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Post by Someone in a tree on Feb 9, 2016 21:09:35 GMT
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Feb 10, 2016 1:04:31 GMT
I do wonder if opera in its current form has to die, in order to be reborn.
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Post by Someone in a tree on Feb 11, 2016 12:44:13 GMT
Good point
I think ENO need a dramatic restructure to survive instead of silly thinking around the edges
Become smaller scale ie Opera North or Welsh National Opera and in a smaller venue - Sadlers Wells, Hackney Empire etc And ditch the silly language policy - one size does fit all
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Post by firefingers on Feb 17, 2016 8:55:36 GMT
The most recent issue of Private Eye has an article stating that the Arts Council may want ENO to fail, as they would become the owners of the London Coliseum which could be quite a money spinner for them.
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Xanderl
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Not always very high value in terms of ticket yield or donations
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Post by Xanderl on Feb 17, 2016 9:00:20 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2016 10:29:05 GMT
I would go to the ENO far far more often if it weren't stupidly expensive, and I'm sure I'm not alone. There must be an economic case for reducing prices and selling more tickets rather than having a load of empty expensive seats, surely?
I know they do the secret seats and all that, but you have to be on the ball to get them and I rarely am. Ditto heading for TKTS to get a reduced seat - who has the time to do that after work?
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Post by Someone in a tree on Feb 17, 2016 16:39:52 GMT
Totally agree Abby. The pricing is stupid and does encourage people to book through the book office but to wait for the discount , which just makes the product look cheap
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Post by Jon on Feb 17, 2016 17:13:18 GMT
The most recent issue of Private Eye has an article stating that the Arts Council may want ENO to fail, as they would become the owners of the London Coliseum which could be quite a money spinner for them. I'm sure there would be interest by one of the major theatre owners to acquire it
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Xanderl
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Not always very high value in terms of ticket yield or donations
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Post by Xanderl on Feb 26, 2016 14:49:34 GMT
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Post by Dawnstar on Feb 26, 2016 15:57:30 GMT
Given they're threatening to skip the first act of an opera by the famously minimalist Philip Glass I can't help wondering if many people will actually notice their absence?!
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Post by Phantom of London on Feb 28, 2016 23:24:37 GMT
I would go to the ENO far far more often if it weren't stupidly expensive, and I'm sure I'm not alone. There must be an economic case for reducing prices and selling more tickets rather than having a load of empty expensive seats, surely? I know they do the secret seats and all that, but you have to be on the ball to get them and I rarely am. Ditto heading for TKTS to get a reduced seat - who has the time to do that after work? It must help that the ENO venue is less than 5 minutes walk from TKTs and they advertise on their website what shows are available, so it is less hit than miss, it's not like you have to go to Sadler Wells or Southbank Centre, which is a considerable distance. who wants a big theatre today? They can't even put a full artistic programme into the mighty London Palladium.
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Post by DebbieDoesDouglas(Hodge) on Feb 29, 2016 14:16:35 GMT
The Chorus (and Orchestra) have an Oliviereriverer award nom! For Best Somethingorother
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Post by Someone in a tree on Mar 1, 2016 6:30:13 GMT
ENO generally get all the awards but ...
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Post by mjr on Mar 2, 2016 16:36:40 GMT
Well its my first post on the new forum, sad to see the other go!
Those complaining about ENO prices, where are you buying from? Yes there are some expensive seats on sale but at every performance there are hundreds of seats available for £25 of less.
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Post by Coated on Mar 22, 2016 23:41:31 GMT
Things aren't getting any better at the ENO. The Music Director has resigned due to management decisions. The tweet by Jack Malvern posts a copy of an email send to staff explaining why.
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Post by Honoured Guest on Mar 23, 2016 15:50:37 GMT
At least ENO is now spared a bust-up over planning between its new Artistic Director and its Music Director!
It's a pity that Mark Wigglesworth wasn't prepared to adapt to reality - Maybe such necessary flexibility should be more rigorously assessed when interviewing and assessing applicants for senior roles in public arts companies.
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Post by Coated on Mar 24, 2016 0:28:36 GMT
Wouldn't it be lovely if those stringent tests were applied to Board Members and Executive Directors to ensure that they are capable of running an arts organisation?
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Post by Honoured Guest on Mar 24, 2016 11:07:07 GMT
Wouldn't it be lovely if those stringent tests were applied to Board Members and Executive Directors to ensure that they are capable of running an arts organisation? Without the actions of the Board and Executive, ENO would have gone bust by now, or in the imminent future, putting all those little Chorus members out on the street for twelve months a year instead of just for three.
