 The company 's traditional preference for the Italian repertoire was partly <unk> during the decade : productions include WNO 's first staging of a Richard <unk> opera , <unk> , in 1978 . A new Welsh work , Alun <unk> 's The Beach of <unk> , was presented in 1974 . In 1975 , in co @-@ production with Scottish Opera , WNO began a cycle of <unk> operas , directed by David Pountney . Beginning with <unk> , the cycle continued with The Makropoulos Case ( 1978 ) , The <unk> Little <unk> ( 1980 ) , <unk> <unk> ( 1982 ) and From the House of the Dead ( 1982 ) . 
