English Touring Opera (ETO) is an opera company in the United Kingdom founded in 1979 under the name Opera 80 by the then-existing Arts Council of Great Britain. In 1992 the company changed to its present name. Today it is sponsored in part by

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council o ...

as well as receiving support from individual and corporate sponsors, plus trusts and foundations. The company aims to bring high quality opera to areas of England that would not otherwise have ready access to such productions. From 2002 its director was James Conway, who came from the Opera Theatre of Ireland. It was announced in January 2022 that he was stepping down, and his successor was revealed in March 2022 as Robin Norton-Hale.

The company

Opera 80 itself became the successor to Opera For All,"Opera 80", ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', at Oxfordmusiconline.com an "umbrella organization" which had planned tours by small groups which performed to piano accompaniment. David Parry became music director in 1983. ETO is a charitable organisation which seeks to stimulate access, understanding and appreciation of opera. The company has always presented operas in English and it currently tours twice each year to more venues than any other opera company in the UK, going to about 33 theatres, many of which would not normally host opera performances.About ETO
at englishtouringopera.org.uk These include London, Cambridge, Exeter, Poole, Cheltenham, Malvern, Crawley, Sheffield, Wolverhampton, Buxton, Durham and Perth. It is estimated that the Spring 2012 tour included "nearly 50 gigs". As James Conway notes: :"One of the great new challenges is to show audiences that what we offer is different from the essentially passive experience of cinema relays – to point out how the ''actual'' live experience of listening and looking is incomparably better". In Britain's economic climate of 2012,

grants have increased by about 50% since 2002Thicknesse, pp. 71–72 and "English Touring Opera....will receive £1,577,015 in 2012/13, rising to £1,819,244 in 2014/15. This is expected to allow the company to sustain its current level of touring over the coming year, then to increase its programme of activity from 2012 onwards."

Productions

Artists

Singers whose early careers began with ETO often return to perform again with the company after their careers have developed further. Singers who have performed with ETO include Sarah Connolly, Mary Plazas, Sylvia O'Brien, Todd Wilander, Jonathan Veira, Paul Nilon, Alison Hagley and Susan Gritton. Amanda Echalaz has starred in productions of ''

Così fan tutte (''Women are like that, or The School for Lovers''), Köchel catalogue, K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written ...

'', ''

Alcina ''Alcina'' (Händel-Werke-Verzeichnis, HWV 34) is a 1735 opera by George Frideric Handel. Handel used the libretto of ''L'isola di Alcina'', a work set to music in 1728 in Rome by Riccardo Broschi, which he had acquired a year later during his t ...

'', ''

Eugene Onegin ''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' (, Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: Евгеній Онѣгинъ, романъ въ стихахъ, ) is a novel in verse written by Alexander Pushkin. ''Onegin'' is considered a classic of ...

'' and ''

Jenůfa ''Její pastorkyňa'' (''Her Stepdaughter''; commonly known as ''Jenůfa'' ) is an opera in three acts by Leoš Janáček to a Czech libretto by the composer, based on the Play (theatre), play ''Její pastorkyňa'' by Gabriela Preissová. It was ...

''. ETO's and Opera 80's conductors have included Nicholas Kraemer, Ivor Bolton, Stephen Barlow, Martin André, David Parry and Michael Rosewell. It has also shown the early work of such directors as Richard Jones, Robert Carsen, Declan Donnellan and Steven Pimlott.

Productions of works outside the standard repertory

*2006: Autumn: Baroque Festival Tour: ETO mounted a baroque opera festival with over 40 complementary events in twelve venues throughout the UK. '' Orfeo'' by

Claudio Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string instrument, string player. A composer of both Secular music, secular and Church music, sacred music, and a pioneer ...

, with Katherine Manley as Music and Euridice and Hal Cazalet as Orfeo; '' Erismena'' by

Francesco Cavalli Francesco Cavalli (born Pietro Francesco Caletti-Bruni; 14 February 1602 – 14 January 1676) was a Venetian composer, organist and singer of the early Baroque period. He succeeded his teacher Claudio Monteverdi as the dominant and leading op ...

, with Andrew Slater as Erimante and Rachel Nicholls as Erismena; '' Jephté'' by Giacomo Carissimi with David Stout as Jephté and Jane Harrington as Filia; '' Dido & Aeneas'' by

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, Dido and Aeneas, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version o ...

'' with Joana Thomé as Dido and Patricia Orr as Sorceress; and '' Tolomeo'' by George Frederick Handel with Jonathan Peter Kenny as Tolomeo and Iestyn Morris as Alessandro'' *2007: Spring: ''

Die Entführung aus dem Serail ' () (Köchel catalogue, K. 384; ''The Abduction from the Seraglio''; also known as ') is a singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Gottlieb Stephanie, based on Christoph Friedrich Bretzner's . The plot concer ...