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Post by partytentdown on Mar 29, 2016 11:25:12 GMT
I'm not much of an opera buff, could anyone give me a bullet point summary of the ENO's problems?
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Post by Phantom of London on Apr 10, 2016 21:01:03 GMT
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Post by Phantom of London on Jul 15, 2017 1:27:52 GMT
I hope finances and internal strifes is the ENO has abated, with Bat Out of Hell and Carousel adding to their coffers. Part of their massive expenditure is the upkeep and operating the iconic London Colesium, so last night I was at the Barbican viewing a very good Tempest and it struck me that the theatre is very under used and probably the symphonic hall is too, so why not give the Colesium back to commercial use and move in the occasional successful show if possible, the why not use both theatre and symphonic hall for their artistic programme, killing 2 birds with one rock their?
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Post by firefingers on Jul 15, 2017 16:18:18 GMT
They got their government funding returned to the old level so they should start doing much better.
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Post by joem on Jul 16, 2017 14:06:52 GMT
I'm supporting the ENO by buying tickets to see productions I want to see (eg A Midsummer Night's Dream) at top prices without looking for any discounts etc; this is I think the way to support arts organisations. Many people who sign petitions have never even been to the place they want to preserve.
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Post by Mr Snow on Jul 16, 2017 20:45:42 GMT
I'm supporting the ENO by buying tickets to see productions I want to see (eg A Midsummer Night's Dream) at top prices without looking for any discounts etc; this is I think the way to support arts organisations. Many people who sign petitions have never even been to the place they want to preserve. We have the same policy but I have to wonder if its just sentiment for an organisation that we love and have got so much of our love of Opera from...in the past. in hte rest of my life I look for the best value option. Once upon a time when we were young the ROH had no surtitles and did strictly 'traditional' productions. Today both houses have surtitles and do a mix of mainly modern but some traditional productions. Even though we pay face value tickets at both houses, they are massively subsidised and I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that there isn't enough distinction between them, to support two Opera houses in London. I fear for me to change my mind ENO needs to find a new vision.
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Post by tonyloco on Aug 18, 2017 9:45:10 GMT
I just posted this on the ENO New Season thread but now realise it should have been posted here.
From an email received this morning from WhatsOnStage
English National Opera's new season opens at the London Coliseum next month with a striking new production of Verdi's Aida. Set in Ancient Egypt, it is a timeless story of love and betrayal against the backdrop of war. A roller coaster of emotions told through Verdi’s powerful music, this is opera on a grand scale.
28 September – 2 December 16 performances Tickets from £1380 – £143.75 Sung in English, with surtitles projected above the stage
I don't want to cheapen the discussion about the future of ENO but if those are their prices for the new season then there will be no future for ENO! I guess that's a typo but hey, who knows?
Seriously, having been attending ENO since 1960 when it was Sadler's Wells Opera, I believe the most disastrous decision they ever took was moving to the Coliseum. In my opinion they should go back to operating in a smaller venue and maybe the wonderful Hackney Empire would restore the ethos of when they were in Rosebery Avenue, or perhaps the Barbican Theatre. But, having said that, history tells us that in the late 1950s the company was on the verge of financial ruin and it was only the summer seasons of 'The Merry Widow' starring June Bronhill and several other operettas at the Coliseum that saved the company from bankruptcy at that time. So moving out of the West End into a smaller theatre may not be the answer, but staying in the Coliseum is not the answer either, certainly not artistically and it seems not financially either.
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Post by tmesis on Aug 19, 2017 10:54:42 GMT
I just posted this on the ENO New Season thread but now realise it should have been posted here. From an email received this morning from WhatsOnStage English National Opera's new season opens at the London Coliseum next month with a striking new production of Verdi's Aida. Set in Ancient Egypt, it is a timeless story of love and betrayal against the backdrop of war. A roller coaster of emotions told through Verdi’s powerful music, this is opera on a grand scale. 28 September – 2 December 16 performances Tickets from £1380 – £143.75Sung in English, with surtitles projected above the stage I don't want to cheapen the discussion about the future of ENO but if those are their prices for the new season then there will be no future for ENO! I guess that's a typo but hey, who knows? Seriously, having been attending ENO since 1960 when it was Sadler's Wells Opera, I believe the most disastrous decision they ever took was moving to the Coliseum. In my opinion they should go back to operating in a smaller venue and maybe the wonderful Hackney Empire would restore the ethos of when they were in Rosebery Avenue, or perhaps the Barbican Theatre. But, having said that, history tells us that in the late 1950s the company was on the verge of financial ruin and it was only the summer seasons of 'The Merry Widow' starring June Bronhill and several other operettas at the Coliseum that saved the company from bankruptcy at that time. So moving out of the West End into a smaller theatre may not be the answer, but staying in the Coliseum is not the answer either, certainly not artistically and it seems not financially either. I've more or less given up on ENO, whereas looking back, and taking an average year, (2016) I went to ROH 22 times (12 operas and 10 ballets.) I've seen one really good opera there in recent years and that was Die Meistersinger, which, incidentally, was one of the best opera performances I've ever seen anywhere, but even that was basically a tarted-up WNO production. God knows I've seen some awful productions recently at ROH but there have been some wonderful things too. At ENO, because of the lack of funds, cheap skate production are the norm, with occasionally more 'lavish' fare when they go for a 'stunt' choice of director like Terry Gilliam. Vocally it's usually pretty mediocre. I used to go to virtually everything there in the late 70s and 80s and 90s. It's amazing to think that then they fairly frequently used to attract singers of the calibre of Valerie Masterson, John Tomlinson, Bryn Terfel, Ann Murray, Felicity Lott, Thomas Allen, Josephine Barstow, Janet Baker...
