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Purpose

Royal Opera House

Annual Review 2006/07

Purpose

Royal Opera House

Annual Review 2006/07

Governance and ManagementThe direction and control of the Royal Opera House is determinedby the Board of Trustees, which meets at least seven times per year.The role of the Board is to approve and monitor the strategy of theRoyal Opera House and ensure that it is being effectively managed.The Trustees are also responsible for the appointment of theChief Executive, as well as the most senior management positions.The Chief Executive, with the assistance of the Executive Team,manages the day-to-day operations of the Royal Opera House.

The Royal Opera House is the home of three world class performingcompanies – The Royal Ballet, TheRoyal Opera, and The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. It is a focalpoint for national and internationalartistic excellence, where the evolvingtraditions of opera and ballet are taken to the highest levels. In its iconicbuilding, renowned stars and risingtalent inspire diverse audiences fromaround the world. Excellence withoutcompromise.Open to all. A progressivetradition.This is the Royal Opera House.

01Royal Opera House Annual Review 2006/07

The year at a glance page 02

Chairman’s statement page 06

Chief Executive’s report page 10

Voices of Value page 15

Part 1 Qualitypage 17

Part 2 Scopepage 37

Part 3 Participationpage 57

Part 4 Enrichmentpage 73

Part 5 Innovationpage 85

Part 6 Financepage 97

Part 7 Referencepage 108

Contents

Table of contents

Board of TrusteesDame Judith Mayhew Jonas –

ChairmanThe Countess of ChichesterSir David Clementi Marco CompagnoniPeggy DannenbaumSir David LeesSir Frank LoweThomas LynchProfessor Margaret MadenNicholas PrettejohnSimon RobertsonSimon RobeyDame Gail RonsonThe Lady SainsburyKenneth TharpJudith Weir

Executive Management TeamTony Hall – Chief ExecutiveMonica Mason – Director,

The Royal BalletAntonio Pappano – Music

Director, The Royal OperaDeborah Bull – Creative

Director, ROH2Caroline Bailey –

Director of MarketingElizabeth Bridges –

Director of PersonnelRuth Jarratt – Director

of Policy DevelopmentPeter Katona – Director

of Opera CastingSarah Kemp – Director

of Finance and Business AffairsChristopher Millard –

Director of Press andCommunications

John Mortlock – Deputy Director of Finance

Elaine Padmore – Director of Opera

Hazel Province – Orchestra Director

Paul Reeve – Director of Education

Anthony Russell-Roberts –Administrative Director, The Royal Ballet

Amanda Saunders – Director of Development

John Seekings – Director of Operations andCompany Secretary

Finance and Audit CommitteeSir David Lees – ChairmanDame Judith Mayhew JonasThomas LynchSimon RobertsonNicholas PrettejohnSir David ClementiSimon Robey

Remuneration CommitteeDame Judith Mayhew Jonas –

ChairmanSir David LeesThomas LynchSir David Clementi

ROH2, Education and Access CommitteeProfessor Margaret Maden –

ChairmanDame Judith Mayhew JonasKenneth TharpPeggy DannenbaumJudith WeirThe Lady Sainsbury

Nominations’ CommitteeDame Judith Mayhew Jonas –

ChairmanSir David LeesSimon RobertsonThomas LynchProfessor Margaret Maden

Development CommitteeSimon Robertson – ChairmanMichael BienesDavid BrownlowThe Countess of ChichesterMarco CompagnoniPeggy DannenbaumThomas LynchSimon RobeyDame Gail RonsonBernard TaylorSir Brian WilliamsonLady Young of Graffham

0302 Royal Opera House Annual Review 2006/07 The year at a glance

293performances on the main stage

274performances on other stages

613,000people attended performances

Performance

9600+children attended our schools’ matinees

4815Paul Hamlyn Club tickets sold

80,000+people saw the Dancing Through The War exhibition

Reach

0504 Royal Opera House Annual Review 2006/07 The year at a glance

* Excluding The Ring performances

7thsuccessive season, half of all tickets, for every performance, cost £50 or less*

13,500students registered for £10 Student Standby tickets

45%of patrons were new to the ROH

Access

£2+raised for every £1 received as public subsidy

8thsuccessive balanced result

£11m+generated by online ticket sales

Finance

0706 Royal Opera House Annual Review 2006/07 Chairman’s statement

Chairman’s statement

“To me, there is no better operahouse anywhere in the world. It is thefusion of the dedication of staff andsupporters that makes this a reality.”

