An English National Opera playlist

English National Opera: Coming to an as-yet-undisclosed location near you. Arts Council England’s decision to strip ENO of its subsidy in the latest round of funding has been a shock to the arts ecosystem in the UK. As Hugh Morris wrote in VAN last week, the approach of ACE appears to be: Fuck around and find out. 

ENO could move to another city, like Manchester, or become a touring company. Which I’m sure will delight the hundreds of musicians, stage crew, and back-of-house professionals who work there and live in and around London. Perhaps the Arts Council will use the money saved to invest in some new headphones for their Chair Nicholas Serota, who, when questioned about ACE’s chaotic treatment of the company on the BBC, complained that he couldn’t hear what he was being asked. I sympathize with the advice composer Thomas Adès gave to the ACE leadership via Twitter: “Resign and get help.” 

The situation is evolving. There has been an outpouring of support across the industry that appears to have had some cut-through into the wider media culture. Stuart Murphy, CEO of the company, managed to secure a meeting with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport, Michelle Donelan. 

ENO’s future is uncertain; its past is rich. The company was established in 1931 by Lilian Baylis, manager of the Old Vic and Sadler’s Wells theaters in London. She had staged opera at the Old Vic in an effort to bring a different audience to the art form. The Sadler’s Wells Opera Company set up shop in Clerkenwell and toured nationally; it became English National Opera after moving to the London Coliseum in the 1970s. Baylis gives ENO’s extensive educational program its name. This achieved international recognition for ENO Breathe during the pandemic, which brought operatic breathing techniques to long COVID patients. 

The name “English” describes a geographical and linguistic remit. The company has always performed opera in English translation, and championed work originally written in English. In 1945, ENO was responsible for the creation and premiere of Benjamin Britten’s “Peter Grimes,” a work that launched his career as an opera composer and re-launched opera in English—in sad abeyance since, well, Purcell. Since then, ENO has been a keen advocate for new work in English, including pieces by John Adams, Philip Glass, Nico Muhly, Tansy Davies, and Julian Anderson. This season sees premieres of works by Jake Heggie and Jeanine Tesori.