Never before has a Friday evening felt more like a Monday morning. Picture 50+ young adults in a giant opera studio spending their evening, amongst other things, running, rolling, shouting, jumping and singing. The Welsh National Youth Opera is in session!

This brief yet upbeat ice-breaker of a rehearsal was the first in a 6 month schedule that will finally lead to the performance of Kommilitonen!, an opera centred around three separate stories of students who fight against prejudice, racism, oppression and genoside. 

Learning how to bark orders at your loyal followers was a new experience for some of the cast. Likewise, learning how to follow meaningless and mundane orders was equally challenging for a conductor such as myself. These ranged from “kneel on the floor and pray” to “prance like a pony… Do it seriously”. It was an interesting test of human obedience and dominance. 

Needless to say, the next 6 months will be eye opening, action packed and extremely exciting as I yet again experience something completely different. Roll on #WNOKom