Over 6000 Supporters!

Over 6,000 people have now signed this petition in the name of The Spirit of Lilian Baylis. We thank you for caring so much and lending your names and voices to this campaign. The Arts Council England’s reduction in subsidy to English National Opera represents less than 15% of the company’s projected annual income. The Spirit of Lilian Baylis believes that 15% of savings and efficiencies can be made without destroying the creative core of the company. The proposal to do less work for a smaller audience does not answer the ACE’s fundamental criticisms and decreases rather than increases the value for money that the public expect and the taxpayer deserves. Not being able to benefit from the experience of the regular artistic forces of the company will make each performance more expensive to put on. These proposals will inhibit the opportunities to attract more audiences, make it harder to raise more money, and deprive London of the value of two major opera companies for five months of each year. It will be significantly harder for ENO to inspire both the performers and the audiences of the future. In times of financial challenge, cuts should be made to aspects of ENO’s work that can be quickly restored. These are not the people whose loyalty lies at the heart of the company’s artistic achievements. A full-time chorus and highly experienced technical teams would take decades to restore, even if there was a management desire to do so. We do not believe that every alternative has been seriously or thoroughly investigated. We believe that to say that cuts to the quality of work are ‘inevitable’ reveals a lack of strength and imagination that betrays all who love the company. Decisions must be made by people who know about opera as well as finance. If a tree is pruned without understanding and experience, it will most likely die. The Spirit of Lilian Baylis is profoundly grateful to you for your incredible support for a solution that can preserve the quality of ENO, maintain its mission and vision, and allow it to remain a vital part of this country’s cultural heritage. We urge people to keep signing this petition. The Spirit of Lilian Baylis