'' (''The Seraglio'') by

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

with Sion Goronwy as Osmin and Elizabeth Donovan as Constanza; and ''Spirit of Vienna'' ('' Wiener Blut'') by Johann Strauss with Cheryl Enever as Franziska (Franzi) Cagliari and Nicky Spence as Count Balduin Zedlau. *2007: Autumn: James Conway's special interest in baroque opera was also evident with productions of Handel and Haydn. '' Teseo'' by Handel with Derek Lee Ragin as Egeo (Aegeus) and Jeni Bern as Medea; ''Country Matters'' ''(L'infedelta Delusa)'' by

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

with Charlotte Ellett as Vespina and Jonathan Gunthorpe as Nanni; and ''Bridgetower'' by Julian Joseph. *2008: Spring: ''

Susannah ''Susannah'' is an opera in two acts by the American composer Carlisle Floyd, who wrote the libretto and music while a member of the piano faculty at Florida State University. Floyd adapted the story from the Apocryphal tale of Susannah and the ...

'' by

Carlisle Floyd Carlisle Sessions Floyd (June 11, 1926September 30, 2021) was an American composer primarily known for his operas. These stage works, for which he wrote not only the music but also the librettos, typically engage with themes from the American So ...

, Alexander Ingram, Conductor. Donna Bateman as Susannah Polk and Todd Wilander as Sam Polk. *2009: Spring: '' Katya Kabanova'' by

Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, Music theory, music theorist, Folkloristics, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian folk music, Moravian and other Slavs, Slavic music, includin ...

. *2009: Autumn: Alongside a commemoration of the 250th anniversary of Handel's death, the company celebrated its 30th anniversary"ETO announces casting for 30th anniversary tour in Spring 2009"
at www.musicalcriticism.com with presentations of '' Ariodante'', ''

'', '' Flavio'', '' Teseo'' and '' Tolomeo''. *2010: Autumn: ''Promised End'', a new opera by

Alexander Goehr Peter Alexander Goehr (; 10 August 1932 – 26 August 2024) was a German-born English composer of contemporary classical music and academic teacher. A long-time professor of music at the University of Cambridge, Goehr influenced many notable c ...

; and '' The Duenna'', by

Richard Brinsley Sheridan Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Anglo-Irish playwright, writer and Whig politician who sat in the British House of Commons from 1780 to 1812, representing the constituencies of Stafford, Westminster and I ...

. *2011: Autumn: Baroque Treats included a revival of Handel's ''Flavio'', Handel's '' Xerxes'' and Purcell's '' The Fairy Queen''. *2012: Autumn: the program featured three 20th Century operas: ''

Albert Herring ''Albert Herring'', Op. 39, is a chamber opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten. Composed in the winter of 1946 and the spring of 1947, this comic opera was a successor to his serious opera '' The Rape of Lucretia''. The libretto, by Eric Cro ...

'' by

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

; '' The Emperor of Atlantis'' by Viktor Ullmann (paired with Cantata BWV 4 by Bach); and '' The Lighthouse'' by

Peter Maxwell Davies Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music. As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Music ...

.Tim Ashley, "''The Emperor of Atlantis'' – review"
''The Guardian'' (London), 9 October 2012 *2013: Spring: ''

L'assedio di Calais ''L'assedio di Calais'' (''The siege of Calais'') is an 1836 ''melodramma lirico'', or opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti, his 49th opera. Salvatore Cammarano wrote the Italian libretto, which has been described as "...a remarkable libr ...

'' by

Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian Romantic composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''bel canto'' opera ...

. *2013: Autumn: ''

The Coronation of Poppea ''L'incoronazione di Poppea'' (Stattkus-Verzeichnis, SV 308, ''The Coronation of Poppaea'') is an Italian List of operas by Claudio Monteverdi, opera by Claudio Monteverdi. It was Monteverdi's last opera, with a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Buse ...

'' by Claudio Monteverdi; ''

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece is featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Med ...

'' by

; and '' Agrippina'' by Handel. *2014: Spring: '' King Priam'' by Michael Tippett and Britten's '' Paul Bunyan''. (It was for these two productions especially that the company won the 2014 Olivier Award for 'Outstanding Achievement in Opera'.) *2014: Autumn: '' Il mondo della luna'' by Joseph Haydn (To be presented under the title of ''Life on the Moon'') and '' Ottone'' by Handel. *2015: Spring: '' Il furioso all'isola di San Domingo'' by Donizetti (to be presented under the title of ''The Wild Man of the West Indies''.) ''L'assedio di Calais'' (Donizetti) will also be re-mounted. *2016: Spring: Pia de' Tolomei'' by ''Donizetti

and Iphigénie en Tauride ''by

Gluck Christoph Willibald ( Ritter von) Gluck (; ; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire at ...

'

' *2017: Spring: '' Patience (opera), Patience'' by

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen com ...

