Devised at a meeting in Cardiff, Wales, in 1943, the Welsh National Opera made its first performance a scant three years later with the piece Calalleria Rusticana at the Prince of Wales theatre in Cardiff. Over the years, the company -- eventually numbering around 250 -- would branch out from performances in English, in addition to becoming one of the busiest touring operas in the UK or in Europe. In 1973, the Welsh National Opera went fully professtional, and began to perform their operas in each piece's original language. In 2004, the W.N.O. took a permanent home, the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay. Their 2007 open house featured a performance of the opera, Carmen, but that was to also be the final year for musical director Carlo Rizzi. ~ Chris True, Rovi