14th February 2008
The Big Welsh Challenge has meant a lot of firsts for Colin - the first time he has sung on stage, his first experience of Welsh folk dancing, his first murder mystery and his first Welsh language interview. Now he's added to that list with his first trip to the opera.
Rebecca has been trying to persuade Colin to see a performance for the past year. Last night he finally accepted her invitation when he went to see her in the dress rehearsal of the Welsh National Opera's production of The Magic Flute.
The occasion took Colin back to the Millennium Centre in Cardiff where he and Rebecca met at the beginning of The Big Welsh Challenge to prepare for Colin's first task, singing Sosban Fach.
Rebecca gave Colin some expert tuition as he struggled to get to grips with the song.
Now it was Colin's turn to watch Rebecca as she sang the part of Pamina. "I thought it was brilliant," he said. "It was the ideal first opera to see because it was in English and there were surtitles. It was quite a quirky production."
Rebecca with Colin and his girlfriend Amy after the opera
And Rebecca was delighted that her months of persuasion have paid off. "It's amazing - I'm delighted and thrilled to see Colin here, especially as this is where we first met for The Big Welsh Challenge a year ago," she said.
So this might be Colin's first opera but will it be his last? "I would like to come again to see an opera in English," he said. "It makes it really easy to follow the plot. We'll just have to wait and see."