. *2017: Autumn: ''Dardanus'' by Rameau. *2018: Spring: ''Rossini: Fireworks'' (a concert of Rossini arias) *2018: Autumn: ''Jonas'' by Carissimi and ''Io Tacerò'' (presented under the title ''I Will Not Speak)'' by Gesualdo (which were performed alongside Dido & Aeneas by Purcell). *2019: Spring: ''Elisabetta, Regina d'Inghilterra'' by Rossini (presented under the title Elizabeth I) *2019: Autumn: '' Der Silbersee'' by

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (; ; March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for hi ...

(presented under the title of ''The Silver Lake: A Winter's Tale (Der Silbersee)'') *2020: Autumn: Romances on British Poetry and Poems of Marina Tsvetaeva by Shostakovitch, The Poet's Echo by Britten, Tel Jour, telle nuit by Poulenc and A Waterbird Talk by Argento. *2021: Autumn: ''Amadigi'' ''di Gaula'' by Handel (presented under the title ''Amadigi'') *2022: Spring: '' The Golden Cockerel'' by Rimsky-Korsakov

Outreach

In addition to theatre-staged operatic productions, ETO focuses on relationships with communities through education and outreach programs, and organises projects for people of all ages and abilities – from on-stage workshops to residencies in schools and performances for children with special needs. Singers and musicians on tour with the ETO often step off-stage and into the classroom of outreach workshops alongside professional animateurs. Bradley Travis is the current Artistic Associate for Learning and Participation and overseas outreach and education programs. One of ETO's outreach programs is Creative Residencies, in which young people with disabilities engage in week-long creative workshops. Between 2007 and 2009, these projects have included: * ''House on the Moon'' (2007) involved a collaboration with local Wolverhampton organisations. Nearly 200 people including amateurs and professionals from every background and of every ability performed. * ''Turtle Song'' was presented in 2008. It was a collaboration with Turtle Key Arts and the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

which encourages people with Alzheimer's Disease or dementia to compose and sing their own songs, working alongside professional musicians. * ''One Day, Two Dawns'' was an opera in 2009 for the Truro, Cornwall community, where a 200-member cast of local people aged 8–80 devised and rehearsed a new piece of music. * ''Jack and the Beanstalk / Red Ridinghood'' (also 2009) was an interactive fairytale opera with pre-school students composed by Tom Smail.

Awards

In 2004 James Conway's production of ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'' was nominated for a Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) "Best Opera" Award. James Conway's production of Donizetti's '' Maria Stuarda'' was nominated for a South Bank Show Award in 2005. ETO's projects ''Ice'' and ''Crossing the Styx'' were both nominated for an RPS Award in the Education Category in 2006.Charity Commission PDF
/ref> ''Ice'' was a devised opera for teenagers, and ''Crossing the Styx'' was a devised opera for primary school students. ''House on the Moon'' with the Wolverhampton Community Opera was nominated for an RPS Best Education Project award of 2007. In 2010 ''One Day, Two Dawns'' with

Hall for Cornwall The Hall for Cornwall, known as Truro City Hall until 1997, is an events venue in Boscawen Street in Truro, Cornwall, England. The building, which was previously the headquarters of Truro City Council, is a Grade II* listed building. History T ...

won the RPS Education Award. ''Laika the Spacedog'', a new opera for children aged 7 to 11, was awarded the "David Bedford Music Education Award" in 2012. It honours outstanding music education projects, and was given by The PRS For Music Foundation. ''Laika the Spacedog'' also won two awards for Best Production at the Armel International Opera Festival in

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

in 2013. The Best Production award as voted for by the members of the International Competition Jury, and Best Production from the Jury of the

University of Szeged The University of Szeged () is a Public university, public research university in Szeged, Hungary. Established as the Jesuit Academy of Kolozsvár in present-day Cluj-Napoca in 1581, the institution was re-established as a university in 1872 by ...

. In the Spring of 2014, ETO was the winner of an Olivier Award in the "Outstanding Achievement in Opera" category];"Outstanding Achievement in Opera Award 2014"
on olivierawards.com. Retrieved 13 June 2014 on the Olivier Awards website, it is noted that the company won the Award for "its brave and challenging touring productions....of Michael Tippett's elegant and vibrant ''King Priam'' and Britten's rarely performed operetta ''Paul Bunyan''. The stylishly staged pair played at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

's Linbury Studio Theatre in Covent Garden, London, as part of a UK tour."

2021 dismissals

In September 2021, ETO wrote to tell 13 freelance musicians that they would not be re-engaged for the upcoming tour, but that they would stay in a pool of artists to be drawn upon in the future. Some of the players had been engaged in freelance contracts year after year. The players who were not engaged for the upcoming season were mid-to-late-career musicians, when sent the letter. The freelance artists had hoped to return to work in the post-pandemic period. Zhang Zhang, a violinist with the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, asked if firing people because of their skin color is racism. Zoe Strimpel wrote that ETO's "policy race-based contracting" was a "debacle." ETO indicated its policy was based on guidance from its main funder,

References

Notes Sources *Thicknesse, Robert, "Company Profile: English Touring Opera", ''Opera Now'' (London), October 2012

External links

English Touring Opera website
{{authority control British opera companies Musical groups established in 1979 Touring opera companies