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Category: Music

The Face in the Mirror brings together composer Lynne Plowman and librettist Martin Riley and is a new commission for Welsh National Opera's Singing Club.  It will be
premiered at the Blakehay Theatre in Weston-Super-Mare before touring to Neath, Gloucester and Cardiff.

Number 28 Crowther Street holds the key to a strange wartime secret.  The burnt-out ruin is the refuge for Mikela, her brother, Cody and a group of friends who encounter the ghost of
a woman trapped in an old mirror; a doorway to one devastating night in the 1940s when she lost the man she loved. As the modern day and the past collide, Mikela and Cody's lives are put in terrible danger.

Lynne Plowman and Martin Riley have worked together to create an opera which incorporates ideas from workshops with the children in the Singing Club. These workshops have included storytelling, singing sessions, puppetry and a lesson in jitterbug moves!

Read more: Welsh National Opera premiers new work by award winning composer Lynne Plowman and Emmerdale...

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Category: Music

The spectacular Essence of Ireland is back with their brand new show, and it's bigger and better than ever! The sensational show is at Swansea Grand Theatre on Tuesday 29th and Wednesday 30th May at 7.30pm.

Essence of Ireland follows the story of Sean Dempsey and Coro McGowen, who meet in Ireland in the 1940s, but are forced apart when Sean moves to New York to find work. The moving story depicts the letters sent between the two during their time apart.

Combining breathtaking dance routines with the very best of Irish music and a touch of Irish craic, all cleverly woven into a heart-warming tale, Essence of Ireland is performed by a cast of some of the country's finest dancers, singers and musicians. You'll hear songs such as Galway Girl, Carrickfergus, You Raise Me Up and Song for Ireland, to name a few.

Read more: Essence Of Ireland At Swansea Grand Theatre

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Category: Music

Hits of Motown, starring the original and longest serving Drifters member, Roy G Hemmings, is at Swansea Grand Theatre on Tuesday 22nd May at 7.30pm.

The show is a celebration of 50 years of Motown, with hits by The Supremes, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Lionel Ritchie, to name but a few.

Read more: The Sound Of Motown Comes To Swansea Grand Theatre

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Category: Music

Show of Hands' inspired frontman Steve Knightley, hailed as one of England's finest songwriters, is heading to Anglesey.

Just weeks after his fourth sell-out Royal Albert Hall appearance with Show of Hands bandmate Phil Beer on Easter Saturday, Steve can be seen at the Victoria Hotel at Menai Bridge, Anglesey, on Thursday, April 26th. www.vicmenai.com Tickets: 01286 674631 or 01248 362676

Read more: Albert Hall Star Heads To Wales

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Category: Music

The brilliant and charismatic Tim Edey was named Musician of the Year at the 2012 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in February and also clinched the Best Duo title with Kiwi harmonica genius Brendan Power.

In June, Tim will join the incredible 50th anniversary UK tour of six-time Grammy award winners and international ambassadors of traditional Irish music, The Chieftains, including a performance at Saint David's Hall, Cardiff on 3rd June.

Tredegar House Folk Festival (19th May) is among the festivals Tim will be playing this summer and in November he will be a guest of the great Dougie Maclean at the Scottish singer songwriter's Perthshire Amber Festival before he sets off on his own Celtic Christmas Tour (December 15th to 22nd). He is unequivocally one of the UK's finest musicians.

Read more: Folk Musician Of The Year Comes To Wales

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For lovers of 1970s rock music, Let There Be Drums, a high energy percussion extravaganza featuring drummers from big name bands, is a must on Monday 21st May, 7.30pm at Swansea Grand Theatre.

The evening's amazing line up includes Bobby Harrison (the original drummer with Procol Harum) and his band, Journey 2 Freedom; Paul Fenton, who toured as drummer with Marc Bolan and T. Rex; and John Coghlan, an original drummer with Status Quo, now with his band John Coghlan's Quo. Let There Be Drums also features special guest guitarist Graham Oliver from Saxon.

Read more: Let There Be Drums: '70s Rock Night At Swansea Grand

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This summer Welsh National Opera (WNO) presents a new production of Puccini's classic La bohème, directed by Annabel Arden.   Yannis Kokkos' critically lauded Tristan and Isolde will be revived this season, with fully staged performances in Cardiff and Birmingham and a concert performance at the Edinburgh International Festival.

WNO's Singing Club will premiere a new commission The Face in the Mirror, with music by award-winning composer Lynne Plowman featuring a chorus of 10-14 year-olds.

La bohème
"La bohème is a piece full of excitement, glamour and brilliance....it is also austere, haunting and harsh..." Annabel Arden

Acclaimed director Annabel Arden makes her WNO debut with a new production of La bohème.  Set in 1913 just before the outbreak of the First World War, this production will explore the relationships between the tight-knit group of bohemian artists and Mimi, a woman whom Arden describes as:
"possessing an animal-like quality with an instinct to survive – not the fragile woman so often portrayed".

Annabel Arden was one of the founder members of Theatre de Complicité during the 1980s and during her career she has worked with English National Opera, Opera North, Royal National Theatre and the Royal Court Theatre among others.

Romanian soprano Anita Hartig makes her WNO debut as Mimi, with Belfast-born Giselle Allen singing the role at several performances.  David Kempster returns to WNO as Marcello.  Spanish tenor Alex Vicens makes his UK debut as Rodolfo, with tenor Shaun Dixon singing the role at several performances.  David Soar is Colline and Gary Griffiths is Schaunard. Scottish soprano Kate Valentine makes her WNO debut as Musetta.

Read more: WELSH NATIONAL OPERA - SUMMER 2012

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Don't miss a rare opportunity to see three legends of British jazz: Kenny Ball, Chris Barber and Acker Bilk, with their bands, in one great concert at Swansea Grand Theatre on Thursday 10th May at 7.30pm.

The three jazz giants never played together during the 'Trad Jazz Boom', though their three bands totally dominated the scene and charts. But now, at last, you can see Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen, Chris Barber and The Big Chris Barber Band and Acker Bilk with his Paramount Jazz Band, performing together in this very special concert.

Read more: Legendary Jazz Bands At Swansea Grand Theatre

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Category: Music

England's most dynamic fiddle line-up are tuning up for a date in South Wales  on Easter Saturday (April 7th) on their 19th consecutive annual tour - fielding some of the most legendary names in folk, and a new addition.

"They look like geography teachers; they play like angels!"

The flamboyant Feast of Fiddles - the fabulous fiddling sextet and their inventive backline - marked their "coming of age" last year and their yearly spring tours, which take in the Easter holiday, have become a highlight on the folk calendar. On Easter Saturday they will perform their only Welsh date of the tour in the converted church setting of Pontypridd's Muni Arts Centre. Tickets for the 8pm show, priced £19.50, are available on 08000 147111 or online at www.muni.rct-arts.org

Read more: Pontypridd In For Feast Of Fiddles