OPRA Cymru has launched a £15,000 crowdfunding appeal to help stage Fflamau Penyberth, a new Welsh-language opera about the 1936 arson attack at the RAF “bombing school” near Pwllheli.
The appeal is backed by former Plaid Cymru president Dafydd Wigley and harpist Elinor Bennett.
The opera marks the 90th anniversary of the attack, in which Plaid Cymru members Saunders Lewis, Lewis Valentine and DJ Williams set fire to buildings at RAF Penrhos, on the site of the Penyberth farmhouse. The three later gave themselves up at the police station in Pwllheli and were sentenced to nine months in prison at the Old Bailey.
The opera has been composed by Anglesey-based Gareth Glyn, with a libretto by OPRA Cymru founder Patrick Young, from Llan Ffestiniog, with help from author and historian Arwel Vittle, from Caernarfon. It tells the story in three acts, opening with one of the three men in a prison cell and unfolding through flashbacks.
Patrick Young said: “Fflamau Penyberth will cost around £170,000 to produce and we anticipate a shortfall of around £15,000 which is why we’ve set up this crowdfunding appeal.”
Elinor Bennett, founder of the Harp College of Wales, said: “This is a worthwhile cause. It is an event I first heard about from my father who was at Caernarfon to welcome the three men after their release from prison.”
Dafydd Wigley said: “The arson attack was largely symbolic, they set fire to a hut which caused minimal damage, but it was very significant nonetheless.”
The world premiere will be at Neuadd Dwyfor, Pwllheli, on 19 November. The tour continues at Theatr y Stiwt, Rhosllannerchrugog (20 November); Pontio, Bangor (24 November); Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea (26 November); Memo Arts Centre, Barry (27 November); Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon (28 November); and Theatr y Werin, Aberystwyth (3 December), before a final performance at Neuadd Dwyfor, Pwllheli, on 5 December.
OPRA Cymru was founded in 2008 by Patrick Young, a former opera director of the Royal Opera House in London, and receives core funding from the Arts Council of Wales. Contributions to the appeal can be made through www.zeffy.com/en-GB/donation-form/fflamau-penyberth-yr-opra.
