Blaze of Glory! review: ‘emphatically Welsh’ opera is perfectly pitched
This show tells the story of Welsh miners trying to raise spirits after a mining disaster

Blaze of Glory!, Welsh National Opera’s terrifically entertaining new production, is not – strictly speaking – an opera, said Rian Evans in The Guardian. Set in a Welsh Valleys community in the 1950s, it tells the story of a small group of miners who re-form their male voice choir to raise local spirits following a mining disaster. For her libretto, Emma Jenkins drew on real-life histories, and composer David Hackbridge Johnson used Welsh hymns as his cornerstones, while incorporating everything from jazz, pop and doo-wop to Gilbert and Sullivan and 19th century French choral works. Bowling along with “a warm, often suitably blazing, energy”, the evening becomes a “remarkable” testament to community spirit, and the restorative power of music-making.
It’s also “properly laugh-out-loud funny”, said Rebecca Franks in The Times, with “comic characters and capers, slapstick moments, amusing wordplay and almost too much innuendo”. The first half, especially, is “bliss”, said Alexandra Coghlan in The Daily Telegraph. Soprano Rebecca Evans is “irresistible” as the choir’s accompanist Miss Price, and is well matched by Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts as foreman and choirmaster Dafydd, the object of her determined affections. From Madeleine Boyd’s “just-homemade-enough” designs to the “magpie” score and the “tooth-achingly wholesome jokes”, the whole show is “pitched just right”. The second half “wanders” a bit plot-wise, with “more climaxes than a tenor’s cadenza”. But, all told, this is a big success: an “irrepressibly buoyant, emphatically Welsh brand of music theatre”.
Director Caroline Clegg’s staging “unerringly hits the precise tone for scenes alternating comedy with heartache”, while swerving sentimentality, said George Hall in The Stage. The leads are excellent, but the “undoubted” stars of the show are the singers of the “justly famed” Welsh National Opera Chorus. Augmented by members of local male-voice choirs, the “emotional charge” they bring to traditional hymns and folk songs is “utterly thrilling”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, then touring until 20 May (wno.org.uk)
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Succession planning as the Dalai Lama turns 90
In the Spotlight China 'determined to shape the narrative' around choice of Tibet's next spiritual leader
-
AI is creating a luxury housing renaissance in San Francisco
Under the Radar Luxury homes in the city can range from $7 million to above $20 million
-
How carbon credits could help and hurt the climate
The explainer The credits could be allowing polluters to continue polluting
-
The tourist flood in the Mediterranean: can it be stemmed?
Talking Point Finger-pointing at Airbnb or hotel owners obscures the root cause of overtourism in holiday hotspots: unmanageable demand
-
Thai fish pie with crispy turmeric potatoes recipe
The Week Recommends Tasty twist on the Lancashire hot pot is given a golden glow
-
Lovestuck: a 'warm-hearted' musical with a 'powerhouse score'
The Week Recommends Team behind the hit podcast My Dad Wrote a Porno have created a hilarious show about a disastrous viral Tinder date
-
Outrageous: glossy Mitford family drama is full of 'fun, fashion and froth'
The Week Recommends Adaptation of Mary Lovell's biography examines the scandalous lives of the aristocratic sisters
-
F1: The Movie – a fun but formulaic 'corporate tie-in'
Talking Point Brad Pitt stars as a washed up racing driver returning three decades after a near-fatal crash
-
Lost Boys: a 'sobering' journey to the heart of the manosphere
The Week Recommends James Bloodworth examines the 'cranks and hucksters' making money through 'masculine discontent'
-
6 productivity-ready homes with great offices
Feature Featuring an office with a gas fireplace in Oregon and a shared workspace with wraparound windows in Massachusetts
-
Critics' choice: Carrying the flag
Feature The best barbecue in town, Bradley Cooper's cheesesteak restaurant, and more