Judith Mayhew JonasChairman

Whenever I pause to reflect on a year at theRoyal Opera House, I frequently find myselfsurprised at just how much has been offered onour stages, and how many things have beenachieved. So much goes on in addition to TheRoyal Ballet and The Royal Opera’s productionsin the main auditorium, which is wonderful.What underpins the ability of the Royal OperaHouse to produce such rich, diverse work is thesupport of individuals, companies, Trusts andFoundations who give their time, effort and moneyto our enterprise. But financial durability, theprerequisite for any serious artistic institution,also requires vision: the ability to see what needsto be done, and how to do it, so that todaystrengthens tomorrow. It is this marriage of anaccomplished executive management team to an array of unwavering supporters that permitsthe Royal Opera House to set a unique level ofexcellence in everything that it does.

I am delighted to be able to report theacquisition of Opus Arte, the renowned classicalmusic and dance DVD-production and distributioncompany. It was bought through the use of aspecial fund of accumulated reserves, held by theTrustees of the Royal Opera House for the solepurpose of capital and infrastructure projects.This is the first time that any opera house in theworld has acquired a proprietary productioncompany of this nature. Tony Hall and hisExecutive Team have demonstrated considerableambition in their business strategy by securingthis major acquisition. Sarah Kemp and thedigital strategy team played a pivotal role in thistransaction and I thank them for their efforts.

0908 Royal Opera House Annual Review 2006/07 Chairman’s statement

a whole was augmented by Sir Donald Gordon’sgenerous contributions. Access was widened yet again, in numerous ways, by people andorganizations committed to opening our stagesto everyone. Paul Hamlyn Performances andPaul Hamlyn Club, BP Summer Big Screens,Legal & General Schools’ Matinees, Travelex £10Mondays and Travelex Student Standbys, and theRobey Family’s backing of Open House initiatives,have all helped more people than ever to enjoyour work.

I would like to thank the people whom I sit alongside - my colleagues on the Board andDevelopment Committee. Their unstinting supportof all that we do and aspire to, the enormousassistance they give to our DevelopmentDepartment, and the sound business acumenand vision they bring to achieving our objectives,is invaluable. I would also like to thank Tony Hall, Monica Mason, Antonio Pappano and theExecutive Team for their leadership and dedication.

The backing of Arts Council England and the DCMS continues to enable the Royal OperaHouse to be a place whose reputation is somethingthat this country can be proud of. Our gratitudefor this cannot be measured.

To me, there is no better opera house anywherein the world. It is the fusion of the dedication ofstaff and supporters that makes this a reality. Thishas been a landmark year for the Royal OperaHouse and the groundwork has been laid for evengreater success. It is very gratifying to be part ofthat process.

Judith Mayhew JonasChairman

A further layer of significant financial supporthas been added by the most generous donationof £10 million towards the establishment of a permanent Paul Hamlyn Education Fund,within the Royal Opera House EndowmentFund. This was a major achievement by the Chief Executive and Director of Developmentand a major act of generosity by the donor. Tocommemorate this exceptional contribution,the Floral Hall has been re-dedicated the PaulHamlyn Hall. The endowment will energize thework of ROH Education for generations tocome, and marks a major step towards our five -year objective of increasing the Royal Opera HouseEndowment Fund to £50 million.

I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to ourvaried and generous supporters who, year in, yearout, make possible so much that happens here.Opera received a considerable boost with the aidof Peter Borender, The Hobson Charity, and The Dalriada Trust on The Ring, and Coutts & Coon Tosca. It was given further support by TheGenesis Foundation and Hélène and Jean Peters.Dance and ballet, in all its varied forms at theRoyal Opera House, was empowered by a longlist of philanthropists: Dianne and MichaelBienes, The Dalriada Trust, The Friends ofCovent Garden, our Trust Members, MarinaHobson MBE, Huntswood, The Blavatnik FamilyFoundation, the Estate of Dr John Hayes, TheJean Sainsbury Royal Opera House Fund, TheRoyal Opera House Endowment Fund, Tamarand Bob Manoukian, Mr and Mrs Alec Reed, andSimon and Virginia Robertson. Together, theyfacilitated a staggering wealth of contrastingproductions and work. Our Jette Parker YoungArtists were bolstered by the continuing supportof the Oak Foundation, and our organization as

