Performers protest on stage over arts cuts
Welsh National Opera chorus members held a protest against funding cuts at the end of a performance in Cardiff on Saturday night.
The WNO announced last year that it was cutting back its spring tour in 2025 along with other measures due to "increasing financial challenges".
Chorus members displayed t-shirts and waved placards saying Save Our WNO during the curtain call for Marriage of Figaro at Wales Millennium Centre as the audience applauded and cheered.
Opera singer Elizabeth Atherton said that both the orchestra and the chorus have been protesting at performances since September.
"If WNO doesn't get some emergency funding, we are going to be left with a shell of a company," she said.
The Welsh government said additional job protection funding was provided to the Arts Council of Wales in December, with £755,000 of that funding allocated to the WNO.
In a statement, it said: "We recognise how important the arts sector is to our economy and the vital contribution it makes to our society, enriching our communities and inspiring future generations."
Video edited by Alex Knill
