''Con Passionate'' is a Welsh-language television drama series, written by Siwan Jones and directed by Rhys Powys for S4C. The first two series were Teledu Apollo productions.

Plot

The main

plot Plot or Plotting may refer to: Art, media and entertainment * Plot (narrative), the story of a piece of fiction Music * ''The Plot'' (album), a 1976 album by jazz trumpeter Enrico Rava * The Plot (band), a band formed in 2003 Other * ''Plot' ...

of the series revolves around the consequences of a female singer, Davina Roberts (

Shân Cothi Shân Margaretta Morgan (born 25 October 1965), known professionally as Shân Cothi, is a Welsh singer-songwriter, television and radio presenter. Early life Cothi was born in Ffarmers, Carmarthenshire, the younger of two children of Dai and ...

), taking the

conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duti ...

role of the

male voice choir A men's chorus or male voice choir (MVC) (German: ''Männerchor''), is a choir consisting of men who sing with either a tenor or bass voice, and whose music is typically arranged into high and low tenors (1st and 2nd tenor), and high and low bass ...

, "Côr Meibion Gwili". The ghost of the previous male conductor, Walford, continuously haunts choir member Brian throughout series one and the final episode of series two.

History

The first series began on 2 January 2005 and continued every Sunday night at 9:00pm and was repeated on Tuesday nights with English subtitles, and had an eight-week run. The

rating A rating is an evaluation or assessment of something, in terms of quality, quantity, or some combination of both. Rating or ratings may also refer to: Business and economics * Credit rating, estimating the credit worthiness of an individual, c ...

s broke S4C's records for that year and due to its success it was then repeated in the autumn of that year every Saturday night at approx. 9:30pm with English subtitles. The second series began on 2 March 2006 and also ran for eight weeks. This was also a success and the show was given a higher budget which meant they could use CGI, provided by Cardiff-base
Dinamo Productions
The second series was repeated on S4C Digidol in the summer of 2007 and ran until the end of July. The first and second series were shown on S4C Digidol in the summer of 2008. Many people compare the series with other S4C dramas and describe it as being "a breath of fresh air in Welsh media". This set the standard for future S4C Welsh dramas such as ''

Cowbois ac Injans Cowbois ac Injans ''(Cowboys and Engines)'' is a Welsh language television drama written by brother and sister Jon Tregenna and Catherine Tregenna which was broadcast on S4C. The series was made by Teledu Opus, which later became Rondo Produ ...

''. The third and last series of 'Con Passionate' aired between October and December 2008.

Characters

*Alun ap Brinley: Ian *Toni Caroll: Glesni *

: Davina *Ifan Huw Dafydd: Pete *

Matthew Gravelle Matthew Ian Gravelle (born 24 September 1976) is a Welsh screen actor. Career Gravelle was born in Porthcawl. In 2003, Gravelle appeared in the BBC One drama series '' Holby City'' and was a regular in the acclaimed BBC Wales show '' Belongin ...

: Eurof *Rebecca Harries: Siân Eleri *Morgan Hopkins: Maldwyn *

Mark Lewis Jones Mark Lewis Jones (born 31 August, 1964) is a Welsh actor, whose roles include that of a First Order Captain Moden Canady in '' Star Wars: The Last Jedi'', a police inspector in BBC drama series '' 55 Degrees North'', a whaler in the film '' Ma ...

: Irfon *Sara McGaughey: Louise *

Siwan Morris Siwan Morris is a Welsh actress from Glynneath. Morris has appeared in various parts for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Morris' television roles have included Angie in series 1 and 2 of the teen comedy-drama series '' Skins'' (2007–2008), Ceri ...

: Llinos *

Steffan Rhodri Steffan Rhodri (born 1 March 1967) is a Welsh film actor, best known for portraying Dave Coaches on ''Gavin & Stacey'', Reg Cattermole in ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1'' and as the voice of Drippy in '' Ni no Kuni: Wrath of ...

: Andy *Huw Rhys: Craig *

Beth Robert Beth Robert is a Welsh television actress from Pont-rhyd-y-groes, Wales, who has worked in television since 1986. Her appearances in TV series, in Welsh and English, include ''Hinterland'', ''The Indian Doctor'' and ''Pobol y Cwm''. Early and pe ...

: Judith *Eiry Thomas: Helen * William Thomas: Glyn *Rhianydd Wynne: Eirlys *Nia Ann Davies: Gwenllian * Sara Lloyd Gregory: Ellen Wynne *Sion Ifan: Martin Davina Roberts is the main character of the drama, and she is the conductor of the male voice choir as well as a

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

from

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

. She is dedicated to her role as the conductor and works hard with her music. She is a talented musician and enjoys getting passionate and into the spirit of a piece of music, although sometimes she feels that the boys at Cwmgwili can't keep up with her high standards. Pete is one of the

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

es of the choir and has the chance to meet and get to know his long lost son, Simon. Because Pete has been living on his own for years and years, his girl friend, Dwynwen moving in with him at the end of the first series, doesn't always make him happy. Glyn is a

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

in the choir but also received the role of the "honourable secretary of the choir" ''(ysgrifennydd anrhydeddus y côr)''. His wife, Glesni, accuses him of being obsessed with the choir, and with numerous trips on the agenda he has little time for anything else. As a result of this, his wife goes to live with the caretaker, Maldwyn, and Glyn then refuses to talk to her. Ian is another one of the second

s in the choir. He has a failing marriage with Helen, and comes to the end of his tether when he discovers that she has been having an affair with Tony, and sends blood mail to Davina accusing Helen. Helen then discovers this and uses it as a

weapon A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...

in order to black mail him. Andy, another

, wants to become a professional singer "like

Bryn Terfel Sir Bryn Terfel Jones, (; born 9 November 1965) (known professionally as Bryn Terfel) is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly '' Figaro'', ''Leporello'' and ''D ...

", and gets an application form for the

Welsh College of Music and Drama , image_name = Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.jpg , image_size = , motto = , established = 1949 , type = Public , staff = , vice_chancellor = , students = 779 (2017/18) , undergrad ...

. Despite his many efforts to escape his job as a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

he fails until the second series when he decides to become an

interior designer Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...

. Eurof is also a second

, who despite his bardic talents, hasn't always had an easy life. His worst enemy, Siân Eleri, is one of his colleagues in his job as a Welsh teacher. But with Siân Eleri in an

asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea ...

getting over her drinking problems, things start to look up for him for a while.

Reception

Ratings

Awards

*Con Passionate won the award for the best drama at the

Celtic Film and Television Festival Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

Awards and the judges were "singing its praise". *Con Passionate won the prize for best soap/light drama at the 2007

Rose d'Or The Rose d'Or ('Golden Rose') is an international awards festival in entertainment broadcasting and programming. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) first acquired the Rose d’Or in 1961, when it was created by Swiss Television in the lakesi ...

awards. *Wendy Richards, one of the editors, won the award for best editor at

Bafta Cymru BAFTA Cymru (or BAFTA in Wales or WAFTA) is the Welsh branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and was founded in 1987.

. *The series has been nominated as Best Drama Series at the 2009

Bafta Cymru BAFTA Cymru (or BAFTA in Wales or WAFTA) is the Welsh branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and was founded in 1987.

awards, including Siwan Jiones as Best Screenwriter, Rhys Powys as Best Director (Film/Drama).

References

{{Reflist, 1

External links

S4C official site
2000s British drama television series 2005 British television series debuts 2008 British television series endings S4C original programming British drama television series Television shows set in Wales 2000s Welsh television series