Royal Opera House to terminate ROH2

[Ian Macmillan]

It would appear that the ROH2 setup at the Royal Opera House is to be ended, with events handled in future by the Opera and ballet sides of the House:

 

http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/37063/exclusive-royal-opera-house-to-shut-down?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheStageNews+%28News+Headlines%29

 

No sign of an announcement on the ROH website just yet, however.

[alison]

That doesn't sound too good: after all, not everything ROH2 produced fell neatly under the heading of either opera or dance, did it?

[Ian Macmillan]

I have to say that it is hard to accept that the 15% Arts funding cut applied to the ROH has nothing to do with this decision and, working back in time, the likelihood of ROH2 being substantially reduced to help protect 'core' Opera and Ballet as a consequence may well have been influential in the decisions to leave taken by Deborah Bull and Alison Duthie some months ago. And these decisions can, of course, now be presented as the spurs to the action now announced. Whatever the case, the loss of 5 salaries, some at a very senior level, will have alleviated the pain needed elsewhere in the House. And do I not recall something in Kevin O'Hare's appointment statement about his planning to use the Linbury to greater effect, something presumably connected to the way decision making was going some months ago?

 

All of that said, with the central focus provided by Ms Bull removed, time may show a less eclectic approach to shows in the Linbury and Clore than has been apparent over the last decade or so.