English National Opera fights 'absurd' plan to relocate to Manchester

English National Opera staged The Handmaid's Tale earlier this year

The English National Opera's boss has dismissed a plan to move out of London and slash its funding as "not doable".

On Friday, Arts Council England said it would axe the company's entire £12.6m annual grant from 2023, instead giving it £17m over three years - but only if it relocates, possibly to Manchester.

On Wednesday, the ENO's Stuart Murphy said: "I think we're going to be saying to the secretary of state tomorrow and to the Arts Council, 'We can definitely do levelling up, but that can only happen with a big London base.'"

He described the Arts Council's plan - which he only learned about a day before the announcement - as "absurd" and "insane".

The prestigious company is now campaigning for the decision to be reversed, and is supporting a petition set up by opera singer Sir Bryn Terfel, which has more than 16,000 signatures.

The ENO is currently based at the historic London Coliseum

Mr Murphy said he initially thought a move could be viable. "We then looked at the money over the weekend," he told BBC News.

"We spoke to people that the Arts Council hadn't bothered to speak to in Manchester, from across the opera world, and our staff - and it's just not doable."

One reason is because opera employs people with specialist skills, both on stage and behind the scenes, he said.

"These are skills that can't just be learned in the three years we've been given. These are people who've been in the company for 40 years. It takes a long time to train to be an opera singer. We can't just close down in one area and start in another."

Also, opera "requires fundraising on a pretty big scale", and Manchester has fewer sources of money - some of which have already been tapped by Opera North, which currently tours to Salford.

"So straight away you've got a situation which is really hard, to pull up the really deep roots of an opera company and just transport it," Mr Murphy said.

He claimed the Arts Council had not sounded out Leeds-based Opera North, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, or the new home he said ACE had earmarked for the ENO - Manchester's £210m new arts venue, Factory International.

Manchester's new Factory International venue is due to open next year

"This came as a complete surprise to them. It came as a massive surprise to us because our report card from the Arts Council says we're doing an amazing job," Mr Murphy said.

"It reminds us that one in seven of our audience are under 35, that a fifth of our singers are ethnically diverse, that our average ticket price is a quarter of that of a normal opera house and we give free tickets to under-21s.

"And we do these amazing things like ENO Breathe with the NHS that happen right across the country. So we've kind of done everything that was asked of us and more, even by the Arts Council's admission.

"So to just put in place a funding suggestion, which is half our funding level, 200 miles away, to happen in 20 weeks, is absurd."

Mr Murphy, who recently announced his departure as ENO chief executive, called on the Arts Council to carry out a strategic review of opera provision across the country.

He warned: "If they're not careful, they're going to dismantle an arts organisation that's been in existence for almost 100 years and is seen as a beacon for progressive work that's broken down preconceptions of opera."

The ENO is based at the London Coliseum in the West End and is one of two major opera companies in the capital, along with the Royal Opera.

The grant delivered by the Arts Council, using government money, accounts for around a third of its annual income.

The company took the headlines in a wider redistribution of arts funding after the Arts Council was told by the government to move millions of pounds outside the capital.

'Future is in their hands'

The Arts Council has said the ENO will not receive any funding after April 2023 if it does not relocate.

A spokesperson said: "We require English National Opera to relocate the core of their work to another part of England if they wish to continue to receive regular public funding from us.

"We raised Manchester as an option and English National Opera initially received that idea positively. English National Opera's future is in their hands - at this early stage we have announced our funding plans for the next three years, and now we hope to engage in detailed planning with them.

"This would involve English National Opera reshaping their business model and finding a suitable location outside of London."

ENO's bosses could face the decision of whether to move out of London and keep some public funding, or stay in the capital as a privately-funded operation.

"There definitely could be a private opera house in London. There's lots in the south-east already," said Mr Murphy, adding that the ticket prices would inevitably increase.

"Straight away you're talking £300-350 for your most expensive ticket. That is not what brings on new work, brings on talent, brings on the next generation.

"It over-caters to the same rich metropolitan middle class audience, and that's why opera is dying as an artform."

Manchester's Factory International said it had not been contacted by the ENO, and that the Arts Council had not suggested the ENO would move into its new building.

A spokeswoman said: "We would of course be enthusiastic to collaborate with ENO on appropriate projects that fitted both organisations' goals - which in our case would be on new works, not the traditional opera repertoire."