Mid Wales Opera will be launching its 2022/23 season at its Gregynog Garden Concert next weekend.

The Grade I-listed gardens of Gregynog Hall near Newtown will provide the perfect summer-backdrop for MWO’s annual Gala event on Sunday, July 24 . It begins at 5pm and continues into the early evening, allowing time to enjoy the grounds alongside a picnic interval.

MWO’s annual Gala event at Gregynog Hall is a highlight of their summer. It traditionally launches their season, with a long history of performing in the Music Room. Summer 2021 saw the event move into the grounds, to allow for social distancing and the benefit of an open-air environment. Audiences loved the alfresco experience so much that, this year they’ll once again enjoy live opera in the grounds of the 750-acre historic Gregynog estate.

Music Director and pianist Charlotte Forrest will lead MWO’s Gregynog Garden Concert. Charlotte has spent the last 15 years on the staff at Opera North and has worked with many of the UK’s most prestigious opera companies and festivals, including MWO.

The company’s Executive Director, Lydia Bassett, said “We are thrilled to launch our 2022/23 season and perform in the glorious Gregynog gardens. This year’s theme is ‘Fairy Tales’. With support from Colwinston Charitable Trust, the SmallStages tour in the autumn will be our one-act version of Montsalvatge’s rarely performed Puss in Boots (El Gato con Botas). Our MainStages tour in the spring is Humperdinck’s classic opera Hansel and Gretel, sung in English.”

Mezzo-soprano Stephanie-Windsor Lewis returns to MWO from the autumn 2021 SmallStages tour of Puccini’s Il Tabarro.

In MWO’s 33rd year, supporting young singers remains at the heart of the company, with a commitment to casting singers younger than 30 or less than four years out of training.

Hailing from north Wales is young Welsh Baritone John Ieuan Jones, who graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music in 2019, and young Welsh soprano Alys Mererid Roberts who played Polly in MWO’s 2019 production of Mrs Peachum’s Guide to Love and Marriage (their new version of John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera).

MWO’s Gregynog Garden Concert will take place at the front of the Hall with seating on the paths and lawns in front of the house - audience members are encouraged to bring a chair or blanket. Refreshments, picnics and accommodation are available to book directly with Gregynog Hall: www.gregynog.org / 01686 650 224.

Tickets are £16 (under 16s £5) and should be booked in advance online at www.thehafren.co.uk.