Surtitles for opera sung in English will remain at the London Coliseum, but music director Mark Wigglesworth said it was his mission to ensure no one feels the need to read them.
To a mixture of protests and gratitude, ENO – where all non English-language operas are sung in English translation – introduced surtitles 10 years ago. Wigglesworth, the company’s new music director, admitted that he had been in the “no” camp at the time.
“I felt the surtitles were a shame, but it’s not a battle I’m interested in having now because it is a battle that one would lose,” he said on Wednesday. “My job is to make them not necessary.
“We believe that opera is drama expressed through music, not music expressed through drama, so if your core artform is drama, that needs to be in a language that people understand. Singing in our own language is not a policy, it is a philosophy. It is non-negotiable as far as I’m concerned. It is fundamental to who we are,” he said.
“One of the reasons our performances are so dramatically convincing ... is because the singers themselves have that depth of understanding ... a translation forces you to debate what every line means.”
Wigglesworth took up his role as music director of English National Opera earlier this year, joining a company in crisis.
That followed two high-level departures, of executive director Henriette Götz and chairman Martyn Rose, who stood down after a letter was leaked in which he stated that artistic director John Berry was part of the problem not the solution.
Berry himself joined the exodus in July, leaving with immediate effect after more than 20 years with the company.
At a briefing with journalists on Wednesday, the new management team said the company had turned a page. Cressida Pollock, the former McKinsey consultant who last month was appointed chief executive on a three-year contract, said they were in process of searching for an “artistic leader” to replace Berry, but there was no schedule for the appointment, nor any decision as to what this person’s title or exact role will be.
“We are evaluating the artistic leadership,” she said. “John is the only person who’s ever held the title of artistic director at ENO. He created a role that is almost impossible to replicate, nor do we necessarily want to.”
Pollock said two key parts of Berry’s plans for the company remain: the opening up of its bars and restaurants during the day; and a commercial partnership with West End impresarios Michael Grade and Michael Linnett to stage musicals. A run of Sweeney Todd earlier this year will be followed with a semi-staging of Sunset Boulevard with Glenn Close next year.
Pollock also affirmed the company’s commitment to remaining in the 2,300-seat Coliseum. “It is an essential part of our plans to move forward,” she said.
ENO was one of the biggest losers in the last Arts Council spending round, suffering a £5m cut in its subsidy, representing a 15% reduction of its total budget.
Pollock said that the company had a five-year plan to operate in a situation where public money represented 35% of its income rather than the previous 50%. Getting back in the ACE portfolio would happen “when the time is right,” she added.
Pollock said they had to be smarter about where they choose to invest, but “our artistic standards, our musical standards, our artistic integrity are the heart of what we do and must remain that. [But] every artistic decision is also a financial one.”
Being smart about spending will still include new opera, for which ENO has a strong track record. Wigglesworth admitted that contemporary opera was always problematic. “It is not very popular and it is expensive, but that is absolutely not the reason not to do it.” He confirmed that future plans include a full-scale new piece by composer Ryan Wigglesworth – no relation. “I’m encouraged by how many donors and audience members I meet who care about ENO because of its commitment to new music,” he said.
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