Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay
Ynysowen Male Choir perform in the foyer before curtain up
Blaze of Glory! is the first Welsh opera I’ve come across, despite the fine roster of famous Welsh singers. I went out of my way to see it in Cardiff at the last night of the premiere run and it was brilliant. A full, knowledgeable and appreciative audience in Cardiff’s new theatre in the Wales Millennium Centre. I heard groups around me speaking only in Welsh. There was a spine-chilling concert hush from the audience for the lusty opening chorus sung both on stage and augmented in the auditorium by the Ynysowen Male Choir. Much of the audience joined in singing, in Welsh, to the final chorus at the end of the opera, then there was a standing ovation with three or four curtain calls.
Blaze of Glory! is an opera: it deals with the big themes and on many levels but it uses twentieth century popular music and dance styles as its medium, so it’s accessible and there’s nothing quite like it in the opera repertoire. In that sense it reminds me of Carmen although the opening scenes also have a part of the feel of Die Meistersinger. And like Wagner and Mozart before him, Blaze of Glory! speaks deep truth through comedy. This is a story about men in the middle of the twentieth century but the themes like male and female roles in society, the banality and horror of life but the healing power of music, are universal.
David Hackbridge Johnson’s music is witty and lyrical (if I had to come up with a single word to describe what I think of as Welsh Music, it would be “lyrical”). There are some great set pieces for the principals that drew particular applause. In Act 1 the composer deals us a sequence of dances that are sensual and explain the plot and emotions in music not words: Miss Price and Mr Pugh’s almost-intimate tango is unforgettable - dark and intense - but swiftly followed by a comedy Chattanooga Choo Choo as the action changes location.
I see Blaze of Glory! as part of the re-emergence and celebration of Welshness. The story tells of the coal mines, life in the Valleys and Glee singing but it’s written and sung in English. That’s an opportunity lost but the work needs to be performed and understood so probably the correct commercial judgement. And we are treated to some cringing rhymes but which don’t translate for the surtitles in Welsh!
The music and productions of Welsh National Opera have much renown and this is a worthy vehicle for all their talents. The production is led by the music and the staging is literal. It looks made to tour. Proscenium arch staging with a couple of entries through the audience. Some clever stage craft such as messing around with scenery to change from a coal face to a charabanc. There’s the only communal shower scene I can think of in an opera. Straightforward stage lighting, with profiles and follow spots done well.
This production is a major achievement, distinctive, historically honest and above all, Welsh. It’s an encouragement to seek out those stirring recordings of the Welsh male voice choirs and the continuing Eisteddfods which are about far more than “Men of Harlech”. And to look out for a Welsh opera sung in Welsh with surtitles in English.
Blaze of Glory!
David Hackbridge Johnson - composer
Emma Jenkins - libretto
Stephen Higgins - conductor
Orchestra and Chorus of the Welsh National Opera
Ynysowen Male Choir
Cast
Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts - Mr Dafydd Pugh
Themba Mvula - Anthony
Rebecca Evans - Miss Nerys Price
Feargal Mostyn-Williams - Bryn Bevan
Adam Gilbert - Emlyn
Angharad Morgan - Bronwen
Nafissatou Batu Daramy - Blodwen
Angharad Lyddon - Branwen
Mark Llewelyn Evans - Caradog Probert
Gareth Dafydd Morris - Mr Bebb
Simon Crosby Buttle - Mr Powell
Martin Lloyd - Mr Christmas
Fiona Harrison-Wolfe - Adjudicator 1
Sarah Pope - Adjudicator 2
Dafydd Allen - Agent
Owen Webb - Mr Jenkins
Rosie Hay - Miss Jenkins
Stella Woodman - Mrs Owen
Carolyn Jackson - Miss Hoskyns
Gary Watkins - Mr Howell
Julian Boyce - Mr Evans
Huw Llywelyn - Mr Jones
Michael Clifton-Thompson - Policeman
Creative
David Hackbridge Johnson - Composer
Emma Jenkins - Librettist
Stephen Higgins - Conductor
Caroline Clegg - Director and Choreographer
Madeleine Boyd - Designer
Elanor Higgins - Lighting Designer
Ryan Upton - Associate Choreographer
Sarah Crisp - Staff Director
Donald Gordon Theatre, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff
#WNOblaze