Welsh National Opera are doing their utmost to cut through preconceptions of the stuffiness of opera with this fun-filled new work which takes us into a South Wales mining community in the 1950s.

Although never named, the town is facing the tragedies we know hit those communities so hard. They have recently lost a group of men in a pit disaster and now they are facing the possible closure of their pit and the potential break-up of their community. Faced with the men’s low morale, the women of the town decide it is time to bring back music and encourage the miners to re-form the male voice choir.

The group is actually termed a glee and named the Bethesda Glee which one can’t help but believe is largely due to the fact it gives writer Emma Jenkins the chance to make countless jokes about the Bee Gees jokes which just keep coming.

The production brings together Jenkins and director Caroline Clegg, the team who brought us the riotous Rhondda Rips It Up! five years ago and there are clear similarities in the two. Not least because, despite this story ostensibly being about the men, it is actually the women who are the motivators and pushers here.

Rebecca Evans is a delightful Miss Nerys Price who introduces us to the story with a twinkle in her eye as she lets on ‘and I’m the love interest!’ She is also the woman who encourages the choir, ensuring they go from an idea in people’s heads to a team competing in the annual Eisteddfod.

Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts is the troubled choirmaster Mr Dafydd Pugh who carries the weight of the community on his shoulders and yet finds joy and hope in the choir.

The tale may be set against a backdrop of tragedy and depression but it is a fun-filled trip as the choir forms and then sets out with a steely determination to take top prize. In order to do so, there are some zany scenes in which they set out to kidnap a yodeller from another town and attempt to eavesdrop on the judging panel with one choir member disguised as a table laden with afternoon tea!

And alongside the story, the production is a celebration of the male voice choir and its role in society. It is lovely to see the WNO chorus taking centre stage as members of the Bee Gees, giving them the opportunity not only to belt out some great anthems but also to take acting roles so we see them as individual choir members.

As part of the celebration of song, the production team have also been keen to link with local choirs who have been invited to sing both in the foyers before the production and in the auditoriums alongside the WNO chorus across the tour. In Birmingham we heard the City of Birmingham Male Voice Choir, which brings together members of the Canoldir and Icknield MVCs, in fine voice.

Composed and arranged by David Hackbridge Johnson, the music is a whirlwind of opera, jazz, yodelling and a touch of swing with rhythms reminiscent of the fifties. Madeleine Boyd’s designs are also nostalgia-laden taking us into the local community centre, a tent at the Eisteddfod and a communal men’s shower room but also reminding us of the horrors of the pit when the men go underground and its role at the heart of the community as its head wheel looms over the community.

There is so much to like in this production and within its silliness there is a strong message, how people can come together through song and friendship to build stronger and more resilient communities. Blaze of Glory! may be a tale laden in nostalgia but it is a message as much for modern times.

Four stars

Reviewed by Diane Parkes at Birmingham Hippodrome on Saturday 6 May. For information on upcoming Welsh National Opera productions, visit: