ENO chorus success

Members of the English National Opera chorus settled their dispute about wage cuts with management at the eleventh hour. They had overwhelmingly voted to strike and not sing during the first act the opera Akhnaten on Friday 18 March, the last night of this acclaimed production.

The performance of Philip Glass’s mesmerisingly beautiful opera about the Egyptian pharaoh passed off without need for the much-publicised strike. The performers' union Equity had been able to negotiate a guaranteed pay package, substantially above management's initial offer.

The future of the ENO is under threat after a 30 per cent cut in grant funding, which led to the attempt to cut the pay and numbers of the chorus. The artistic success of Akhnaten and resolution of the dispute with the chorus was only a short-lived respite. The widely-respected ENO musical director Mark Wigglesworth resigned four days later.

Wigglesworth was unable to persuade management that the answer to budget cuts was to introduce less costly but year-round artistic innovation. The current management plan for a reduced season would, he feared, lead to a loss of identity as a national ensemble based at the London Coliseum. The fight goes on to save the ENO's unique contribution to Britain's cultural life from the dead hand of austerity.