Bristol is ‘really excited’ for the English National Opera to move to be permanently based in the city, but it looks likely it will move up north instead.
Bristol has formally bid to host the opera company, which has been told by its funders at the Arts Council England that it has to move out of London, in a bid to bring a bit of opera culture to the provinces.
While that demand and this year’s move out of the capital has been controversial in London, and among opera-goers, there has been no shortage of cities outside of London who have submitted bids to become the opera company’s new home.
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Liverpool and Manchester are the front-runners, but according to the opera company’s chief executive, Bristol, Birmingham and Nottingham are also in the running too.
Fans of the opera in Bristol shouldn’t start getting too excited just yet, because Stuart Murphy, the English National Opera’s outgoing chief executive, told The Guardian that while he didn’t want to ‘close any one of them down, but Liverpool and Manchester are really strong contenders’.
With the Hippodrome and the soon-to-open, but-massively-delayed-and over-budget Bristol Beacon being restored into a ‘world class venue for sound’, there would be a natural home for the ENO in Bristol, but the northern cities are bigger and with more of a cultural and venue offering already established.
Bristol was one of the cities included in a ‘long list’ from the 14 places that originally applied, and Mr Murphy said a shortlist of three cities would be announced at the end of May, with the winner decided later this year.
The ENO’s funding was cut to zero by the Arts Council last November, with the aim of diverting public funding for the arts outside of London. The opera company will still stage performances at the Coliseum in London - where it has been based for decades - but the Arts Council told opera bosses that if wanted Government funding to return next year, it would have to be based outside of London.
The Metro Mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham, has made a big pitch for the opera company to come to the north west, getting involved in a debate with critics in London who questioned whether anyone would actually go to watch the opera up north.
Liverpool or Manchester are said to be favourites because the Arts Council England are thought to favour a northern city, but Bristol is still in the running.
Mr Murphy told The Guardian there were ‘pros and cons’ with each of the five remaining contenders, with Liverpool a ‘strong contender’. “Manchester has loads to offer as well, as does Birmingham. Birmingham is enormous, they’re really excited for us to be there – as is Nottingham, Bristol.
“The type of ENO you’d get in Manchester might be very different to the type of ENO you’d get in Birmingham or Liverpool or Bristol or Nottingham,” he added.
One thing going against Manchester is that it already has an opera company based there - Opera North - while Liverpool has the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic symphony orchestra, so Bristol - where the biggest crowd for a music event on Saturday was the rugby crowd watching The Wurzels outside Ashton Gate - might still be in with a chance.
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