Opera North Review 2011 – 2012
Welcome The snapshot of 17 months in the life of Opera North captured in this document conveys, I hope, something of the character of England’s national opera company in the North: outward-looking, enterprising, open to new ways of creating work and of engaging with audiences, and not bound by conventional categories. We are constantly challenging ourselves to explore what an opera company might look and feel like in the 21st century. During the course of the period in review in this publication, Opera North was responsible for 337 public performances in 28 different venues, and played to an audience of more than 237,000. That audience is broad, geographically and socially: we engaged with some 22,000 children, young people and adults in educational activities in communities across the North. But statistics tell only part of the story. We also hope in this brief review to give a glimpse of the richness, quality and abundant diversity of experiences provided by the Company, from Wagner to Rodgers & Hammerstein, from a community opera involving hundreds of people of all ages in Bridlington to an outstanding new recording of Beethoven’s complete works for piano and orchestra.
Dame Josephine Barstow as the Countess in The Queen of Spades (2011).
Since becoming Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Opera North in 2010 I have been enormously impressed by the Company’s dynamism and entrepreneurial spirit, the adventurousness and quality of its artistic output and the reach and depth of its community work. It is both a privilege for me to undertake this role, and at the same time a great responsibility, for Opera North occupies a special position in the cultural ecology of the nation, and particularly of the North, where what it provides is unique and probably irreplaceable. Together with my fellow board members, it is my responsibility to ensure that the Company operates within a resilient financial framework and that the business is sustainable. Opera North is and has been since its foundation heavily reliant on the public purse – opera is a very expensive business. In these times of austerity, the arts have suffered substantial cuts in government funding, and in the regions the effects of this have been compounded by severe cuts in local authority funding.
All of this was achieved against the backdrop of an increasingly difficult public funding environment. We are therefore more than ever grateful for the continued support of and confidence in the Company shown by Arts Council England and Leeds City Council, for the resourcefulness of Opera North’s permanent staff and our guest artists, for the strength of our partnerships with other organisations in the arts, education and business sectors, for the vital support of our corporate and individual supporters, and for the passion and curiosity of our audiences.
Opera North has been successful for many years now in attracting financial support from the private sector, and there has over the past year been a significant refocusing of the work of the Company’s Development department in order to draw in even more individual and corporate investment. It has never been more vital than it is now for those who believe in Opera North’s importance to the cultural and economic health of the region to invest in its future.
Richard Mantle
Derek Netherton
General Director
Chairman of the Board of Trustees
People At the heart of Opera North are its people – the Chorus and Orchestra, guest artists, technicians and administrators, who together comprise one of the largest, most vibrant hubs of artistic creativity in the country. The Company’s artistic foundation rests on passion, excellence and versatility. All told, Opera North employs more than 170 full-time staff, of which about half comprise the acclaimed twin ensembles of the Chorus and Orchestra of Opera North. Allied to these is a talented, dedicated and highly-skilled team of technical and administrative staff who, together, achieve an exceptional level of productivity and ensure that the breadth of the Company’s work is delivered to the highest professional standards. Beyond the permanent staff there exists a group of artists of international standing – singers, conductors, directors, designers, choreographers, film-makers, visual artists – with whom Opera North has developed regular relationships. They help keep us on our toes by sharing with us a diversity of fresh and inspiring artistic visions.
237,239 Total attendance nationwide of an Opera North show, concert, event
Jo Davies – A Director’s View Working at Opera North has been an incredible experience for me. As a company it’s a place that most importantly recognizes and embraces artistic potential. From young singers to new directors and creative teams – it’s a place that’s not afraid of risk. It’s also a company that wholly commits to, and supports, a director’s vision from the early stages of casting right through to the first night. Which is rarer than you might imagine! It’s something I remember being excited about when I first worked with the Company as an assistant in 1999. Working so closely with a director on casting is something a lot of international opera companies don’t quite manage to make time for, but it’s something that seems integral to Opera North’s detailed approach, and I think, contributes enormously to the success of so many of its productions. Add into the mix one of the most brilliant, pragmatic, adventurous, playful, and down to earth opera choruses in the world – and one is hard pushed to want to create work anywhere else!
Jo Davies
Director Ruddigore and Carousel
‘Opera companies that take risks, especially in times of austerity, are either foolish or brave. I’ll go for the latter. That’s why Opera North is always worth a visit.’ Andrew Clark, Financial Times October 2012
Left: The Orchestra of Opera North in rehearsal at the Howard Assembly Room at Opera North. Middle: Jo Davies in rehearsal for Carousel. Right: Victoria Simmonds as Pinocchio and Fflur Wyn as The Blue Fairy in The Adventures of Pinocchio. Bottom right: Fflur Wyn as Marzelline in Fidelio.
