 The company 's first few seasons attracted little attention from the British musical establishment , but by the early 1950s London papers began to take notice . Picture Post hailed the WNO 's chorus as the finest in Britain . The Times also praised the chorus : " It has body , <unk> , rhythmic precision , and , most welcome of all , <unk> and spontaneous freshness . " By this time the company had expanded its repertoire to take in Carmen , La traviata , Madame Butterfly , The Tales of Hoffmann , The <unk> Bride and Die <unk> . The Times commented that Smith , Owen and their colleagues were " making history for Wales . The <unk> of <unk> , which had kept this country from an art @-@ form perfectly suited to its national talents and <unk> ( for <unk> and dressing @-@ up are as natural to the Welsh as singing ) had been broken for ever " . 
