A number of opera houses in the United Kingdom have released a joint statement calling for the Arts Council England (ACE) to develop an opera strategy, in conversations with audiences and colleagues across the industry. The statement said, “The boards of the Royal Opera House, Glyndebourne Opera, Opera North, the English National Opera, English Touring Opera, and Welsh National Opera are {…}
The English National Opera has announced that it will receive funding from the Arts Council England following negotiations and months of protest. The company said, “the English National Opera are pleased to confirm that, following negotiations with Arts Council England, the organization is to receive £11.46m of National Lottery funding for the next financial year, starting 1st April 2023. This {…}
Nadine Dorries is supporting the English National Opera after the Arts Council England cut all its public funding. The former culture secretary took to Twitter and called the ACE’s withdrawal of funds a stunt” and said “it was shocking, lazy, and politically motivated.” She said, “I’ve topped The Stage 100 for moving ACE funding out of London to regions of {…}
The English National Opera, one of the largest British operatic institutions and a famous international opera stage, is going through hard times now. After several years of poor economic performance and the recent resignation of its CEO, ENO has lost its £12.6 million core annual funding from Arts Council England starting next year. Instead, the opera house was proposed to {…}
Photo: © Lloyd Winters Unlike ballet, which has “The Nutcracker” as a festive staple, there aren’t very many Christmas operas. “La bohème” opens on Christmas eve, and there is invariably snow, but yuletide is hardly the subject of the opera. ENO were scheduled to perform John Adams nativity oratorio “El Niño” during lockdown, but it sadly got canned. Along comes {…}
Photo credit: ENO 2022 © Tristram Kenton Gilbert and Sullivan have become English National Opera (ENO) staples. Jonathan Miller’s much-revived radical “The Mikado” in the ’80s provided the template: serious singers and serious comedy. In recent years cultural heavyweights like Mike Leigh have created productions for the company. The last two shows—“Iolanthe” and “HMS Pinafore”—were directed by Cal McCrystal, most {…}
Peter Gelb has written an open letter to the Arts Council England via Telegraph following the council’s decision to cut funding from the English National Opera. In the letter, the Metropolitan Opera General Manager said, “The Arts Council’s decision to cut funding entirely for the English National Opera (ENO) and tell the company to move to Manchester (Letters, November 19) {…}
Sir Bryn Terfel Jones, CBE has begun a petition against the Arts Council England’s decision to cut funding from the English National Opera. The petition is directed at the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Michelle Donelan who announced the decision on Nov. 4, 2022. The petition says, “We call on the Government to radically rethink removing the {…}
Following the final performance of “Tosca” on Nov. 4 at the English National Opera, soloists protested the Art Council England’s decision to cut its funding. The soloists took to their bows all wearing “Choose Opera” t-shirts. The symbolic bow came a few hours after the Arts Council said it would not give the ENO its annual fund of £12.6 million. {…}
The English National Opera has lost its £12.6 million core annual funding from Arts Council England. The news comes as the arts council announced its funding for the next three years which focused on moving funds outside of Central London. Instead, the ENO will receive £17m over three years to “develop a new business model” and has suggested it will {…}
The English National Opera has announced that Stuart Murphy, current Chief Executive of the ENO and London Coliseum, will leave the company in September 2023. Murphy’s five-year contract comes to an end in April 2023 but he will remain in his post until September to allow for a smooth transition. The company said that it will start looking for Stuart’s {…}