The Royal Opera House is to change its name to put ballet on equal footing with opera, in a “long overdue” move according to Covent Garden bosses.
From the new season, which starts in September, the organization will be called the Royal Ballet and Opera (but the building will remain the Royal Opera House). It may not seem like a big change, but it is a huge change for the ballet company.
Oliver Mears, chairman of the Royal Opera House, says: “It is long overdue. “It is now accepted that both companies are of equal importance in the organization.”
Kevin O’Hare, president of the Royal Ballet, says: “We are equals in this building, we always have been, which makes it a good time to say that. “We are really pleased.”
He continued: “We work really well together; “We’re very different companies, but we’re working with the best thing we’ve ever worked with.”
Mears says historically the relationship has been “contentious at times, fighting at the same time on the show,” but that’s changing. And it’s a good way to acknowledge that.”
So where do we find these two companies right now? “It’s great that we can accompany the name change in the program we offer with such a high level of confidence, because it’s no secret that opera has gone under ashes in the last few years,” says Mears.
“It’s important for us to say that the work we do is really important, really exciting, really dramatic and musically world class. “There are new productions, new works and the best singers in the world on our stages.”
It’s been a tough few years for the sector, particularly for English National Opera, with brutal funding cuts to Glyndebourne and Welsh National Opera. The Royal Opera House also found it had suffered a 20% real income cut.
“In the context of high inflation, this is a huge figure; everything is getting more expensive. With the combination of cuts and inflation, we are more financially constrained than ever before,” says Mears.
He states that the perception of opera as ‘elitist’ and ‘irrelevant’ remains a major problem. “But I think the work we present challenges the preconceptions that are normally presented without any evidence.”
The 2024/25 season, which starts in September, certainly challenges these preconceptions. Festen by Mark-Anthony Turnage, who is also the author of Anna Nicole, is also included in this book. “Mark really wants to connect with people. “He wants opera to be as interesting as possible for modern audiences, and that’s why he chose this subject,” says Mears.
Adapted from Thomas Vinterberg’s 1998 Danish film, Festen tackles tough topics, from domestic violence and alcoholism to racism and child abuse. “There’s no escaping the fact that these things are real, and opera is nothing if it doesn’t deal with the facts, no matter how bleak and disturbing they may be,” Mears says.
“These are big themes, and opera is about big themes and big emotions. The most popular operas of the repertoire, La Traviata, La Bohème and Carmen, deal with difficult subjects. “This will be a fascinating, riveting night.”
At the smaller Linbury Theatre, the Royal Opera House will stage two semi-autobiographical works by Leonard Bernstein: The Trouble in Tahiti and A Quiet Place. Mears’ joke wasn’t about the composer after the hit movie Maestro. He had originally planned to do these earlier but was postponed due to the pandemic. “It is a coincidence that we are doing these things after the movie was released. Now everyone knows a little more about Bernstein.”
There will be new stagings of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin and Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann. After Das Rheingold, director Barry Kosky returns to Wagner with the second film of the Ring series Die Walküre. Outgoing Royal Opera Music Director Antonio Pappano will conduct. Mears will personally direct Handel’s Semele.
In addition to La Boheme, which commemorates the centenary of Puccini’s death, Tosca, La Traviata, Aida and The Marriage of Figaro are also returning.
Wayne McGregor will make the European premiere of MaddAddam, based on Margaret Atwood’s book, following his hit shows Woolf Works and The Dante Project at the Royal Ballet. “It’s a big, meaty thing that’s exciting and epic in its scale,” says O’Hare. “Margaret Atwood was involved; He gave Wayne carte blanche. He loves dancing. “He thinks this might get to the heart of his business.”
Choreographers returning to the Royal Ballet include Crystal Pite with The Statement and Light of Passage and Kyle Abraham with The Weathering. Like Joseph Toonga, Pam Tanowitz creates a new work.
While the season opens with Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Christopher Wheeldon’s work in the mixed program Ballet to Broadway will also be showcased. The Christmas show will be Cinderella, not the Nutcracker.
“To give audiences something else, maybe they can see two things: The Nutcracker somewhere else, and then they can take us to Cinderella,” says O’Hare. “It’s nice to have options.”
Mears adds: “There is a high level of confidence in what both companies do. There has been a hunger and appetite for new business over the past few years. Unlike recent posts, these are coming from older audiences who want to see something new. On the contrary, it is the Carmens, Bohèmes and Toscas that appeal to new audiences.”
I ask how the organization has changed in recent years. “The entire organization has become much more approachable since I started in 2017,” says Mears. “Our audience has become significantly younger since Covid. We’ve done a lot of work to welcome people and make the job more interesting. And with Linbury we can take more risks. “This place has changed in the last decade.”
For more information visit roh.org.uk