I was asked to write the libretto for an opera on the theme of the Welsh saint Melangell by the composer Jules Riley, who had been very impressed by the church and its setting at Pennant Melangell. I chose to write it in Welsh and drafted what became Act II about her time in Wales and when that gained his approval wrote Act I about her time in Ireland at his request. I had in mind the limited staging facilities at the Tabernacl in Machynlleth, where there is lighting and back projection.
I am grateful to Hugh Parry (the Woolgatherer) for his advice on the English translation, and for his suggestion that it would perhaps best be performed as an oratorio.
Jules composed a considerable amount of the score before his untimely death. The first performance of the Melangell Overture was on 9 December 2023 in a splendid concert by Philomusica of Aberystwyth conducted by Iwan Teifion Davies.
A number of the arias could be performed as songs.
Mary Burdett-Jones January 2024