Opera explores fallout from controversial Eisteddfod poem

The Eisteddfod crown-winning poem ‘Atgof’ sparked outrage in 1924 for its depiction of lust and same-sex romance – and a new opera receiving its first performance at this year’s Eisteddfod is set to explore the poem’s ongoing legacy some 100 years later.

Cancelled and reviled in the media, Edward Prosser Rhys had to face a storm of abuse in reaction to his poem Atgof winning one of Wales’s most prestigious cultural prizes.

The poem is extensively about sex, most often heterosexual but there is a short section about a gay experience.

It has been speculated that it could be about Morris T. Williams, a close male acquaintance of Prosser Rhys who at the time was married to Kate Roberts.

This was 100 years ago, but the shock and repulsion might just as well have been today, when voices daring to diverge from the norm are still met with resistance.

Challenging societal norms

Edward Prosser Rhys’s depictions of sex and lust and inclusion of a romance between two young men in his poem was a bold reflection of his reality, challenging the societal norms of his time – a time when homosexuality was still illegal, and would be for another 40 years.

Yet, it was the response of those who chose to both “rebuke and reward” his creative expression that truly highlighted the era’s complexities and biases.

Following the success of Abomination: A DUP Opera, Conor Mitchell has crafted an operatic exploration into the heart of societal upheaval, titled ‘Bwystfilod Aflan’.

The newly commissioned performance combines an operatic monologue performed by tenor Elgan Llŷr Thomas, and a reflective piece by dancer/actor Eddie Ladd.

‘Bwystfilod Aflan’ will scrutinise the societal shockwaves triggered by ATGOF, probing into the changes within the country, its retained secrets, and the undercurrents of modernism.

Through the lens of opera, dance and film, we witness the clash between enduring beliefs and the imperative for change, in an exciting and imaginative piece created in collaboration with and directed by Jac Ifan Moore and designed by Elin Steele.

Music Theatre Wales, Aberystwyth University Music Centre and Sinfonia Cymru, present this commission for the National Eisteddfod.

Bwystfilod Aflan will be performed at Theatr y Muni, Municipal Building, Gelliwastad Rd, Pontypridd, for the first time at 7:30pm on Monday 5 August as part of the Eisteddfod line-up.