1110 Royal Opera House Annual Review 2006/07 Chief Executive’s report

Chief Executive’s report

To my mind there is no more excitingmoment than the few seconds when the houselights go down and the curtain is about to go up.Preparing for that moment makes extraordinarydemands on people and necessitates exceptionallevels of skill and commitment, in a breathtakingrange of disciplines. When audiences watch a production at the Royal Opera House they have an expectation that what they see will begenuinely outstanding, something completelybeyond the ordinary. Thanks to the work of ourartists and all of our staff, in myriad roles, whosupport them, I believe we deliver on thatexpectation night after night. Our attendancefigures demonstrate the thirst for what we do. Wecontinue to augment our ability to reach out, invaried ways, to an increasingly diverse audience.The financial strategy that has brought increasedstability to the Opera House over the last fewyears, assures our ability to create some of thegreatest opera and ballet in the world, and tofoster new talent so that it may flourish andempower our art forms. There is nowhere else inthe world that has the range of programme thatwe have, year in and year out, and I would arguenowhere else with our range of talent either.That breadth is something to be celebrated andis well illustrated in this Review.

The greatest area of change has been withinThe Royal Ballet. It is a big thing when DarceyBussell announces she is going to retire, andSylvie Guillem decides to pursue a new direction.Sad moments, for the Royal Opera House, butwhen you look at the talent being nurtured byThe Royal Ballet, you can see we’re lucky to have

“We have to keep scanning thehorizon for innovative, exciting ideas,and fresh ways of doing things andconnecting with people.”

Tony HallChief Executive

1312 Royal Opera House Annual Review 2006/07 Chief Executive’s report

A hugely exciting development for our future was our acquisition this year of theinternationally respected classical music anddance DVD company, Opus Arte UK. It bringswith it not only cutting edge production andpost-production facilities, but also a rich catalogueof performances. Over the coming years, we willadd more of our own recordings, and those ofother like-minded opera and ballet companies.Opus Arte will be the engine room that drives thedistribution of what we do here to a globalaudience, not just through releasing DVDs butalso through broadcast, cinema relays, andbroadband internet; the possibilities are enormous.

I believe that we have to look outwards. Wehave to keep scanning the horizon for innovative,exciting ideas, and fresh ways of doing things andconnecting with people. It has been good to seeour Education department attract so muchattention for all the positive things they’ve beendoing such as Azucena’s Revenge with DowdalesPerforming Arts College. This year has also seenthe launch of a programme to build a new homefor our workshops in Thurrock, where we can offerapprenticeships and learning opportunities toyoung people locally. 1000 people from the areaattended a Paul Hamlyn Performance at theRoyal Opera House recently, and it was veryexciting to be able to welcome them to CoventGarden. Drawing people here in new ways is keyto what we do, and always will be.

Financially, once again, it has been anencouraging twelve months. We have brokeneven for the eighth successive year which is notsomething to be complacent about. The rate of growth, in terms of people supporting usfinancially, has increased by something like 9%

so many exciting dancers working with us. Wehave a unique heritage left to us by Ashton and MacMillan, but The Royal Ballet is lookingahead as much as building on the past. Theappointment of Wayne McGregor as ResidentChoreographer is a hugely progressive step. Not only will he produce choreography of thehighest calibre, but he will also energize andinspire productions, people, and education inballet. His appointment says much about ourintent and commitment. In tandem with thiscomes the welcome return of Barry Wordsworthas Music Director of The Royal Ballet. His focuson the musical quality of our ballet productionswill give so much to the Orchestra and to theCompany. We’ve had some incredibly excitingproductions this year, just think of Chroma andDGV, and a series of wonderful revivals. It’s quiteclear that the lifeblood of The Royal Ballet ispositively pulsing.

Of the many memorable evenings The RoyalOpera has given us in the last year, La Fille durégiment, with Natalie Dessay, Juan Diego Flórezand, of course, Dawn French, perhaps mostcaught the imagination of the broader public. It was one of the six new productions we put onstage in this financial year. And of our revivals, we were all particularly pleased to welcome back Tom Adès’ The Tempest. In our LinburyStudio Theatre we had a significant first: theworld premiere of Bird of Night, by TrinidadianDominique Le Gendre, the first opera by afemale composer commissioned by The RoyalOpera. OperaGenesis, our project to help thecreation of new operatic works, is also doing ahuge amount to nurture the art form and bodeswell for the future.

