Play Opera Live: Shipwreck
Welsh National Opera
Cardiff Bay
★★★★★

WELSH National Opera took to the high seas to net the next generation of opera-goers with a children’s production that featured pirates and sea creatures.

The Play Opera Live production of Shipwrecked was the culmination of a afternoon of activities for children put on to entice parents and youngsters to love opera and boost attendances.

This was a stunning high-class production with top drawer singing from soprano Erin Rossington, mezzo-soprano Becas Davies, tenor Andrew Henley and the WNO chorus.

The children were captivated from the start as writer and presenter Tom Redmond embarked on a voyage to find a hidden island to join a dancing competition to beat the pirate queen.

No punches were pulled with the ambitious programme of music as we kicked off with Verdi’s Anvil Chorus as captain Tom and his crew readied their ship for the voyage.

The young audience and my two companions were captivated with the storyline and the music as Wagner’s overture from the Flying Dutchman saw captain Tom’s vessel hit by a storm.

Audience participation reached fever pitch as young chests were beaten in time with the music to recreate the booming storm.

But the production really took off when the ship fell to bits and the crew were in the water doing synchronised swimming to the Dance of the Cygnets from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake.

The children were enthralled and laughed out loud at the shenanigans of the swimming sailors.

When swimming under the water to try to find food the sailors were joined by giant fish and a lobster.

Skylar was very taken with this scene and said she really liked the way the fish and the lobster moved through the water.

Of course, a giant glitter ball was lowered over the stage as the sailors and pirates danced in the dance competition to find a new island champion.

The audience sung along with the sea shanties that accompanied the dances.

But what was really impressive was both the very young audience’s attention to the whole production, but how they also emotionally responded to Puccini’s music at the conclusion.

When two of characters married at the end of the story the arias were from La Boheme and Nessun dorma from Turandot. These are beautiful songs and the children were moved by both arias.

I asked Behati what her favourite bit was and she said that the whole thing was her favourite and couldn’t choose just one part.

The production tours until May 30 — wno.org.uk for details.