Music Theatre Wales breathing ‘new life’ into opera at festival

An innovative outdoor performance blending music, animation and street art will appear at a Welsh festival this month.

Presented by Newport based community music charity Operasonic, Music Theatre Wales’ Street Art Operas aims to help audiences discover and enjoy opera.

The ten-minute performances will be free of charge and delivered in an accessible and innovative way.

Animation and street-art will be projected onto the external walls of The Place in Newport after dark, with music listened to on silent disco headphones.

Music Theatre Wales aims to breathe new life into opera, presenting it as storytelling in music that relates to the world around us, working with artists bringing new stories to the form.

Now in its second year, the Newport Live Act Fringe Festival (20-22 March) is produced by Tin Shed Theatre Co. and will be staged across six Newport venues in total.

The festival will spotlight bold, experimental and work-in-progress performances while celebrating the role independent spaces play in the city’s cultural life.

Michael McCarthy, Artistic Director of Music Theatre Wales, said: “People have preconceptions about how performances can be seen and heard. At Music Theatre Wales we constantly ask, what is Opera, who is making it and who is it for?

“We are delighted to be part of Newport Live Act Fringe and bringing these two works to fringe audiences to experience in such a new and exciting way, available for so many to witness and enjoy.

“Like all Street Art, these pieces tell stories about the time we currently live in, with strong social and personal messages at their core.”

Featured works

The street art pieces featured were created to tell relevant stories from a female perspective.

Out of Time by Claire Victoria Roberts, Giselle Ty and Lauren Orme, with music performed by Sinfonia Cymru, previously won Best Welsh Performance Film at Focus Wales 2025.

It is a darkly comic tale of an apocalypse in which nature reclaims its beauty and abundance. Instead of human destruction and depletion, plants and animals rebel against extinction, disrupting everyday life with colour.

The second work, Rahmat-Mercy-Trugaredd, is created by Amelia Unity, Eadyth, Sam Hussain and Jamie TC Panton. Vocals are by Eadyth, Sam Hussain and Richard Parry.

Inspired by Sufism and hip-hop culture, Rahmat-Mercy-Trugaredd reveals how creativity can be harnessed as a spiritual practice.

It follows Sana as she pushes back against cultural and societal restraints to explore her innate creativity and claim her place in the world.

In blending henna and graffiti-inspired visuals with powerful music, the work celebrates a journey of empowerment.

Featured artist in the piece, Sam Hussain, is a Newport based batik and mural artist, singer, songwriter and drummer.

Sam is passionate about improving wellbeing through mindfulness and creativity and increasing representation in the arts, saying: “It’s been such an amazing experience of growth and enlightenment working on this piece.

“Hopefully many will enjoy and benefit from seeing it. It feels emotional to be sharing it with the rest of the community. It feels incredibly meaningful to bring this work to Newport, a city rich in creativity and diverse voices.

“I’m excited for the audience to experience the emotion, music and visual storytelling that sits at its heart. I hope it sparks something powerful for women and girls, a reminder that their creativity, stories and cultural heritage are deeply valuable and deserve to be seen, heard and celebrated.”

Music Theatre Wales will bring Street Art Opera to Newport Live Act Fringe Festival this month on Saturday 21 March from 7pm – 8pm at The Place, Bridge Street, Newport.

For more information on Street Art Opera and Music Theatre Wales, visit their site here.