English National Opera, currently based at London's Coliseum, has announced plans for a new partnership between the company and Greater Manchester ahead of its move to Manchester by 2029.

The partnership will include links with venues and organisations across Manchester, encompassing a new youth opera company, cross-arts collaboration, new work development in opera, health programmes and presentations of classic ENO productions. 

The projects announced in the first wave include:

• A new immersive production presented with Factory International, Improbable and Park Avenue Armory New York of Philip Glass and Robert Wilson’s opera Einstein on the Beach, following the international success of Satyagraha and Akhnaten, directed by Improbable Theatre’s Phelim McDermott and premiering in Spring 2027.

 • A new production for the UK premiere of Angel’s Bone, the contemporary opera by Chinese American composer Du Yun and librettist Royce Vavrek, produced by ENO in collaboration with Factory International, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, and presented at Aviva Studios in May 2026.

• Marking the beginning of a new partnership with Lowry, ENO’s production of Benjamin Britten’s classic comic ensemble opera Albert Herring, performed with the Orchestra of English National Opera, will open in October 2025.

 • The creation of a Greater Manchester Youth Opera Company in partnership with Greater Manchester and Blackburn with Darwen Music Hub, working with young people aged 13-19 from across the city-region from backgrounds underrepresented and underserved in the arts. ENO will pilot the project beginning in September 2025. 

• An expansion of ENO Breathe, ENO’s  creative health programme, originally created for people recovering from COVID-19 with Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust from Autumn 2024.

• The Royal Northern College of Music and ENO will launch a Creative Incubator, providing space, mentoring and performance platforms for artists and composers to develop new operatic work that reflects Greater Manchester’s communities, drawing on the region’s diverse musical traditions. Opera Factory GM will see ENO and Factory International co-create an ongoing series of cross-disciplinary research and development labs designed to explore new forms of opera, from innovations in mixed reality to immersive environments. Launching in Spring 2026.

• ENO Engage, ENO’s learning and participation department, will expand their national free music-making programme Finish This…, designed for primary, secondary and SEND schools to the city-region, working with 30 schools across Greater Manchester this academic year, with further expansion in 2025/26. 

• Collaboration with Factory International through its award-winning Factory Academy training programme, offering vocational training opportunities in opera for young people living in Greater Manchester from backgrounds underrepresented in the arts. From Spring 2025, participants will develop skills in technical roles and producing, working with ENO and Factory International on a range of joint opportunities, including as part of the creative and technical teams delivering Philip Glass’s Einstein on the Beach.

• The University of Manchester and ENO will work together on Tuning into Opera. This invites the people of Greater Manchester to explore the opportunities for the artform and discuss what it means to have an opera company based in the city-region. The first public conversation event will take place at Manchester International Festival at Aviva Studios in July 2025.

Jenny Mollica, Chief Executive of English National Opera, said of the announcement: '...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.'

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: 'Greater Manchester has always been at the heart of the UK music scene, with a legacy and energy that’s second to none. We’re thrilled to welcome English National Opera to our city-region, as a partner in our ambition to inspire the younger generation and create real opportunities for our young people. Music is at the heart of our creative history. This move will bring fantastic opportunities for the development of opera across Greater Manchester.'

ENO’s Greater Manchester partnerships and programme will continue to develop alongside the continuation of annual seasons at the London Coliseum, and ENO’s nationwide education and health programmes.

What is Factory International in Manchester?

Factory International, now known as Aviva Studios, is a prominent new cultural venue located in Manchester. It is part of a major investment in the arts and culture scene of the city. It officially opened in summer 2023.

Does everyone support ENO's move to Manchester?

ENO has come under scrutiny since it announced its plans for the move to Manchester in December 2023. ENO management announced plans last year to make all of the chorus, orchestra and music staff redundant and only reemploy them for 6 months of the year. This worried many creatives about the status of their future work with the company.

After the pay cut to the ENO orchestra was announced in October, music director Martyn Brabbins resigned in protest. Brabbins said, 'My conducting home for seven years, ENO has been a pinnacle of opera creation on the world stage ... as a result of Arts Council England’s narrow-minded and negligent decision to push ENO out of London, these brilliant musicians face devastation to their livelihoods and untold stress to their families.

Why does ENO need to move?

Two years ago, in November 2022, English National Opera lost its annual grant as one of Arts Council England’s national portfolio of funded organisations. This was part of an increased redistribution of government money away from London and towards other parts of the country.

The company lost its £12.6m annual core grant. Instead, it was to receive £17m over three years as part of a plan to move its location. Following months of campaigning within the sector due to the feared unsustainability of the grant, the Arts Council and ENO agreed the company would receive a grant of £24 million to cover from  April 2024 to March 2026. It was also granted more time for its relocation, with the completion expected by 2029.