The English National Opera (ENO) will receive an extra grant of £24m from April 2024 to March 2026 and more time to leave London, Arts Council England (ACE) has announced.
The ENO will now move to a base outside the capital by March 2029 – three years after originally envisaged. Before then, it will develop an artistic programme in its new city, while transitioning to a new business model that allows it to deliver a substantial opera season every year in the capital.
ACE said the longer timeframe would mean more stability, allow for consultation with staff, more work in London and more time for the ENO to develop partnerships in its new home.
The ENO was one of a number of organisations that were removed from ACE’s national portfolio, losing its £12.8m annual grant, and told it must move outside London if it wants to qualify for future grants. ENO officials had said the 100% funding cut would decimate the 100-year-old company, while many big names across the arts world called the decision a “simplistic move”.
Earlier this year, ACE announced it would invest national lottery funding in the company until March 2024 to sustain a programme of work at the ENO’s home, the London Coliseum, while helping the ENO start planning for a new base. ACE is investing £35.46m in the ENO between 2023 and 2026, with the aim that the opera company will be in a strong position to reapply for national portfolio funding by then.
Nicholas Serota, the chair of ACE, said: “As custodians of public money, the Arts Council has led a rigorous process that has carefully considered ENO’s application. The ENO has presented inspiring ideas to bring their excellent work to people beyond the capital and to explore a range of new ways of presenting opera, and we are investing £24m in the company over two years to help them realise these ambitions.
“The extended timeline for their transition to a new main base will enable the ENO to undertake this complex move and to develop partnerships in the new city. The Arts Council’s support for opera is unwavering, and we are excited by the ENO’s new plans and by the enthusiasm shown by the potential host cities.”
The chair of the ENO, Harry Brünjes, said it welcomed the investment and additional time, “which we believe will help us to successfully develop a new main base out of London, whilst maintaining a season at the London Coliseum”.
He added: “We are pleased that Arts Council England support the artistic plans we have proposed in tandem with our longstanding wish to engage with new audiences and partners around the country.”
Brünjes said the company’s most recent season at the London Coliseum was a huge success, and it now had the opportunity to build on that within London and from its new base.
The ENO has so far narrowed down its search for a new home to five cities. But last month, Liverpool leaders wrote to the arts minister, Stephen Parkinson, asking for assurances that the contest to host the ENO’s next home was “a level playing field” after reports that ministers were backing bids by Manchester and Birmingham as part of their devolution deals.
Lucy Frazer, the culture secretary, said: “The English National Opera is a treasured national institution and I welcome the agreement they reached with Arts Council England to ensure a smooth transition towards a new future for the organisation.
“I look forward to seeing the plans it develops to make sure more people across the country can experience its fantastic work.”
