Welsh National Opera Cenedlaethol Cymru opens its Autumn 2026 season this month with stunning productions showcasing just how thrilling and alive opera can be. Neil Collins chats to director Joe Hill-Gibbins and soprano Alexia Voulgaridou.
Joe Hill-Gibbins is having a lot of fun bouncing between two WNO rehearsal rooms, directing a daring double bill of Bluebeard’s Castle and Oedipus Rex.
Both operas explore what we reveal and conceal in our inner lives, and Hill-Gibbins believes they become even more powerful when seen together.
“The castle becomes an exploration of Bluebeard’s emotional landscape. It asks questions about emotional intimacy; not just the fear we feel when exposed, but also how that is prerequisite for falling in love.”
In Oedipus Rex, a devastating plague grips the ancient city of Thebes and Oedipus vows to uncover its cause – only for his search to reveal a horrifying truth about himself.
“As the crowd turns on him, Stravinsky’s music switches the mood between reverence and bloodthirsty glee,” says Hill-Gibbins. “There is something sinister and all too familiar in a society turning on a scapegoat.”
Binding the double-bill together, actor and drag king LJ Parkinson makes their WNO main-stage debut as narrator.
For anyone unsure about stepping into opera for the first time, Hill-Gibbins has one piece of advice. “I had only seen four operas when I directed my first opera 13 years ago. I have come from outside of this world too and understand people may fear not knowing the conventions in this new space.
“I also know the sound world of Stravinsky and Bartók may feel wild and weird if you haven’t experienced it before, but that’s okay. Embrace that weirdness, as you would if you were going to your first ever death metal concert. Take a chance and see what it does to you.”
A week later comes Floris Visser’s five-star Glyndebourne production of Puccini’s La Bohème, which is a deeply moving and metaphysical take on a much-loved opera that he describes as “pacy, gut-wrenching and emotional – a La Bohème that teaches us about love, life and death.”
Stripping away postcard Paris, it delves into a cinematic 1930s world of shadowy, stark monochrome with seamstress Mimì shadowed by death from the moment she appears. Mimi is played by Alexia Voulgaridou, who says Puccini’s music is “not just beautiful, but human and alive.”
“I think we see in Mimi the people we’ve lost, and the people we are; fragile but powerful.
“Mimi is afraid of dying, but not afraid to live. She makes you stop and think. This whole production does. It helps you see how precious the small things in life can be.”
Bluebeard’s Castle + Oedipus Rex, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay, Sun 20 Sept, Fri 25 Sept + Fri 2 Oct; Venue Cymru, Llandudno, Thurs 22 Oct.
La Bohème, Wales Millennium Centre, Sun 27 Sept, Thurs 1 Oct + Sat 3 Oct; Venue Cymru, Sat 24 Oct.
WNO Family Concert, Wales Millennium Centre, Wed 30 Sept; Venue Cymru, Fri 23 Oct.
Info: here
words NEIL COLLINS
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