Welsh National Opera

Welsh National Opera have been awarded the David Bedford Music Education Award in March 2015 for their Peter Pan project by Richard Ayres

In May 2015 Welsh National Opera will premier Richard Ayres’ new opera, Peter Pan. A co-production with Komische Oper Berlin and directed by Keith Warner, Peter Pan will be the third in WNO’s series of contemporary works entitled British Firsts, designed to establish a regular and fruitful flow of new operatic work.

“WNO is very proud to be a recipient of the prestigious David Bedford award. We set great store by our education and outreach work, and our department has reached thousands of young people with a wide range of innovative and original products. In addition we are working hard to increase our representation of contemporary work, and our new production of Peter Pan, a new opera composed by Richard Ayres, brings these two themes neatly together. Peter Pan is of course an iconic subject that appeals to the child in all of us, and is therefore the perfect occasion to marry our outreach and education work with a main scale opera production. We are very grateful to the PRSF for recognising and supporting our efforts in these essential fields.”

David Pountney, Chief Executive and Creative Director Welsh National Opera

Designed to appeal to children of age 8 upwards, the relevancy of the subject matter explored in Peter Pan presents a way to introduce young people to the power and thrill of the genre whilst allowing them the inspiring experience of seeing themselves as the leading parts of an opera. The production will be accompanied by a special initiative, supported by the Colwinston Charitable Trust, encouraging young people to engage with Peter Pan through workshops and pre-performance activities, alongside a £1 ticket offer for under 16s.

Head to Welsh National Opera’s website for further information.