Welsh National Opera
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 Welsh National Opera facts

• It began as a mainly amateur body and transformed into an all-professional ensemble by 1973
• In its early days the company gave a single week's annual season in Cardiff, gradually extending its schedule to become an all-year-round operation, with its own salaried chorus and orchestra
• It has been described by The New York Times as "one of the finest operatic ensembles in Europe"
• For most of its existence the company lacked a permanent base in Cardiff, but in 2004 it moved into the new Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay
• The company tours nationally and internationally, giving more than 120 performances annually, with a repertoire of eight operas each year, to a combined audience of more than 150,000 people
• Its most frequent venues other than Cardiff are Llandudno in Wales and Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool, Milton Keynes, Oxford, Plymouth, and Southampton in England
• Singers who have been associated with the company include Geraint Evans, Thomas Allen, Anne Evans, and Bryn Terfel
• Guest artists from other countries have included Joan Hammond, Tito Gobbi and Elisabeth Söderström
• Among the conductors have been Sir Charles Mackerras, Reginald Goodall, James Levine and Pierre Boulez
• The company has been led since 2011 by David Pountney as chief executive and artistic director