Even I noticed that Welsh football fans were more excited last week than they have been since 1958, a year otherwise more memorable (to a few) for early works by Berio, Birtwistle and Maxwell Davies. The word “harmonious” has been scattered around freely by sports commentators to indicate the national importance for any country taking part in a World Cup. And yet in Wales, land of song and lusty, melodious renditions of Yma o Hyd, there is a new dissonance too noisy to ignore. Less than a month after Welsh National Opera, based at Cardiff Bay’s Wales Millennium Centre, lost its Arts Council England funding – followed by an announcement on Tuesday that it could no longer afford to tour to Liverpool – another new misery has arisen.
Cardiff’s primary concert venue and one of the best in Britain, St David’s Hall is under threat after a takeover proposal from the Academy Music Group (AMG), which operates the O2 Academies and other large pop and entertainment venues. It’s still a proposal, but one with leverage. St David’s Hall, opened in 1982, is currently owned, managed and funded by Cardiff council with support from the Arts Council of Wales. Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, it seats 2,000 and hosts BBC Cardiff Singer of the World and the Welsh Proms, among other major non-classical events. Its acoustic has been judged one of the top 10 in the world.
