The Welsh National Opera has announced its new general director and CEO team.

Internationally acclaimed opera and theatre director, Adele Thomas and creative producer for The Royal Opera, Sarah Crabtree will be jointly assuming the roles next January.

The pair have expressed excitement about leading the company.

In a joint statement, the pair said: "We are passionate exponents of the power of opera; the impact of the raw, unadulterated voice, its profound liveness and its dedication to scale that enables us to tell the great stories of our time."

Since making her directorial debut in 2017, Ms Thomas has firmly established herself as a significant figure in opera.

She has also directed numerous theatre productions, including plays at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London.

Plans were already underway for Ms Thomas to direct WNO’s new rendition of Verdi’s Rigoletto, which will premiere this September at Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff before a UK tour.

A leading ambassador for opera, Ms Crabtree is the creative producer and head of Linbury Theatre at The Royal Opera House.

She is responsible for curating bold, accessible opera programmes and spearheads the Royal Opera’s equality, diversity & inclusion agenda.

Yvette Vaughan Jones, chairperson of WNO’s board, said: "I am delighted that Adele and Sarah will be joint co-general directors and CEOs of WNO.

"Their vision for the future of the company is incredibly exciting.

"They 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."

Ms Vaughan Jones also expressed her gratitude to the outgoing interim general director, Christopher Barron, who will remain with the company until the end of September.

Welsh National Opera is the national opera group for Wales, offering large-scale opera, concerts and outreach across Wales and major cities in the English regions.

The company is determined to show future generations that opera is an inspiring, relevant art form with the power to impact and stir emotions.

Born in Port Talbot in South Wales, Adele Thomas has several accolades to her name.

She has been part of prestigious projects with Opera Zurich, Royal Opera House and Northern Ireland Opera.

Sarah Crabtree has served as a creative producer for The Royal Opera since 2017.

She has an extensive portfolio of spearheading world premieres and has played a significant role in fostering new talent and commissioning fresh work.

In line with her dedication to equality in the creative arts, Ms Crabtree founded Engender in 2019 - opera’s first network for women and non-binary people seeking transformative change in gender equality in opera.