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Post by tonyloco on Aug 19, 2017 16:39:29 GMT
OK. Here's the solution: Return the Coliseum to full commercial use. ENO move to a smaller theatre where the operas sung in English can be heard and understood without surtitles just as they used to be at Roseberry Avenue when it was the Sadler's Wells Opera. Obviously the whole ENO company needs to be restructured but as the 'English' National Opera (as it says on the tin) and not a direct competitor to the Royal Opera, which is London's international opera company. Maybe I am seeing s golden past through rose-tinted spectacles but I can clearly recall some bobby-dazzlers at Rosebery Avenue in the 1960s and 70s like 'Orpheus in the Underworld', 'Carmen', 'La traviata', 'The Flying Dutchman', 'Iolanthe', 'Cinderella', 'Il trovatore','Oedipus Rex', etc (listen to the EMI recordings of highlights from some of these for confirmation of the high musical standards). Surely the underused Barbican Theatre would be worth serious consideration for the new home of ENO in its revised form?
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Post by tmesis on Aug 20, 2017 8:38:55 GMT
Some good suggestions there tonyloco. A smaller venue would make more sense for all Mozart's operas, the Coliseum and the Garden are too big for these core repertory masterpieces, not to mention Gluck, Monteverdi and Handel, the latter being one of the few composers ENO have excelled at. Regarding audibility of words, particularly when singing in English, I think this is just a generational thing and has little to do with venue size. Years ago, at the Coliseum, words were very audible for I would say around 80% of a performance when ENO were on, even from the balcony. Singers from an earlier generation enunciated properly. When a really great singer like Janet Baker was performing you could hear every word. A few years ago I went to a modern opera (can't remember what, but it was a premiere) and this was just before surtitles were introduced, I made out one word in the whole performance, which bizarrely was 'cephalopod'! Contrast that with a performance about 30 years ago given by WNO at the Dominion Theatre of Das Rhinegold (in English) and sitting on the back row of the stalls , n this barn of a place,I was able to hear 90% of the words.
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Post by bellboard27 on Aug 20, 2017 10:11:28 GMT
A few years ago I went to a modern opera (can't remember what, but it was a premiere) and this was just before surtitles were introduced, I made out one word in the whole performance, which bizarrely was 'cephalopod'! The challenge of a cephalopod-based aria. When I was a kid I fell in love with a squid Then as I grew I as attracted by the charms Of an octopus who had me in its arms But when I matured it was my dearest wish To enter matrimony with a cuttlefish Yes, life would have been quite odd Without a lovely cephalopod
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Post by tonyloco on Aug 20, 2017 12:33:07 GMT
Some good suggestions there tonyloco. A smaller venue would make more sense for all Mozart's operas, the Coliseum and the Garden are too big for these core repertory masterpieces, not to mention Gluck, Monteverdi and Handel, the latter being one of the few composers ENO have excelled at. Regarding audibility of words, particularly when singing in English, I think this is just a generational thing and has little to do with venue size. Years ago, at the Coliseum, words were very audible for I would say around 80% of a performance when ENO were on, even from the balcony. Singers from an earlier generation enunciated properly. When a really great singer like Janet Baker was performing you could hear every word. A few years ago I went to a modern opera (can't remember what, but it was a premiere) and this was just before surtitles were introduced, I made out one word in the whole performance, which bizarrely was 'cephalopod'! Contrast that with a performance about 30 years ago given by WNO at the Dominion Theatre of Das Rhinegold (in English) and sitting on the back row of the stalls , n this barn of a place,I was able to hear 90% of the words.
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