Arts-loving boss makes operatic overtures to business leaders

Pendine Park’s owner is spearheading a major new campaign to rid opera of its elitist image and reach out to communities in Wrexham and Flintshire.

Mario Kreft MBE, from Wrexham, has signed up to be Welsh National Opera’s (WNO) first Community Champion – and he’s aiming to persuade other business leaders to follow suit.

According to Mr Kreft, WNO needs to attract private-sector funding to continue developing its dedicated community programme working with theatres and other local partners in schools, with community choirs and with people of all ages across the region.

The arts-loving entrepreneur hosted a special event at Venue Cymru in Llandudno showcasing the talented singers aged from seven to 14 who are involved in WNO’s Youth Opera in North Wales.

Among the guests were Culture Minister Lord Dafydd Elis Thomas and company bosses from North Wales and Cheshire.

Pendine Park, which employs more than 800 people in eight care homes in Wrexham and Caernarfon, has won numerous awards for the way in which it uses the arts to enhance the life of its residents and staff.

Mr Kreft said: “I am proud to have become Welsh National Opera’s first Community Champion because my wife, Gill, and I have always embraced the arts and understood the importance music and performance when it comes to the general well-being of our residents and staff.

“It’s fair to say the arts provide a golden thread running through everything we do and, for a number of years now, we have been involved with Welsh National Opera who have worked with residents and staff in delivering performances across our homes.

“We particularly value the work Welsh National Opera does in the community, particularly with children and young people and we want to encourage other like-minded business to get involved.

“It’s vital we offer young people the opportunity to get involved with the arts. It’s not just about the genre of opera but also about giving young people opportunities so to widen their horizons.”

“Welsh National Opera is world-class in terms of the performances they deliver but there is so much more important work going on in communities across North Wales that we perhaps don’t know enough about.”

It was a sentiment endorsed by Lord Dafydd Elis Thomas who said the quality of work produced by Welsh National Opera was exceptional but that they could not rely solely on funding from the public purse.

He said: “I hope to see many more business leaders following Mario Kreft’s lead by getting involved and supporting the work of Welsh National Opera in the future.”