Welsh National Opera Appoints Adele Thomas and Sarah Crabtree as Joint General Director & CEO

Renowned Opera and Theatre Director Adele Thomas and visionary Creative Producer from The Royal Opera, Sarah Crabtree will jointly take up the role of Welsh National Opera's General Director & CEO from January next year. 

Adele and Sarah say “We are passionate exponents of the power of opera; the impact of the raw, unadulterated voice, its profound liveness and its dedication to scale that enables us to tell the great stories of our time. WNO holds a unique position within opera: the Company sprung out of the national passion for exceptional singing. We will aim to lead the Company to a place where it stands with confidence and pride alongside the finest international houses and companies as an innovative, accessible and highly visible powerhouse of opera. We want to bring a new, diverse audience to opera in Wales and beyond, whilst respecting and nurturing WNO’s existing loyal audience. We have a shared commitment to transformational change and a drive to nurture the artform of opera to its next stage of development, particularly given the challenges that the industry has faced in recent years. At the heart of our philosophy, is a deeply held belief in the democratic spirit in which WNO was founded and still holds today: that opera is for everyone.”

Since directing her first opera in 2017, Adele Thomas has firmly established herself as a major force in opera and passionate advocate of the artform and has a specific interest in campaigning for support for directors from lower income backgrounds. As well as opera directing, Adele has directed many theatre productions including for Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London and was Project Associate on National Theatre Wales’s community project The Passion.    Plans were already in place for Welsh born Adele Thomas to direct WNO’s new production of Verdi’s Rigoletto which premieres at Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff this September before touring to Llandudno, Plymouth, Oxford and Southampton. 

Sarah Crabtree is Creative Producer and head of Linbury Theatre (opera) at The Royal Opera House where she is responsible for curating a programme of bold and accessible opera as well as overseeing the research & development of new work at the cutting edge of the form. Sarah is a major ambassador for the artform, communicating the relevance of opera today with audiences, funders and government and is passionate about working in collaboration across the creative industries. Sarah also drives the Royal Opera’s equality, diversity & inclusion agenda.

Chair of WNO’s Board, Yvette Vaughan Jones said “I am delighted that Adele and Sarah will be joint Co General Directors and CEOs of WNO. They are the future, and they understand the possibilities of opera for the future generations. Their vision for the future of the Company is incredibly exciting. They understand exactly what is needed to take WNO forward and the next steps the opera industry needs to take, particularly in the complex and challenging environment we are currently operating in. I would also like to take this opportunity of thanking our Interim General Director, Christopher Barron, for all his hard work since joining the Company. Chris will remain with us until the end of September.”