Here At ACE, Being Wrong Won’t Stop Us From Doing Wrong

Earlier this year we published a report on the state of opera, music, and theatre in the UK. It was a very popular article, one of our most-viewed articles ever, especially with younger audiences (pay attention, opera companies!). 

However it has come to our attention that some of the things we said in our previous report were not quite correct, or as we like to say, our internal consistency was momentarily disrupted by outside factors beyond our control.  So we have done a new report, which will hopefully be even more popular than the last one.

What we learned since that first report is that we need to listen to you, and we are always willing to try new things. After all, listening is one of the main things opera and theatre audiences do, in addition to watching.

So we have listened. And since ears are just there already on your head, it is important to let them do their job untroubled by interference from the rest of the head.

The key insight from our new listening is that we need to work together in a healthy and dynamic cultural ecology or ecosystem. This represents a much better approach than what we had thought previously. 

The question is, what type of creative space do you want to engender? We want to explore with the sector what some kind of shared endeavour to create space for risk-taking might look like. There is clearly a strong appetite for the opportunity to engender this type of space, and it was clear to us from this report that not enough space-engendering has been planned or even discussed.

To this end we all need to engage in more shared thinking, rather than sectoral or other types of thinking. For example, investment in The Royal Ballet And Opera is no longer classed as investment in music. We need to make sure when we talk about “music” we are definitely talking about things with music in it. That’s how we will know we are investing in it. 

To that end, we need to bring companies together to discuss what should be done. It is incumbent on us all to seek to establish a shared vision for the national opera touring landscape and ecology, in order for us to move forward supportively, together, like a well-funded orchestra.

For example, we do not believe in either/or situations, such as telling opera companies that they have to move out of London or we will stop funding them. We suggest that they move, and they happily leap at the chance, with full support from us. We like to call this trickle-down collaboration. 

But we do hear your concerns, especially the screams. We recognise that ACE’s recent funding decisions have led to specific and fundamental changes to ENO and WNO, causing anger and loss for individuals at those companies. Acknowledging this impact, we will continue to support companies in the face of the things they are facing.

We also recognise that opera touring, especially at the large/larger scale, is under significant pressure, especially from us. But remember, if you apply enough pressure to carbon, it becomes a diamond. But it will not be a quick process. We eagerly await the time when the sector organises a time to start discussions about when we might start to plan, and at that point, we will be sure to play a part (much like a musician!).

We want to build constructively and collectively on our proud heritage. After exploring many options, we decided to build on our proud heritage in a vital and dynamic way. According to our report, that’s what we are doing. (See report)

One of the challenges of trying to absorb these new lessons is the existence of our ten-year plan, which is already underway and of course can’t be changed. But we have been struck by an appetite for change. And even though some of our choices have resulted in less access to opera and theatre in some places, it is important to know that we plan to address this.

Within a short timeframe, therefore, we hope to work to establish and agree on the guiding principles of a coherent, sustainable and mutually beneficial touring offer. In some cases, this might look like the model that had previously existed before our first report, but we mustn’t let that detract from our main priority, which is to move forward. I think we can all agree that moving backwards is not ideal, especially when going up steps, or steep ramps. 

And as a result of our reforms to the talent pipeline, there is great potential for a vital and dynamic mix of experienced and inexperienced leaders to work in coalition to explore fresh ways of working, alongside approaches that have served the sector and audiences well in the past, to build new approaches that might do something else. This blend of old and new can ensure that opera and theatre offers as many people as possible in this country a thrilling experience.*

*Funding for thrills not guaranteed