English National Opera unveils ‘electrifying’ plans for relocation to Manchester

The Lowry and Factory International, which will be partner venues for ENO in Manchester. Photos: SAKhanPhotography/Shutterstock; Ian Reay/Shutterstock

English National Opera has unveiled the first wave of partnership plans and programming set to re-establish the company in Manchester by 2029, including a new immersive production of Einstein on the Beach and the creation of a Manchester-based youth opera company.

As part of its plans, ENO has confirmed it will be partnering with venues in Manchester including the Lowry – where it will present a new staging of classic comic opera Albert Herring – and Factory International at Aviva Studios, where it will stage the UK premiere of Pulitzer prize-winning opera Angel’s Bone, which explores modern-day slavery and human trafficking.

ENO has also announced a raft of development schemes targeted at new operatic projects.

Confirmed last December, ENO’s move to Greater Manchester follows a 100% cut to its funding from Arts Council England, when the company was also informed it needed to move outside London in order to keep going.

Now, announcing the inaugural partnerships and productions set to solidify its new base, ENO chief executive Jenny Mollica has said the company “could not be more clear that Greater Manchester is the right place to put down roots”.

As expected, the ENO will work in close partnerships with Manchester venues including the Lowry in Salford and Factory International while continuing its annual programme at its current home in the capital, the London Coliseum.

Modern opera will form a significant part of ENO’s upcoming programming, kick-started by the new production of Angel’s Bone by Chinese-American composer Du Yun and librettist Royce Vavrek, which draws inspiration from cabaret and punk as well as classical music.

Angel’s Bone will be produced in collaboration with Factory International and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, and presented at Aviva Studios in May 2026.

In addition, a new immersive production of Philip Glass and Robert Wilson’s 1976 opera Einstein on the Beach – presented with Factory International, theatre company Improbable and Park Avenue Armoury New York and directed by Improbable’s Phelim McDermott – will premiere in spring 2027.

Einstein on the Beach will also form part of the ENO’s new collaboration with Factory International’s training programme. Young people will be invited to work on the production’s creative and technical teams in a bid to develop technical and producing skills across the region.

“Signature classics” will accompany this modern programming, including a production of Albert Herring, set to be performed with the ENO Orchestra from October 2025, as well as a new concert version of Mozart’s Così Fan Tutte at Bridgewater Hall in February 2026.

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Meanwhile, ENO has also announced the creation of a Greater Manchester Youth Opera, which it says will work with young people across the region “from backgrounds under-represented and underserved in the arts” to broaden access and “diversify the sector talent pipeline”.

ENO will work with Royal Northern College of Music, Darwen Music Hub and a range of other partners to pilot the project, beginning in September 2025.

Community football and opera will be married in Perfect Pitch, a “large-scale participation programme” set to explore the impact that mass singing has on team performance and spectator experience. Co-created with Salford-based outdoor arts specialists Walk the Plank, community groups and local football teams, the programme will kick off next summer.

Among the programmes to develop new work planned for the next three years are a Creative Incubator, launched with the Royal Northern College of Music to provide space and mentoring for new operatic projects, and cross-disciplinary R&D labs to foster the exploration of new forms of immersive and mixed-reality opera from spring 2026.

Both ENO’s creative health programme ENO Breathe, created for people recovering from Covid-19, and its free learning and participation department ENO Learning, will expand into Greater Manchester, with the latter aiming to work with 30 schools this academic year.

Finally, ENO is set to work with the University of Manchester on Tuning into Opera, public consultations and conversations focused on exploring opportunities for the art form in Greater Manchester. The first public conversation event will take place at Manchester International Festival at Aviva Studios in July 2025.

Announcing the first wave of plans and programming, Mollica said: “Working together over the last year, we could not be more clear that Greater Manchester is the right place to put down roots, a place where we can develop, expand and innovate.

“Building on the region’s legendary reputation as the heart of music making in this country, we can make a difference to audiences and communities, help invest in the next generation of talent and break new ground in the future of the art form – locally, nationally and internationally.”

ENO’s artistic director, Annilese Miskimmon, added: “We are absolutely delighted to be able to share our plans after many months of discussions. We are truly grateful for the inspirational support we have received from so many people and organisations in Greater Manchester to achieve this – our first expression of the future programme together.”

Culture minister Chris Bryant called the plans “exciting and inspiring”, declaring that they would help “ensure that arts and culture are no longer the preserve of a privileged few”.

“The arts have the power to make a huge difference to people’s lives and these new plans announced by English National Opera and Greater Manchester will be fantastic for the people in the city and the wider area,” Bryant said. “I encourage people all across the region to make the most of this exciting new opportunity.”

ACE chief executive Darren Henley added: “The plans and programme announced by ENO today are truly electrifying, in scale, scope and ambition.

“It’s thrilling to anticipate this innovative, exceptional work being staged here in Manchester – and to know that, from here, that work will reach out to touch audiences around the world.”

The Lowry’s chief executive, Julia Fawcett, welcomed the ENO’s announcement and heralded an opportunity for “new and diverse audiences” to explore opera, while John McGrath, artistic director and chief executive of Factory International, said he was particularly looking forward to working with ENO to develop employment opportunities for the people of Manchester through its training programme, Factory Academy.