Date:

Thursday September 16th

Online

7.30pm

Online broadcast

Caryl Hughes – mezzo-soprano
Rhodri Prys Jones – tenor
Paul Carey Jones – baritone
Wyn Davies – piano

John Metcalf selection from Auden Songs
John Metcalf selection from Caneuon Y Gerddi
John Metcalf selection from In Time of Daffodils
John Metcalf selection from Caneuon Caru Cymreig
John Metcalf Mi Gerddaf Gyda Thi
John Metcalf selection from Under Milk Wood, an opera

Composer John Metcalf founded Vale of Glamorgan Festival in 1969 and has been Artistic Director ever since. Tonight we celebrate vocal music from four decades of his song collections and operas.

We start near the beginning, with a selection from 1974’s Auden Songs, one of the early collections that established his reputation as a leading Welsh composer, including settings of WH Auden’s famous poems Nocturne and Autumn Song.

We’re brought almost up to date with Mi Gerddaf Gyda Thi, a setting of anonymous words that John describes as being, “among the most beautiful lines ever written in the Welsh language,” which was composed for his wedding in 2016.

This year’s Festival concludes with songs from perhaps John’s most famous work, Under Milk Wood, an opera based on Dylan Thomas’ iconic radio play, that was nominated for the World Premiere Award at the International Opera Awards.

This special concert is introduced from the piano by Wyn Davies, who accompanies a trio of leading Welsh singers known for their performances on the Welsh National Opera stage. We’ll also hear from Keith Turnbull, who directed Under Milk Wood when it premiered at Talesin Arts Centre in 2014.

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