The English National Opera is facing upheaval after its music director quit suddenly over proposed funding cuts.
Martyn Brabbins announced his resignation on Sunday, saying proposals by management in the wake of Arts Council England “interference” would “drive a coach and horses” through the company’s artistic integrity.
“I cannot in all conscience continue to support the board and management’s strategy for the future of the company,” Brabbins, 64, said in a statement released by his management.
The organisation proposed on 13 October to axe 19 orchestral positions and employ its remaining musicians on part-time contracts after a loss of the company’s arts council funding, which sparked protest from the Musicians’ Union.
It follows a decision made by Arts Council England in 2022 that the ENO – based in central London – would lose all of its £12m funding unless it moved out of the capital. After public outcry from the music community, it was announced in July that extra money and more time had been found and that a new business model was being developed.
“While my feelings on this have been developing for some time, it reached its nadir this week, with the internal announcement of severe cuts to its orchestra and chorus from 2024-25 season,” added Brabbins, who has been ENO’s music director since October 2016.
“Although making cuts has been necessitated by Arts Council England’s interference in the company’s future, the proposed changes would drive a coach and horses through the artistic integrity of the whole of ENO as a performing company, while also singularly failing to protect our musicians’ livelihoods.
“This is a plan of managed decline, rather than an attempt to rebuild the company and maintain the world-class artistic output for which ENO is rightly famed.”
Members of the English National Opera take part in rehearsals at the London Coliseum— (PA Archive)
He continued: “I urge ACE [Arts Council England] to reassess this situation and recognise the devastating implications their funding decisions will have on the lives of individual musicians, as well as the reputation of the UK on the international stage.”
The ENO issued a statement on Sunday night, stating that the company is “surprised” by Brabbins’s “abrupt” departure.
“As a member of the ENO’s senior leadership, Martyn has been party to all key discussions at all stages and the extremely difficult decisions that have to be made by the board and management in constrained financial circumstances,” the statement said.
The ENO said it remains confident it can maintain a “substantial level of operatic work” despite the cuts.
“After nine months of negotiation with Arts Council England, the ENO has reached a position where we are confident we can maintain a substantial level of operatic work – as opposed to the original reality of total redundancy across the entire company (following Art Council England’s previous decision to remove the ENO as a National Portfolio Organisation in November 2022),” continued the statement.
The statement added that the ENO was “disappointed that Martyn has chosen to resign rather than support the company” and the “future of the ENO”.
A spokesperson for the Arts Council told The Independent in a statement shared on Monday (16 October): “We understand this is a challenging period of change for the English National Opera and its people.”
“While we do not get involved in the day to day running of organisations, or the contractual arrangements they make with their staff, we have said that we want our investment to build sustainable businesses that are able to offer well paid work for as many people as possible.”
“We have made it clear to the ENO that we do not have additional funding available to support them and other National Portfolio organisations facing financial challenges, and we have ensured that the Musician’s Union is aware of this reality.”
“We continue to work closely with the ENO to agree how they would use the £24 million grant available for 2024 to 26 to develop a range of activity linked to their move to a new base outside London, alongside their programme at the [London] Coliseum.”
