street Art Operas, Community co-creations, Young People’s work, a larger scale commission for theatres, Schools Storytelling Projects and the performance of new work commissioned for ensemble, film and recorded sound.

We have a long tradition of working in partnership, with new collaborations in place with Sinfonia Cymru (with whom we have a new on-going partnership), Music@Aber, Hijinx, The National Eisteddfod, RCT Borough Council, Arts Active Trust, Ty Cerdd and The Royal Opera House.

We have collaborated with international partners including Opera Philadelphia, Magdeburg Opera, Opera Nationale du Rhin, Berlin Festival, TIMF in South Korea, Opera Vest in Norway and more. In the UK, we have  co-produced with The London Sinfonietta, Fio, Britten Pears Arts/Aldeburgh Festival, Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru, The Royal Opera House, Scottish Opera, Cheltenham Festival and Theatr Brycheiniog.

About

Our Team

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Michael McCarthy Director

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Elayce Ismail Artistic Associate

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Kathryn Joyce General Manager

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Dylan Jenkins Communications and Marketing Manager

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Jain Boon Project Facilitator and Workshop Leader

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Catrin Slater Fundraiser

Board Members

Kerry Skidmore (Chair)
Louis Gray
Kieran Jones
Anna Pool
Dylan Rees
Phillippa Scammel
Mehdi Razi

About

Our Policies

Our policies are driven by our core values – our commitment to developing opera as an art-form that is representative and accessible for everyone and to achieving greater equality as an organisation and as an employer.

At MTW we want to ensure that everyone receives the opportunity to participate in the creation of new opera and we strive to identify and remove barriers, celebrate our differences, and create a space where everyone feels valued and respected. Our policies are devised and regularly reviewed with a commitment to creating and maintaining a safe, supportive and equitable environment for all people working for, or with, MTW.

Click here to see all of our policies.

Awards

  • 2024

    Future Directions Project for Butetown was shortlisted for the FEDORA Education Prize

  • 2024

    GRIEF was awarded Best Original Score at the Focus Wales Film Festival

  • 2023

    Violet by Tom Coult was nominated for Best Stage Work at the Classical IVORS

  • 2023

    2023 Violet was nominated for the Opera award in the Sky Arts Awards.

  • 2022

    The Jollof House Party Opera – the original digital version – won the Focus Wales Film Award in 2022.

  • 2022

    2022 Violet was nominated for a UK Theatre Award and in the World Premiere category in the International Opera Awards.

  • 2020

    2020 Philip Venables won the IVOR award for Stage Works for Denis & Katya commissioned and produced by MTW.

  • 2019

    2019 Denis & Katya won the Fedora Prize for Opera.

  • 2016

    The co-founders of MTW – Michael McCarthy and Michael Rafferty – were awarded MBEs in the 2016 Queen’s New Year Honours.

  • 2015

    Michael McCarthy was awarded Best Director at the 2015 Wales Theatre Awards for his production of The Trial.

  • 2013

    2013 Ghost Patrol by Stuart MacRae and Louise Welsh won the South Bank Sky Arts Award.

  • 2013

    2013 the double bill of In the Locked Room by Huw Watkins and David Harsent and Ghost Patrol was nominated for an Olivier.

  • 2011

    TMA Theatre Awards – Outstanding Achievement in Opera for our production of Greek by Mark-Anthony Turnage in 2011.

MTW is grateful for core funding from:

And for project funding from:

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Thanks to regular support from friends…
Chris Ball
David Anderson

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Breathing new life into opera and music theatre.