Tweet-talk with singer Fflur Wyn Fflur Wyn made her Opera North debut as The Mayor’s Daughter in The Pied Piper in 2006. Since then she has sung Papagena in The Magic Flute, Clerida in The Fortunes of King Croesus, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, Sophie in Werther, The Blue Fairy in The Adventures of Pinocchio, Flora in The Turn of the Screw and Marzelline in Fidelio.
What is it like to rehearse and perform with Opera North?
What or who inspired you to become a singer?
One of my favourite roles would have to be the Blue Fairy in Pinocchio. It’s every girl’s wish to have blue hair and wings and sprinkle fairy dust!
I come from a musical family and singing was always very important to me. My mother sang a lot when I was younger, so I loved listening to her.
What is your relationship with Opera North and how has this developed over the years?
Opera North has been very supportive since I was a student at the Royal Academy. The Company has nurtured me as an artist over the years.
I have so much respect for this Company – not only on a professional level, but on a personal one too. It really is like one big family.
You have sung some very differing roles with Opera North. Do you have a favourite?
Work Between April 2011 and September 2012, Opera North was responsible for 337 public performances in 28 different venues. From Gilbert & Sullivan to Janáček, from Rodgers & Hammerstein to Wagner, both the work itself and the audiences it attracted were enormously diverse. The Company produced 11 operas on the main stage, of which six were given in new productions. 13 new commissions included Cautionary Tales!, a new children’s opera by Errollyn Wallen and Pia Furtado based on Hilaire Belloc’s verses, and Beached, a community opera for Bridlington by Harvey Brough and Lee Hall. In the Howard Assembly Room at Opera North, over 100 music, film and performance events were programmed, alongside numerous activities for young people.
337
public performances presented by Opera North
‘Opera North has a fine record of presenting Broadway classics, and this new production does a rich piece of musical theatre great honour.’ Rupert Christiansen, Daily Telegraph on Carousel
‘...a triumph of scarcely imaginable proportions, one of the most completely successful experiences I have ever had.’ Michael Tanner, The Spectator on Die Walküre
‘Opera North has an impressive commitment to commissioning new work for young people. [Errollyn] Wallen’s piece joins Jonathan Dove’s Adventures of Pinocchio and Swanhunter among a growing corpus of child-friendly classics.’ Alfred Hickling, The Guardian on Cautionary Tales! 7
Community Opera North believes passionately that engaging with the arts can be a life-enhancing, and sometimes life-changing, experience for individuals and communities. More than 22,000 children, young people and adults engaged with Opera North through a wide range of educational activity, of which the following are just two examples.
Beached In 2009, Opera North received funding from Sing Up, the Music Manifesto’s National Singing Programme, East Riding of Yorkshire Council and Yorkshire Forward to run a large-scale programme of singing and creative activity in Bridlington. During the course of the programme, Opera North Education worked with over 2700 individuals, aged from 0–82.
22,000
number of children, young people and adults who engaged with Opera North
The Bridlington residency culminated in a large-scale performance of a specially commissioned work, Beached, at Bridlington Spa theatre. 400 members of Bridlington’s communities took part in this phase of the project, appearing alongside a professional cast of four opera singers and a small chamber orchestra.
‘From the children of Bay Primary School, to the community choir, the professionals, and the Mencap Music and Movement group, Beached really is a community celebration encompassing many walks of life[...] Opera North has achieved wonderful things in bringing such a special show to Bridlington.’ Alexa Copeland, Bridlington Free Press on Beached
‘It was the greatest feeling in the world. Knowing that I was working with professionals made me feel like a professional too. They were amazing. The first time we heard them sing my jaw was on the floor!’ Amy Wood (aged 16), who played the role of Sandra in Beached, on working with the professional cast.
2,700
Number of people who participated in community project Beached
Opera North Children’s Chorus Formed in May 2011, the Opera North Children’s Chorus is a thriving group of 90 children aged 7–13. Inclusive of children from all backgrounds, the Chorus has a performance life of its own in addition to providing children with the skills they need to perform in Opera North professional productions, such of The Queen of Spades. Meeting weekly under the expert guidance of Musical Director Justin Doyle and Vocal Consultant Rachel Staunton, it is the first focused, regular ensemble of its kind in the UK.
