University welcomes English National Opera's move to Greater Manchester

A new partnership between ENO and Greater Manchester Combined Authority will see them work together on plans to bring the opera company’s globally renowned cultural offer to a main base in the city region by 2029.

Alan E. Williams, Professor of Collaborative Composition at the University of Salford said: “The move of English National Opera to Greater Manchester is undoubtedly an exciting opportunity.

“An opera company represents the bringing together of many different disciplines, including stage and set design, lighting and costume design, as well as orchestral musicians and chorus. The announcement yesterday indicates that the company will be keen to do opera differently, and with our staff and student expertise in new technology such as immersive audio and video, we are very well placed to offer innovative approaches to this most prestigious artform. We did, after all, stage the first opera in MediaCity in 2012, which featured use of the Digital Performance Lab and the second screens in the foyer of our MediaCity campus.

“Attracting international companies like ENO to the North West is a huge boost for the musical ecosystem in the North West, and in addition to the new arts venues like Aviva Studios, the move of Radio 3 to Salford and the existing international organisations based in the region like the BBC Philharmonic, the Hallé and Manchester Camerata, the region is becoming stronger and stronger musically.”