Royal response

Published Tuesday 14 October 2008 at 11:35

I refer to the report that Manchester City Council is in talks with the Royal Opera House to provide a regional venue for them in a new opera house in Manchester (News, September 5, page 2).

This is a pipe dream that is unlikely to materialise because Sir Howard Bernstein, chief executive of Manchester City Council, is unaware of, or has forgotten about, the history of the Royal Opera in Manchester.

The Manchester Palace Theatre reopened in 1980 and pioneered the revival of the other major regional theatres. This followed an extensive refurbishment, financed by the people of Manchester and the surrounding area. It included extensions to the stage and the orchestra pit to accommodate the Royal Opera, the Royal Ballet, English National Opera and major international companies. We were promised that it would become the second home of The Royal Opera.

English National Opera came once, then refused to tour and Opera North was created.

The Royal Opera came every other year, alternating with the Royal Ballet, but this did not last very long. By the mid-eighties, the Royal Opera refused to tour and abandoned Manchester. The Royal Ballet followed suit later and was replaced by the excellent Birmingham Royal Ballet.

If Sir Howard Bernstein’s comments are correct, perhaps he or someone from the Royal Opera House can tell us why they are not now appearing in Manchester when there is a theatre already equipped to accommodate them.

R Swindells

Bolton