Music. Theatre. Wales. is excited to present the second Future Directions Digital Opera Perthyn, created during 2023, in partnership with Hijinx.   

FUTURE DIRECTIONS is a young people’s programme that explores how opera can become a powerfully expressive form for people of all backgrounds and identities. Working in collaboration with professional artists, the young, neurodiverse group of people devise and make a new opera, exploring their ideas and learning from and inspiring each other and the supporting artists. The work created is presented as a Music Theatre Wales production, extending the range of our work, developing new ways of working for the company and connecting with audiences who might not have considered opera as something that could be relevant to their lives. 

For this project, Music Theatre Wales has brought together Theatre Maker and Dramaturg Jain Boon, Music Maker Mari Mathias, Singer Llio Evans and Film Maker Gavin Porter to work together with the young participants to create a new and original work in three movements. The resulting piece, Perthyn, is an opera in music, text, movement and film entirely built on the ideas and creativity of the participants, which carries a strong message from the young people for all of us to contemplate. 

Future Directions is an annual project that sits at the core of the Company’s main activity. The project is delivered in partnership with Hijinx Theatre.  

More info on Future Directions can be found here.

We are proud to present the first Digital Opera – The Things That Go Unnoticed – created by the Music Theatre Wales Young Company during 2022.

The Story

This story explores the importance of being aware of the world around us – to notice and be noticed, so that we all might find ourselves in kinder, fairer, more connected communities.