English National Opera expands free ticketing scheme to under-21s

English National Opera is expanding its free ticketing scheme to include young people aged under 21, in a move described by its chief executive as “unique in the world”.

The scheme previously offered free tickets to under-18s in the balcony of the London Coliseum on Fridays, Saturdays and opening nights, but will now be extended to include every level of the auditorium, and all performances.

Chief executive Stuart Murphy said: “We are not just about what we stage, as proud of it as we are. A brilliant, holistic arts organisation does multiple things and for ENO, accessibility is at the centre. Free tickets for under-21s, for every seat in the house, every night we perform, is, we think, unique in the world.”

He added: “Who’s to know what 21 year olds will turn up and years later become the next [artistic director] Annilese Miskimmon or [music director] Martin Brabbins? But broader than that, we re saying what arts organisations can do. It’s not just about performing, it’s about saying there is a place for you, if you are feeling disengaged from the arts or if you are feeling disengaged from an artistic institution, we’re there for you irrespective of your background, the colour of your skin, gender, age or physical ability.”

Murphy announced the initiative as he revealed the opera company’s new season of work, alongside Miskimmon and Brabbins.

This will include Les Dennis making his opera debut in HMS Pinafore. Miskimmon said Dennis had been put “through a rigorous audition process and more than proved himself against the considerable competition” to get the role in the production.

She added: “I think for me, it is harking back to the routes of successful opera, in the same way that Mozart had Schikaneder as his Papagano, a well-known comic actor of his day, in an opera production. It’s a melding of those two words in a really fabulous way, I think – and something that both a traditionally operatic audience and a new audience will enjoy a lot.”

At the launch, the ENO team defended not bringing opera back sooner than October, when the season begins. Musical Hairspray will run over the summer months in the venue.

Murphy said: “Our business model is based on the premise we rent out the Coliseum to generate revenue – to fund the opera, and that is something we have been doing for six years. So after a pandemic, when we have gone through the reserves we have built up for years because we’d been renting out the Coliseum to musicals – and thank God we did – we need to get revenues back in.”

The line-up also includes revivals of two Phelim McDermott-directed productions, as well as The Valkyrie, directed by Richard Jones, and a new staging of Poul Ruders’ opera adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale, directed by ENO’s artistic director Annilese Miskimmon in her first show since taking over the role last year.