Far left: Members of the Opera North Children’s Chorus in The Queen of Spades. Left: Richard Burkhard (Dad) and Amy Wood (Sandra) in Beached. Above: The Dalai Lama meets members of the Opera North Children’s Chorus in Leeds, June 2012.
9
Audiences
‘We have supported Opera North since its first performances in 1978. For us, Opera North offers a broad and enriching range of artistic experiences of the highest quality. From the start we have enjoyed the Company’s main stage productions, appreciating the combination of mainstream repertoire and unusual pieces, many of which were new to us. Opportunities to enjoy a still wider range of the Company’s work have increased greatly with the opening of the Howard Assembly Room, which offers an extraordinarily wide range of work from song recitals to jazz to film and words.’ Audience members June and Tony Dobell
The quality, innovation and diversity of Opera North’s work engages audiences of all ages and backgrounds nationally and internationally, in venues large and small, and, increasingly, in the online and broadcast arenas. Opera North Review 2011 – 2012
Above: Staff Benda Bilili at the Howard Assembly Room at Opera North, September 2012.
Between April 2011 and August 2012 there were:
45
New attenders of an Opera North main stage production
66
Free events provided by Opera North
%
225 3,226 237,239 237,663 22.8 Million
Behind the scenes blogs, videos and podcasts
Mentions in the press Total attendance nationwide of an Opera North show, concert, event
Views of online content Listeners and viewers of Opera North broadcast airings
Partnerships Opera North’s impact and influence extends far and wide, at home and abroad, from Russia to New Zealand, through an extensive network of partnerships.
Opera North and Leeds City Council
Opera North and The Lowry
Chief Executive, Leeds City Council, Tom Riordan: ‘I believe that Arts and Culture are a key driver in the economic and social regeneration of our City of Leeds. Opera North is a jewel in our cultural crown and we enjoy a powerful partnership with the Company to make the enjoyment of opera and music available to the widest possible range of people. Along with our key cultural bodies, Opera North’s national and international reputation enables Leeds to make claim to being a truly European city such as Barcelona, Lyon or Milan.’
Artistic Director, The Lowry, Robert Robson: ‘Since the opening of The Lowry we have been delighted to welcome Opera North as one of our partner companies and we have forged a strong relationship which has created The Lowry as the home for opera and lyric arts in our region. Opera North’s reputation for innovation and high quality performances ranks it as one of the leading arts companies in the UK and we share a vision to see opera flourish at the very highest level for the benefit of the people of Salford, Manchester and the North West.’
Opera North and KPMG Richard Gabbertas, Partner, Financial Services, KPMG: ‘The combination of Opera North’s national and international reputation with its outstanding education outreach work, which complements KPMG’s own Business in the Community activities with local schools, represent a proposition in the North’s cultural landscape that KPMG and its clients absolutely feel they should be part of.’
Opera North collaborates with arts companies large and small up and down the country, with organisations in the business and education sectors, with local authorities, with broadcasters, with individual supporters and trusts and foundations, and with opera companies worldwide. During the period covered by this review, productions originated by Opera North have been performed at Vlaamse Opera in Belgium, at New Zealand Opera and at Moscow Children’s Opera. Here, some of our leading partners talk about what a relationship with Opera North means to them.
Top: Steven Harrison takes time off from performances of Fidelio to sing at Leeds City Markets, May 2011.
Opposite: OverWorlds and UnderWorlds, part of Leeds Canvas, May 2012.
Bottom: Amy’s Last Dive, Workshop Theatre, University of Leeds, June 2012.
28
number of venues at which Opera North appeared between April 2011 and September 2012
DARE: Opera North and the University of Leeds Vice Chancellor Professor Michael Arthur: ‘The DARE partnership is multi-faceted, and enables the University to associate with a world-class brand. Opera North has a reputation for being at the cutting edge artistically and for a University, being at the cutting edge is everything. What is especially pleasing to me is the way in which both organisations have really embraced the opportunities offered by the DARE partnership, finding lots of different ways to work together to our mutual benefit. There have been 108 projects, involving every faculty in the University, and almost every school, and these have included outreach, research, internships and placements. It’s a collaboration that has been of immense benefit in artistic and academic terms to both organisations.’ 13
Acknowledgements
Accounts The Accounts Summary highlights the fact that Opera North is highly dependent on financial investment from the public sector with over 65% of the Company’s income provided by Arts Council England and Leeds City Council. Whilst, in the past, this has contributed significantly to the resilience and stability of the Company, the current curbs to public expenditure present us with fresh challenges in operating under a new investment regime which will inevitably see the revenue balance shifting towards the private sector, in terms of earned and contributed income. Nevertheless, we are confident in our ability to maintain the breadth, quality and innovation of the Company’s artistic, education and community programmes in these increasingly straitened circumstances. Over the last financial year (ending March 2012) the Company managed to balance its books, although it is does not carry cash reserves to set aside against future financial vicissitudes.
