A free exhibition marking Welsh National Opera’s 80th anniversary has gone on display at Wales Millennium Centre, giving visitors a backstage view of the company’s orchestra, chorus, soloists and production teams. Installed in the upper foyer on the right of the entrance area, the show runs until Sunday 26 April 2026 and is open from 9am to 5pm, as well as during performances.
Photographer Jon Pountney was given extraordinary access during the first year of leadership under co-General Directors and CEOs Adele Thomas and Sarah Crabtree, turning his camera toward the work that usually happens out of sight. He had no prior experience of opera, which he said let him approach the form with fresh eyes, experimenting with long exposures, multiple exposures and defracting lenses to suggest movement in still images.
Pountney said he had known Thomas for more than 25 years and asked to document the pair’s first year in charge, adding that he was surprised when they agreed. He said the chorus had nicknamed him “Lord Snowdon,” described being beside the stage during performances as “absolutely thrilling,” and called opera something he believes is for everyone.
The exhibition reflects that idea with photographs that look past the finished performance and into the craft that makes it happen. In a city where Wales Millennium Centre already draws large audiences, the show offers a rare chance to see how WNO’s musicians, singers and backstage teams work together to bring a production to life.
The timing matters because WNO is using its 80th year not just to look back, but to make the case that opera still belongs in public view. Pountney said the exhibition celebrates “more than a milestone,” and that it invites people to look closer at the people, the process and the power of opera to move, surprise and belong to everyone. That is the argument the pictures make, too.
