Opera company makes surprising move to win over Manchester football fans
Famous London opera group moves north and plans to mix classical music with football culture. The company wants to create new shows using Manchesterʼs rich music history while working with local sports teams
The English National Opera has picked an odd-yet-interesting way to start its new life in Manchester: reaching out to soccer enthusiasts. After a big money-related shake-up about 2 years ago (when they lost their £12 million support unless they left London)‚ the group is trying something new up north
Jenny Mollica‚ the groups leader is super-excited about their new project called Perfect-Pitch which will start early next year: it aims to see how group-singing affects both players and fans at matches. “Manchester is definitely the right place for us“ she says showing real trust in the citys famous music background
The move-up north hasnt been all smooth sailing though. A while back Lord Sumption quit his board spot; calling it a philistine choice that might hurt their money situation. Some musicians werent happy either – they almost went on strike when part-time contracts came up
The opera group will use cool places like the Aviva Studios and Lowry Theatre; taking their time to settle in completely by 2029. Theyʼve got big plans too:
- Making new operas that show Manchesterʼs different communities
- Putting on Einstein on the Beach by Glass and Wilson
- Starting a youth opera group
- Running health programs with breathing exercises
Theyre mixing things up; using the citys rich pop music history (think The Smiths and Oasis) to make something new – its gonna be interesting to see how football and opera work together in this non-traditional mix-up
