Left to right: Sarah Crabtree and Adele Thomas

Left to right: Sarah Crabtree and Adele Thomas

Photo: Charlie Clift

Changing Faces

WNO appoints co-leaders as General Director and CEO

Arts Professional
3 min read

Welsh National Opera has announced that ADELE THOMAS and SARAH CRABTREE will jointly take on the roles of General Director and CEO from January next year. 

They will succeed interim General Director CHRISTOPHER BARRON, who joined in January 2024 following the retirement of AIDEN LANG. Barron will remain with the company until the end of September.

Thomas has been directing opera since 2017, with recent productions at the Royal Opera House, Glyndebourne and Opernhaus Zurich. Her theatre work includes productions for Shakespeare’s Globe, Royal Court and National Theatre Wales.

Thomas has a specific interest in campaigning to support directors from lower-income backgrounds. She is a founding member of the advocacy group Freelancers Make Theatre Work and the presenter, writer, and producer of the podcast series GHOST SHOWS.

Crabtree is Creative Producer and head of Linbury Theatre at The Royal Opera House, where she is responsible for curating a programme of opera and overseeing research and development of new work. Before working at the Royal Opera, Crabtree was at Opera Holland Park from 2005 to 2016. 

Thomas and Crabtree said they were "passionate exponents" of opera's power.

"WNO holds a unique position within opera: the company sprung out of the national passion for exceptional singing," said the pair.

"We will aim to lead the company to a place where it stands with confidence and pride alongside the finest international houses and companies as an innovative, accessible and highly visible powerhouse of opera.

"We want to bring a new, diverse audience to opera in Wales and beyond, whilst respecting and nurturing WNO’s existing loyal audience. We have a shared commitment to transformational change and a drive to nurture the art form of opera to its next stage of development, particularly given the challenges that the industry has faced in recent years.

"At the heart of our philosophy is a deeply held belief in the democratic spirit in which WNO was founded and still holds today: that opera is for everyone.”

YVETTE JONES, Chair of WNO’s Board, said Thomas and Crabtree "understand exactly what is needed to take WNO forward and the next steps the opera industry needs to take, particularly in the complex and challenging environment we are currently operating in." 

Musicians at WNO are currently being balloted over strike action over plans to put the company's orchestra on part-time contracts with a 15% pay reduction. WNO proposed the changes to orchestra contracts as a cost-saving measure after its funding from Arts Council England was reduced by 35%.