ENO Chair Harry Brünjes Warns the Organisation Will Close if Forced to Relocate

English National Opera Chair Harry Brünjes has warned that the organisation will close permanently in April next year if it is forced to move out of London, according to The Stage.

Brünjes spoke at the All-Party Parliamentary Group for opera on November 16.

The ENO lost all its Arts Council England funding, but was offered additional funds to relocate to the suggested location of Manchester.

Brünjes said: "There is a lot of discussion around relocation to Manchester, and we have got to flatten that immediately. There is no relocation."

"This is closing ENO down. This is losing 600 jobs from London of talented and devoted and able people across all departments - so let's get this clear."

"Manchester is the final scene of The Wizard of Oz - you pull [back] the curtain, and there is a bloke turning a wheel and puffing smoke in the air. So as it stands, ENO will close in April after nearly a century, and that's the end of it."

An online petition to reinstate the ENO's funding has received over 49,000 signatures so far.

Image Credit: ENO