The Stage

Fighting talk as Scottish Opera chairman steps down

Published Tuesday 27 July 2004 at 14:30 by Hamish Mackay

Chairman of troubled Scottish Opera Duncan McGhie has attacked the Scottish Executive for failing to give adequate support to the arts, as he announces his retirement from the company.

McGhie, who has guided the organisation through one of the most critical periods in its history, will also step down as chairman of Scottish Ballet on March 31 next year. He has been chairman of both companies for the past five years.

He said he had advised Scottish Opera, Scottish Ballet, the Scottish Arts Council and the Scottish Executive “some time ago” of his intentions, adding that “there are no angles on this. It is time to give fresh thinking a chance”.

However, criticising the Scottish Executive for penny pinching, he said: “I am concerned abut the level of the funding in the arts in general and just wish there could be more. My issue was not with the four culture ministers I have dealt with on an individual level, but the Executive as a whole, who are unable to find the comparatively small amount of money, considering that billions are spent, which would help the whole of the arts in Scotland.”

He added: “This year has been difficult. It has been a tough few months. What I can say is that we have got Scottish Opera to a place where there is a route forward and a stable financial plan. As for Scottish Ballet, I am pleased to leave an exciting dance company, and I have been involved, in my small way, to help it reach a new plateau.”

The joint board of Scottish Opera and Scottish Ballet is to be disbanded, and in future they will have a separate chair and separate directors. Headhunting company Odgers Ray and Berndtson has been appointed to find replacements for McGhie.

There had been calls for McGhie’s resignation after Scottish Opera’s decision to cut 88 full-time jobs and introduce a radical programme of restructuring in return for a £7 million bale-out from the Scottish Executive. The futures of Sir Richard Armstrong, Scottish Opera’s artistic director, and chief executive Christopher Barron are still uncertain.