The decision by the orchestra and chorus of English National Opera to take strike action in protest over proposed cuts is desperately short-sighted, and could prove terminal for the beleaguered company.
It is an entirely understandable cry for funders and management to rethink their position, but it is naïve to believe that any more money will be put on the table to rescue the situation. The strike is scheduled to begin on February 1, the opening night of The Handmaid’s Tale, and the only losers will be the audience – on whose support ENO depends.
As a result of Arts Council England’s appallingly handled funding round, for which heads have not yet rolled, directed by the government’s instruction to move funding out of London, ENO was among the finest opera and contemporary music companies which were needlessly penalised. ENO was told to stop performing at the London Coliseum and find an out-of-London home; however, further negotiations enabled it to continue in London on a more limited basis, while producing a potential but so far extremely vague partner for regional growth in Manchester.
This sleight-of-hand was perceived by many as a rescue package, but it did not begin to solve ENO’s underlying financial issues which have now surfaced with brutal clarity. A shortened London season requires a significantly reduced contract for performers, and 17 jobs are proposed to be lost from the orchestra. The lack of clarity on what the Manchester base will offer, and how far that will even involve full-scale opera with chorus and orchestra, means that guarantees cannot yet be given for that future work.
The Musicians’ Union are saying that this would be the first full strike for their members since July 1980. That very unhappy period, which saw the cancellation of Proms concerts, was in response to the BBC’s far larger package of swingeing orchestral economies across the UK. The result of intense negotiations back then was a reworking of the proposals which saved the landmark BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra but lost several smaller ensembles and saved necessary money.
ENO itself has not been subject to strikes since the 1970s, when it was renegotiating working arrangements in view of the move from Sadler’s Wells to the much larger, more complex Coliseum. Then, management, department heads and some performers kept the shows going. Will it happen again?
There is still scope for discussion: it is perfectly possible to imagine a different configuration of orchestral players, chorus members and technical staff based on a clear artistic vision for ENO. But that would require the partners around the table to work together and to accept as a starter that the present funding model is unsustainable and that things must change. Theatres, venues, ensembles, and musicians all around the country are having to adjust to the reality that inflation, the cost-of-living crisis, the need to repay Covid debts, and the bleak situation with European touring post-Brexit are all having on the marketplace.
It is heartening that the Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Thangam Debbonaire, promises that increased funding for the arts would be her priority in a new government. But that is not going to happen overnight. If ENO is to maintain its rightful, much-needed place as the UK’s most accessible, high-quality, popular opera company, it needs the hugely talented musical and technical workforce to work actively with management to craft a solution. If there are no performances, and no audiences to sustain crucial support for ENO, it will only have itself to blame if it fails.
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