Mid Wales Opera has not been offered funding as part of Arts Council of Wales (ACW) 2023 Investment Review. While this round of funding sees 23 organisations receive funding for the first time, Mid Wales Opera, along with National Theatre Wales which were previously part of the Arts Portfolio Wales (APW), will not receive Arts Council support.

ACW has confirmed that, while it has increased funding across the arts, opera has experienced a £607,308 decrease in funding in this latest round. Previous APW organisations will now have six months to apply for Transition Support worth up to a quarter of their original APW 2023/24 sum in addition to their remaining funding.

In a statement, Mid Wales Opera chair Gareth Williams said: 'We are deeply disappointed and indeed shocked at the news that – after 35 years of staging remarkable opera across the length and breadth of Wales – the Arts Council has decided not to offer us multi-annual funding. Obviously, we will be considering our next steps over the coming weeks. This will, however, be a hammer blow for the young artists who gain invaluable career development opportunities from working with us, as well as to audiences in towns and rural communities who have few, if any opportunities to experience live opera.’

Mid Wales Opera, whose latest production of Berlioz's Beatrice and Benedict begins its tour on 13 October, seeks to cast half of its performers from artists under 30, with the support of young artists remaining 'at the heart of the company'.

Submissions for the 2023 Investment Review were invited earlier this year in response to ACW’s six principles: ‘creativity, widening engagement, Welsh language, climate justice, nurturing talent and transformation’. ACW described the Review as a ‘highly competitive process’ and noted that this round attracted a record number of applications, with submissions received from 139 eligible organisations.

Music organisations which have been successful in applying for multi-year funding as part of the 2023 Investment Review include Welsh National Opera, Operasonic and Music Theatre Wales.

ACW chief executive Dafydd Rhys described this round of decisions as ‘a very positive shift for the arts in Wales’ but acknowledged that: ‘The decision not to continue funding for some organisations will no doubt be much debated, which is something we welcome – however our Strategic Interventions will respond to any gaps created in relevant sectors as a result of our decisions.’

ACW's ‘strategic interventions’ aim to provide additional support to under-served areas or artforms. In relation to the music sector, these are set to include: a review of ACW’s ‘support for traditional music’ and the continuation of ACW’s partnerships to ‘support underfunded genres of music and creators’.