ENO ‘in talks with 10 areas’ on new base

English National Opera is in talks with a total of 10 towns and cities about establishing a new base outside London.

The organisation, which was controversially dropped from Arts Council England's National Portfolio in November, said discussions are taking place with areas including Hull, Newcastle, Birmingham, Nottingham, Truro, and Manchester, as well as the London Borough of Croydon.

As part of the funding decisions announced last year, ACE suggested ENO could potentially move to Manchester, offering it £17m over three years to relocate, prompting a backlash from the organisation and some MPs.

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Since then a deal has been struck for ENO to continue receiving funding of £12m for 2023/24 while discussions over its future continue.

Speaking in an interview with The Stage, ENO Chief Executive Stuart Murphy said discussions with Arts Council England are now more conciliatory.

He said that plans for a "different-shaped" company, which retains a significant presence at its current Coliseum home while also presenting work in "found spaces" and "more intimate settings" outside of the capital, are currently in development.

The new vision will see ENO present a mix of large-scale opera alongside work in more unusual settings, as well as in partnership with organisations and companies that are not traditionally focused on opera.

"Now it feels it could be a genuine partnership with the Arts Council – and it feels like there are loads of possibilities," Murphy said.

"We have pitched what we think the new ENO could be, a mix of opera in theatres outside London, opera in found spaces outside London and taking part with events that are not opera-based. A real eclectic mix of stuff, as well as really big opera in the Coliseum."

"In the new version of the ENO, the majority of our proscenium arch opera will be in the Coliseum and all the things we do outside London will not look like what we put on stage in the Coliseum – they will be different sizes, shapes, different art forms and we will be a lot more innovative.

"Undoubtedly, we will do more opera outside London than we do in London."

Murphy added that conversations are ongoing with ACE about how much money the company will need in the future to make its plans work.