
Shoulder to Shoulder- Swansea City Opera
Libretto Brendan Wheatley
Composer Lenny Sayers
How do you beat loneliness? How do you learn to laugh again?
Funny, moving, and thought-provoking, Shoulder to Shoulder is an intimate chamber opera, made in partnership with Men’s Sheds Cymru, a charity that supports older men through loneliness, from the acclaimed company Swansea City Opera.
During Lockdown, Swansea City Opera collected the memories and stories of Men’s Shed Cymru members – “Shedders” – to create this joyful story of the power of friendship.
Shoulder to Shoulder has an acclaimed cast of singers and ensemble of musicians who’ve sung and played in world-famous opera houses, companies, and orchestras, including the Royal Opera House, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Welsh National Opera, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Soprano Jess Robinson who plays the role of Gwen is a BBC Welsh Cardiff Singer of the World 2022 finalist. Shoulder to Shoulder features the talents of a local community choir.
Opera is for everyone. Whether you’re an opera fan or new to opera, Shoulder to Shoulder promises to be an inspiring and uplifting evening out.
www.swanseacityopera.com
There has been a huge demand for the project. Swansea City Opera has launched a fundraising campaign through Local Giving to enable more people to participate in workshops and events.
Rhys – Dyfed Wyn Evans – baritone
Ioan – Robyn Lyn Evans – tenor
Gwen – Jessica Robinson – soprano
Dai – Aled Hall – tenor
Charlie – Mark Saberton
Clarinet & Tenor Sax – Rhys Taylor
Cello – Rhian Porter
Percussion – Harriet Riley
Musical Director & Piano – John Beswick
Supported by Arts Council Wales, Garfield Weston Foundation, National Lottery Awards For All Wales, Tŷ Cerdd, and the Friends of Swansea City Opera
Book a table for pre-concert dining
Acapela Studio provides pre-concert dining between 6.00pm and 7.30pm from our pizza oven. To view the current menu visit here.
Please purchase your concert tickets first before booking a table. We will not accept any table bookings that do not have a corresponding ticket purchase.
Then return to the event page to book your table, by selecting the date of your event, number of diners and time you require table. The times shown are the only vacancies left. Please complete your email and phone number as this is required to ensure your table is allocated. You will receive confirmation of your booking by email and text.
If on the date you have chosen no tables are available - no times will be shown and the booking system will revert you back to todays date - PLEASE ENSURE YOU BOOK THE CORRECT DATE!
PLEASE NOTE THE VENUE RELIES ON THE INCOME FROM DINING TO ENSURE WE CAN BOOK ALL THE GREAT ACTS PERFORMING.
Income from the provision of pizzas is very important to the venue and if you have booked a table it is a requirement that all people sat at tables order food - a salad alternative is available to pizzas. Please do ensure that all individuals will be ordering on your table - if this is not the case please cancel your table so others who are looking to dine can do so. Our apologies to raise this but recently we have had many tables (some very large) where less than 50% of those sat at tables have ordered food. Financially this is a real problem to the sustainability of the venue.
- All seating at tables must purchase a pizza - so please do not book a table if everyone is not eating.
- Please ensure that you arrive 10 minutes before the time slot allocated to order your pizzas prior to your booking time.
- Tables not seated within 15 minutes of the allocated time may be lost and allocated to other audience members wishing to order pizzas.
- If you wish to book a table for 6 or more please email info@acapela.co.uk
Please note that all of our pizzas are made fresh to order and cooked in an authentic wood-fired oven. It may take up to 45 minutes to be served during busy periods.
IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO BOOK A TABLE YOU CAN STILL ORDER PIZZAS ON THE NIGHT (USUALLY ON BUSY NIGHTS NO LATER THAN 7.15PM) AND WE WILL SERVE THEM TO YOU WHEREVER YOU ARE SAT IN THE VENUE - IN A PIZZA BOX.