Peter Morgan Barnes

Age: 55

Address:
43, St Catherine's Road
Baglan
Port Talbot
Wales. SA12 8AT.

Contact details:
pmorganbarnes@aol.com

Tel: 078 8288 9327

Website:
petermorganbarnes.com

From Port Talbot, Peter studied at Christ Church, Canterbury before beginning a
career in theatre as a writer and director in the early 1980s. He was artistic director
at Kent Performance between 1986 and 1993 initiating tours to Edinburgh, Vienna,
New Orleans and Ireland. In 1993 he moved to Ireland where he founded a theatre
programme to examine controversial parts of Irish history; he also began his career
as an opera director. During his time in Ireland he wrote 22 children’s plays before
moving back to Wales in 2006. Since 2002 he has worked as a librettist and opera
director; Peter also gives workshops and masterclasses in history, theatre and opera.
Below is a selection of opera productions he directed and libretti he has written.

OPERA:

The Beggar’s Opera, by John Gay. 2002. Down Opera Fringe.

Die Schauspieldirektor, by Mozart. 2002. Down Opera Fringe.

The Telephone by Gian Carlo Menotti. 2003. Down Opera Fringe.

Peter created his first pasticcio opera in 2004. How the Peace and Reconciliation
Money is Spent, which premiered at Stormont and continued to be performed in
Ireland, north and south, until 2007. Music by Donizetti arranged by Brian McKay.

Albert Herring by Benjamin Britten. 2004/5, featuring The Priests in key roles.
Castleward Opera.

Cosi fan Tutte by Mozart. 2005/6. Castleward Opera

Dr Miracle by Bizet. 2005/6. Castleward Opera

In 2005 Peter adapted a series of Purcell’s Welcome Odes to explore the downfall of
James II; Music for Regime Change was commissioned by Larne Opera Festival.
Musical director James Grossmith.
Opera Seria Project for Primary Schools. 2006. Live Music Now.

The Tailor's Daughter by Brian Irvine. 2007. WNO Max and Belfast Festival.
Conducted by Fergus Sheil

The Impostor. 2008. Peter's second pasticcio opera commissioned in 2007 is a re-
telling of Moliere’s Tartuffe in a loyalist housing estate. Commissioned by Live Music
Now and the University of Ulster, it toured extensively in Northern Ireland including
Maghaberry Prison. Music by Kurt Weill arranged by Fergus Sheil, conducted by
Richard Lewis. https://youtu.be/lGWx23cPZhU

The Flooding of the Plains of Gwaelod. 2009. This bilingual opera was
commissioned by the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Peter’s libretto was
set by three student composers .

Also in 2009 he created a youth opera about the Vikings for the University of South
Wales’s Summer School.

Gullion Tales by Brian Irvine. Belfast 2009/10. Lyricist for this song cycle.

Shelter Me From the Rain by Brian Irvine. Carlow 2010. Preliminary research.

Number Seven by Seán Doherty and Carlo Gebler. 2012. Olympics.

Ynys Gwydr; Island of Glass was his third pasticcio opera, a bilingual work
commissioned by the National Museum of Wales and Head 4 Arts, in 2012/13. Music
by Handel arranged by Dan Perkin. https://youtu.be/blOJqXIul7s

The Great Masque of the Ardes. 2014. Newtownards Borough Council commissioned
this work to celebrate the 400th anniversary of its incorporation by James I. Music
by Rachael McCabe and Colin McQueen.

The Archaeologist's Wife. Peter's fifth pasticcio opera was commissioned by The
National Museum of Wales and the University of South Wales in 2014/15 and will be
available online shortly. Music by Shostakovich arranged by Seán Doherty.

Lost in Space. This recent work was commissioned by the Folkestone Festival and
CYMA Architects in 2015, and explores assisted dying. Peter’s libretto was set by
Marianne Kelly. It will go into production in September 2019.

Llywelyn Fawr: Y Llew yn y Llun. This new opera commissioned by the National
Museum will be in Welsh and go into production in 2019. A sequence was performed
at the Eisteddfod Genedlaethol in 2017. Music by Handel arranged by Bernard Kane.

Sleeping Bodies. Commissioned by R-Space Gallery for the Linen Bienale in

Northern Ireland; Peter’s libretto is being set by Seán Doherty.

THEATRE:

Demetrius, Prince of Tuscany. 2004. The Daughters of Elvin and Ophaboom

Commedia dell'Arte Company. Writer and director.
Liberty, Strategy and the Use of Lemons. 2005. An exploration of the Battle of
Trafalgar. Residency at Ballyearl Theatre. Writer and director.

Childermas. 2006- 2009. A trilogy of plays for Newtownabbey Borough Council

dramatising the experiences of local people during the Troubles. Writer and director.

Tipu Sultan. 2011. An exploration of this famous Southern Indian King

commissioned by ArtsEkta. Writer and director.

Two Crabs in a Bucket, 2012. A collaboration between Ballymoney Museum and

Potchefstroem Museum in South Africa, this Olympics commission told the story of
an Irish athlete who won a gold medal for South Africa in 1912. Writer and director.

RESEARCH PROJECTS:

The Women's Suffrage Movement in Ulster. 2011. This project was part of the
centenary celebrations of International Women's Day. Funded by Belfast City
Council. Peter researched Ulster's vigorous campaign, collaborating with Dr Myrtle
Hill and Dr Margaret Ward the project produced an index of all primary source
material relating to the movement in the NI Public Record Office and Belfast Central
Library's Newspaper Archive. Outcomes included a suffragette mural on the Shankill
Road created by Rita Duffy.

Archaeological Excavation of Two Glamorganshire Sites. 2009-2012. Excavations

of Castle Field Camp in Lisvane and the British Fortified Residence on Mynydd
Margam were carried out by Time Trackers, an American media and archaeology
company, with supervision from CADW. Peter's role was to research historical
references to the sites from the early medieval period to the 18th century in primary
and secondary sources. He also researched archaeological reports of similar sites in
the vicinity. The research formed part of the company's submission to CADW to
secure permission to excavate these Scheduled Ancient Monuments. TV presenting
was also part of this brief.

Peter is currently completing his PhD with Swansea University.

Albert Herring 2004 and Ynys Gwydr 2013