Whilst we have continued to advocate the value of public investment in the arts ... we have also been energetic in seeking funds from the corporate sector, from trusts and foundations and from individual donors. Opera North’s dependence on funding from the public purse remains high. With cuts in public expenditure set to be a fact of life for the foreseeable future, we are forced to make difficult choices about our selection of repertoire, the number of performances we provide and the geographical reach of the Company’s activities. Whilst we have continued to advocate the value of public investment in the arts – which represents just 0.1% of central government spending – and the contribution that the arts make to the nation’s economic and spiritual well-being, we have also been energetic in seeking funds from the corporate sector, from trusts and foundations and from individual donors.
Philanthropy plays an increasingly important role in the funding mix, and over the past five years we have more than doubled our contributed income thanks to the generosity and vision of many of our supporters, notwithstanding the fact that this task remains far more challenging in the regions than it is in London.
Opera North gratefully acknowledges the support of all the organisations and individuals who generously support the Company’s work. The Future Fund The Patron’s Initiative Friends of Opera North Opera North Fund The Ring Fellowship
Despite the adverse economic and trading conditions, box office revenue has remained fairly stable at around 20% of total income. Stability of public funding is essential for generating confidence amongst potential supporters of the arts in the private sector. It is vital therefore that public funding is not cut to a degree that threatens our long-term sustainability and therefore impairs our ability to fundraise privately in the short term. This is a point we will continue to press vigorously.
Corporate Members
Principal Partner
Corporate Sponsor
Corporate Members
Year to 31 March 2012 Total income Arts Council England grant Local Authority Grant (LCC & WYG) Box office & related income Sponsorship & fundraising Production/rental income Education and Projects Howard Assembly Room
James Hare Ltd
£’000 10,060 964 3,532 1,538 219 141 154
60.5% 6% 21% 9% 1.5% 1% 1%
Trusts & Foundations
Major Supporter
16,608 Total expenditure
£’000
Staff costs Overhead costs Production costs Opera performance costs Education and Projects costs Concerts costs Marketing costs
6,992 1,248 1,122 5,632 637 315 662
16,608
42% 7% 7% 34% 4% 2% 4%
The Liz and Terry Bramall Foundation
A&S Burton 1960 Charitable Trust
The Holbeck Charitable Trust
Sir John Fisher Foundation
The Whitaker Charitable Trust
The Kertes Foundation
The Hobson Charity Limited
The Bernarr Rainbow Trust Charles Brotherton Trust Carr-Ellison Family Charitable Trust The John S Cohen Foundation The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust The Kenneth Hargreaves Charitable Trust The Hedley Denton Charitable Trust
Hull and East Riding Charitable Trust The Idlewild Trust The Linden Charitable Trust The Sir James Reckitt Charity The Steel Charitable Trust The Charles and Elsie Sykes Trust 15
Photographic Credits Tom Arber (Orchestra of Opera North in rehearsal p4; Ganapati p6; Five Truths, Robert Glasper p7; Staff Benda Bilili pp10-11; OverWorlds and UnderWorlds p13). Clive Barda (Fidelio p5, Das Rheingold, Die Walküre p6; Madama Butterfly, Richard Farnes p7). Bill Cooper (The Queen of Spades p7). Fotofilia (The Girl I Left Behind Me, p6). Simon Hulme/Ross Parry Agency Ltd (Steven Harrison at Leeds City Markets p12). Malcolm Johnson (Amy’s Last Dive, p12). Tristram Kenton (The Queen of Spades pp2-3; Giulio Cesare in Egitto p7). Alastair Muir (Jo Davies in rehearsal p5; Carousel p6; Norma p7). Ross Parry Agency Ltd (The Dalai Lama with members of the Opera North Children’s Chorus p9). Brian Slater (Beached p6, pp8-9). Jonny Walton (The Gambler, Tcha Limberger p6; John Smith, O Let Me Weep p7). Robert Workman (The Adventures of Pinocchio p5; Cautionary Tales!, Ruddigore p7).
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