English National Opera Launches Plans For A New Partnership With Greater Manchester

English National Opera has announced the first wave of plans for a major new partnership between the company and the city-region of Greater Manchester for the next three years, enabling ENO to be firmly established within Greater Manchester by 2029.

The ENO Greater Manchester partnership, which includes projects across the city-region, covers every aspect of opera production and celebrates new possibilities for the artform. This announcement represents the beginning of longer-term strategic partnerships with venues and organisations across Greater Manchester. It will include major contemporary works, new work development in opera, presenting ENO signature classics, interdisciplinary experimentations, creating operatic experiences by, with and for communities, and developing the opera-makers of today and tomorrow.

Jenny Mollica, Chief Executive of English National Opera, said: “The projects we are announcing today mark the first wave of our developing partnership with Greater Manchester, which will be fully implemented by 2029. Working together over the last year, we could not be more clear that Greater Manchester is the right place to put down roots, a place where we can develop, expand and innovate. Where, building on the region's legendary reputation as the heart of music making in this country, we can make a difference to audiences and communities, help invest in the next generation of talent and break new ground in the future of the artform – locally, nationally and internationally.”

The first wave of projects and partnerships announced today are:

• A new immersive production presented with Factory International, Improbable and Park Avenue Armory New York of Philip Glass and Robert Wilson's opera Einstein on the Beach, following the international success of Satyagraha and Akhnaten, directed by Improbable Theatre's Phelim McDermott and premiering in Spring 2027.

• A new production for the UK premiere of Angel's Bone, the Pulitzer prize-winning contemporary opera by Chinese American composer Du Yun and librettist Royce Vavrek, which draws inspiration from a range of musical genres from classical to cabaret and punk. It's a dark fable exploring modern-day slavery and human trafficking. Produced by ENO in collaboration with Factory International, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, and presented at Aviva Studios in May 2026.

• Marking the beginning of a new partnership with Lowry, ENO's production of Benjamin Britten's classic comic ensemble opera Albert Herring, performed with the Orchestra of English National Opera, will open in October 2025.

• A newly staged concert version of Mozart's Così fan tutte with the Chorus and Orchestra of ENO, will be presented at The Bridgewater Hall in February 2026.

• The creation of a Greater Manchester Youth Opera Company in partnership with Greater Manchester and Blackburn with Darwen Music Hub, working with young people aged 13-19 from across the city-region from backgrounds underrepresented and underserved in the arts. ENO will work with Royal Northern College of Music and a range of other partners to pilot the project beginning in September 2025. This ensemble singing programme will broaden access to creating opera, strengthen and diversify the sector talent pipeline, and invest in the opera-makers of the future.

• PERFECT PITCH, a celebration of opera and community football in a co-creation between Salford-based outdoor arts specialists, Walk the Plank, ENO, community groups and local football teams in the city-region. This large-scale participation programme will explore the impact that mass singing has on team performance and spectator experience, starting in Summer 2025.

• A city-region wide expansion of ENO Breathe, ENO's award-winning creative health programme, originally created for people recovering from COVID-19 with Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. ENO is working with NHS Greater Manchester and Greater Manchester Combined Authority to pioneer a new iteration of the ENO Breathe programme to support people living with other respiratory conditions, including Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and asthma. This programme forms part of the Creative Health Greater Manchester Place Partnership, funded by Arts Council England through its National Lottery funded Place Partnership Fund. From Autumn 2024.

• The establishment of new work development programmes, designed to champion innovation in opera-making. Working with a range of partners from across the city-region and beyond, these programmes will support the development of new voices and stories in opera, providing an engine room for the commissioning of new work. The Royal Northern College of Music and ENO will launch a Creative Incubator, providing space, mentoring and performance platforms for artists and composers to develop new operatic work that reflects Greater Manchester's communities, drawing on the region's diverse musical traditions. Opera Factory GM will see ENO and Factory International co-create an ongoing series of cross-disciplinary research and development labs designed to explore new forms of opera, from innovations in mixed reality to immersive environments. Launching in Spring 2026.

• ENO Engage, ENO's learning and participation department, will expand their national free music-making programme Finish This…, designed for primary, secondary and SEND schools to the city-region, working with 30 schools across Greater Manchester this academic year, with further expansion in 2025/26. The project aligns with the national curriculum and brings a fusion of opera, film and animation into the classroom, as a creative springboard for collaborative composition work.

• Collaboration with Factory International through its award-winning Factory Academy training programme, offering vocational training opportunities in opera for young people living in Greater Manchester from backgrounds underrepresented in the arts. From Spring 2025, participants will develop skills in technical roles and producing, working with ENO and Factory International on a range of joint opportunities, including as part of the creative and technical teams delivering Philip Glass's Einstein on the Beach.

• The University of Manchester and ENO will work together on Tuning into Opera. This invites the people of Greater Manchester to explore the opportunities for the artform and discuss what it means to have an opera company based in the city-region. ENO and The University of Manchester will bring a range of perspectives together, including artists, local communities, researchers and the wider sector to examine how the artform can and must continue to grow. A jointly funded role will be recruited, enabling on-the-ground research with new audiences, ensuring that diverse communities can inform and shape these conversations. The first public conversation event will take place at Manchester International Festival at Aviva Studios in July 2025.

• A special performance will be presented for Manchester Classical festival at The Bridgewater Hall in Summer 2025, in a collaboration between the Chorus of English National Opera and The Hallé.

Annilese Miskimmon, Artistic Director of English National Opera, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be able to share our plans after many months of discussions. We are truly grateful for the inspirational support we have received from so many people and organisations in Greater Manchester to achieve this – our first expression of our future programme together.”

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: “Greater Manchester has always been at the heart of the UK music scene, with a legacy and energy that's second to none. We're thrilled to welcome English National Opera to our city-region, as a partner in our ambition to inspire the younger generation and create real opportunities for our young people. Music is at the heart of our creative history. This move will bring fantastic opportunities for the development of opera across Greater Manchester.”

ENO's Greater Manchester partnerships and programme will continue to develop alongside the continuation of annual seasons at the London Coliseum, and ENO's nationwide education and health programmes.

Further details, ticket information and on sale dates will be announced in due course.

Visit the ENO website on www.eno.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.