Your editorial rightly praises Welsh National Opera for its innovative new production of Benjamin Britten’s Death in Venice (The Guardian view on opera and circus: a populist pairing that scales the heights, 22 March). It was stunning. However, your request that we “cast off the gloom” when considering opera could not be more ill-timed for opera lovers in Wales.
On the day that your article appeared in print, we were lucky enough to see the final performance of the brilliant Mid Wales Opera (MWO) production of Verdi’s Macbeth that this company has been touring around Wales and the Marches. The production and performance were outstanding, and tickets were reasonably priced. However, owing to a 100% cut in Arts Council of Wales funding, this is likely to be its last large-scale production.
