WNO chorus wear protest t-shirts
OperaAn audience member tells us that after the applause at the end of Rigoletto last night, someone in the audience shouted about the cultural treasure that WNO is and that if we don’t support WNO we will lose it. He got a round of applause from a significant proportion of those present,
Chorus members wore protest t-shirts.
Cuts by the Welsh governement and Arts Council England have left some members of the orchestra and chorus at Welsh National Opera (WNO) facing a below-living wage. The Welsh once took pride in singing. No longer, apparently.
Both Equity and the Musicians’ Union have been leafleting audiences in Cardiff, encouraging us to sign online petitions and demand a full time wage for chorus and orchestra, a full time chorus and no compulsory redundancies. The MU leaflet states ‘Arts Council of Wales and Arts Council England funding cuts are putting the future of Welsh National Opera at risk.’
The guy who shouted at the end also said: Write to your MP!
The Welsh continue to take pride in singing. It is the dishonesty of the English, ACE and Westminster that is causing the demise of the Arts in the UK.
For the recent live transmission of The Marriage of Figaro from Covent Garden at Cineworld in Cardiff, the Welsh certainly did not turn out, there were six of us in the audience.