As Arts Council England attempts to rescue the beleaguered ENO, it struggles to salvage its own reputation, argues Nancy Durrant.
Somebody, somewhere, must want an opera company, right? That seems to be the thinking behind the latest agreement struck between ENO (fighting to stay alive) and Arts Council England (fighting to save face).
After ACE cut ENO’s annual funding from a cool £12.8m to a freezing zero in November last year, and demanded that it move to Manchester (much to Manchester’s surprise, and that of Opera North, which operates very effectively in the region ta very much), there was an outcry.
ENO fought back, and the latest news, announced this week, is that the opera company will now be able to apply for £24m in public funding between 2024-26 (they’ve already been handed £11.46m for 2023-24 to keep them alive, though this remains below what ENO got as a National Portfolio Organisation), “to support the ENO’s transition to a new artistic and business model with a primary base out of London, whilst they continue to manage and put on work at the London Coliseum.”...Keep reading on Evening Standard.
Somebody, somewhere, must want an opera company, right? That seems to be the thinking behind the latest agreement struck between ENO (fighting to stay alive) and Arts Council England (fighting to save face).
After ACE cut ENO’s annual funding from a cool £12.8m to a freezing zero in November last year, and demanded that it move to Manchester (much to Manchester’s surprise, and that of Opera North, which operates very effectively in the region ta very much), there was an outcry.
ENO fought back, and the latest news, announced this week, is that the opera company will now be able to apply for £24m in public funding between 2024-26 (they’ve already been handed £11.46m for 2023-24 to keep them alive, though this remains below what ENO got as a National Portfolio Organisation), “to support the ENO’s transition to a new artistic and business model with a primary base out of London, whilst they continue to manage and put on work at the London Coliseum.”...Keep reading on Evening Standard.