Arts budget cuts in England

[volcanohunter]

As part of a strategy to move arts funding dollars out of central London and into the regions, English National Opera has lost its primary grant and is considering moving to Manchester. However, funding for Glyndebourne and touring subsidies for Welsh National Opera will also be reduced. The Royal Opera House and National Theatre are also facing cuts.

"We're still going to be funding nearly 60 theatre organisations in the capital, and we're funding some new organisations in the outer London boroughs."

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-63512050

 

[Mashinka]

This is a wholly political move motivated by the present government's 'levelling up' strategy.  The timing is worrying as all government departments with the exception of Health and Defence are likely to be obliged to make savings of at least 15% in response to the current financial crisis, meaning the arts are likely to take an even greater hit in the very near future.

I am truly mortified to be saying goodbye to ENO.  It has been such an integral part of the London arts scene for decades and has given performances that have passed into legend such as the Goodall Ring Cycle and, my personal favourite, Janet Baker's Julius Caesar.  The Coliseum is the best theatre in London but I fear it's years of serving the arts must come to an end.  I predict of future of endless tawdry musicals, a worse fate than when it was a cinema.

It is worth remembering that almost a third of England's population lives in the south east, all having access to London's theatre scene.  London alone has a population of 9.5 million whereas the population of greater Manchester is 2.7 million.

Regarding Glyndebourne.  It does NOT receive any subsidy from the government - it is wholly self supporting.  Glyndebourne Touring Opera, a different entity, does receive a grant for its educational work so I assume that is what is being cut.  Standards at the BBC have been slipping for years, I wouldn't expect one of their arts correspondents to have any knowledge of the UK opera scene, but claiming Glyndebourne is subsidized is a real howler.

[Helene]

That is a huge shame: the single ENO performance I saw was a good as anything I saw at the Royal Opera, and I've seen some splendid things there.

I hope they can thrive in Manchester.

[volcanohunter]

3 hours ago, Mashinka said:

Glyndebourne Touring Opera, a different entity, does receive a grant for its educational work so I assume that is what is being cut.

That's a crying shame, since touring is clearly of a way of taking opera to places without their own opera companies.

(I grew up in an opera family, but the first opera I actually saw live was Hansel and Gretel in my primary school gymnasium, an educational project by a local opera company.)

[dirac]

3 hours ago, Helene said:

That is a huge shame: the single ENO performance I saw was a good as anything I saw at the Royal Opera, and I've seen some splendid things there.

I hope they can thrive in Manchester.

All they have to do is work out an entirely new business model. No sweat. I think they will manage, but at some cost.

Quote

"It will definitely survive, but we are slightly puzzled why they would reduce funding to an opera company that's doing all the things they need opera to do."

 

[dirac]

They cut off the Donmar Warehouse completely. What a colossally shortsighted move.

A few small companies like Ballet Black will get a funding boost, which is nice, but arts organizations in London are struggling as much as any. They need more money, not less.

Thanks for posting, volcanohunter.

[Helene]

Let no good deed go unpunished.

[volcanohunter]

Perhaps the assumption is that the Donmar Warehouse is better-positioned than some to compensate for the loss of government funding. 

13 hours ago, Mashinka said:

It is worth remembering that almost a third of England's population lives in the south east, all having access to London's theatre scene.  London alone has a population of 9.5 million whereas the population of greater Manchester is 2.7 million.

There's inevitable debate on whether state funding should be concentrated on major institutions or spread out nationally: the top six-seven orchestras vs. dozens of Shakespeare festivals throughout the country. It would be unreasonable to expect residents of Omaha to travel regularly to Chicago to attend the opera. No doubt the situation is quite different for residents of Portsmouth. Though I've met seniors who regretted that the Metropolitan Opera didn't do Wednesday matinees, because the journey home across the river to New Jersey was too long and difficult at night, and I suppose many residents of Portsmouth would say the same.

[Drew]

Graham Watts--specifically looking at the funding of dance companies by Arts Council England: 

https://bachtrack.com/news-arts-council-england-funding-dance-winners-and-losers-november-2022

[volcanohunter]

The Director of Music at Arts Council England explains its funding decisions, particularly as they relate to English National Opera.

"To take our investment in opera as an example, compared to other forms of music we have seen almost no growth in audience demand for traditionally staged ‘grand’ or large-scale opera, which is where most of our current investment in opera sits. That doesn’t mean our appetite for investing in, or ambitions for, the opera ecology of England are diminished in any way. We are confident there is appetite to enjoy opera: at different scales, reimagined in new ways, and on new stages."

https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/blog/investing-future-music

Edited November 13, 2022 by volcanohunter

[Mashinka]

That could be interpreted as he wants more self funded 'country house' style opera.

"Opera ecology": now there's a term I've never encountered before.

[volcanohunter]

She goes on to write: 

"In cash terms, despite reductions to English National Opera, Welsh National Opera and Glyndebourne, opera will still receive £30 million a year from the Arts Council - over 40% of our total investment in music. As part of our £65 million overall annual investment in music, we will also be increasing the amount we spend on classical music. Stated baldly, as cold hard cash, that represents an enormous commitment within our music portfolio."

I guess she's saying that because opera is expensive, the lion's share of government funding is going to a handful of organizations, and if they could somehow make opera less expensive to produce, there would be more money to go around.

Studies in the U.S. by the National Endowment for the Arts consistently show that opera has the smallest audience, about 2.2% of the adult population, compared to 3.1% for ballet and 8.6% for classical music concerts (and 16.5% for musicals), as of 2017. (However, the average opera-goer attends two operas per year, while the average ballet-goer goes once, and we can probably assume it's to see a Nutcracker.) So in those terms opera involves a lot of money spent on a small audience. Though to my mind 5.3 million is still a lot of people.

https://www.arts.gov/impact/research/arts-data-profile-series/adp-18

Edited November 13, 2022 by volcanohunter

[Mashinka]

On 11/13/2022 at 7:29 PM, volcanohunter said:

Studies in the U.S. by the National Endowment for the Arts consistently show that opera has the smallest audience, about 2.2% of the adult population, compared to 3.1% for ballet and 8.6% for classical music concerts (and 16.5% for musicals), as of 2017. (However, the average opera-goer attends two operas per year, while the average ballet-goer goes once, and we can probably assume it's to see a Nutcracker.) So in those terms opera involves a lot of money spent on a small audience. Though to my mind 5.3 million is still a lot of people.

I would be interested in what the figures are in the UK regarding the ratio of ballet to opera goers, I imagine the figures would be reversed here unless you include modern dance with ballet, though I know there is very little crossover between classical and modern audiences.  London has a number of fringe opera groups and they are very good indeed.  In the past year I've watched Fulham Opera, Holland Park Opera and Regents Opera, the latter only two nights ago in a stunning performance of Das Rheingold performed in the art deco splendour of the Freemasons hall just a stone's throw from ROH.  To the best of my knowledge there are no fringe ballet groups operating on the same semi permanent basis.  We also have the hugely popular country house opera companies that perform in the summer but there is no such thing as country house ballet.  All this leads me to believe opera is more popular here.  I worry about the demographics of the ballet in Britain.  Apart from the child friendly ballets, e.g.  Nutcracker, Cinderella, the regular audience is downright elderly and wholly white whereas a fair percentage of young people attend the opera and even a minority of non white patrons,  I have no answer as to why this is.  The make up of the audience in Paris is far younger for both art forms and that is reflected elsewhere in Europe.  I fear the fault rests in the British education system as with very few exceptions it is only independent schools that treat music seriously.  I doesn't bode well for the future.