Members of the ENO chorus in rehearsal, 1998
The chorus at the
English National Opera has just voted for strike action in protest at
proposals to cut four jobs and reduce the current year-long contracts
for the remaining 40 singers to nine months. The cuts follow a 30%
reduction in the ENO's annual Arts Council grant.
In 1998 I spent a very
enjoyable three weeks dropping in on rehearsals for the ENO's world
premiere of Gavin Bryars' Doctor Ox's Experiment, shooting backstage,
in various rehearsal rooms and even, occasionally, on-stage, for a
spread in Opera Now magazine. There's a lot of hanging around in
rehearsals and I spent much of it in the very good company of the
chorus. I don't know how many of today's strikers were there back
then, but they were a diverse, humourous, and pleasingly
stroppy bunch. I hope they win. More pictures here.
Director Atom Egoyan and the ENO chorus in rehearsal, 1998
Rehearsal for ENO's Doctor Ox's Experiment, 1998