1514 Royal Opera House Annual Review 2006/07 Voices of Value

This organization aims to be ofvalue to people from every walk of life.Each section of this book is prefacedby a unique, individual experience ofthe Royal Opera House. We hope thatthese voices tell an important story.

to £16.5 million. It is remarkable, and is terrificwork by all those involved in making that happen.

I hope that when reading about theachievements of this year it will become clear justhow much is on offer and how high the standard of our work is. This is a direct result of themonumental effort of the people who work at theRoyal Opera House. They make us a world classhome for opera and ballet. I believe that whatthey do matters deeply and I applaud them for it.

Tony HallChief Executive

1716 Royal Opera House Annual Review 2006/07 17 Part 1– Quality

“I thought opera was something for peoplein higher circles. But when I got there and sawhow friendly and helpful the staff were, and howinspiring the place is, I was totally shocked. I hadno idea what to expect. I went to the HamlynPerformance of Eugene Onegin and was just blownaway. To experience something in a differentlanguage and completely understand it, wasincredible. If someone had said to me that I’d feel like that, I’d never have believed them. It really opened my eyes. I’d love to go again.”

Claudius Francis, resident of The NehemiahProject, remembering his first ROH performance.

Nehemiah is a charity established to help people overcome life-controlling issues, to fulfil their potential in life.

Part 1 Quality

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1918 Royal Opera House Annual Review 2006/07 Part 1– Quality

The stars of ballet and opera are notcelebrities. They are people who haveworked ceaselessly to master their art. They are people who are able to perform to an extraordinary level.They are people who can connect,uniquely, with their audiences. Their performances illuminate a role,enflame new passions and live in thememory. This is their contribution.

Quality

Darcey Bussell and Gary Avis DGV


Eric UnderwoodChroma

Anna CaterinaAntonacci Carmen


Gillian Revie The Sleeping Beauty

2524 Royal Opera House Annual Review 2006/07

Angela DenokeErwartung

Johan Kobborg andLeanne BenjaminStravinsky ViolinConcerto

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Carlos AcostaCubanRequiem and RhapsodyColas La Fille mal gardéePrince Florimund The Sleeping BeautyPrince Siegfried Swan LakeThe Four Temperaments

Marcelo AlvarezArgentinianCaravadossi ToscaRodolfo La bohèmeManrico Il trovatore

Orlin AnastassovBulgarianMéphistophèlés Faust

Anna CaterinaAntonacciItalianTitle role Carmen

Isabel BayakdarianArmenianSusannaLe nozze di Figaro

Piotr BeczalaPolishTitle role Faust

Leanne BenjaminAustralianTitle role GiselleStravinsky Violin ConcertoRhapsody and PolyphoniaDGV Children of Adam

Federico BonelliItalianRomeo Romeo and Juliet Count Albrecht Giselle Prince Florimund The Sleeping BeautyJames La SylphideChroma

Nicole CabellAmericanPrincess Eudoxie La Juive in concert

Bruno CampanellaItalianConductor Don Pasquale and La Fille du régiment

Alina CojocaruRomanianPrincess Aurora The Sleeping BeautySugar Plum Fairy The NutcrackerSylph La SylphideOdette/Odile Swan LakeTatiana Onegin

Alessandro CorbelliItalianTitle role Don Pasquale

Yu Qiang DaiChinese Calaf Turandot

The World Stage

The Royal Opera House is a nexusfor some of the greatest talent in theworld. This year alone, the followingartists have delighted our audiences.

Catherine Wyn-Rogersand Marina PoplavskayaGötterdämmerung


Elena KelessidiGreekLiù Turandot

Kyle KetelsenAmericanTitle role Le nozze di Figaro

Johan KobborgDanishPrince Florimund The Sleeping BeautyPrince The Nutcracker James La SylphidePrince Siegfried Swan Lake Title role Onegin

Sophie Koch FrenchCherubino Le nozze di FigaroRamiro La finta giardiniera

Aleksandra KurzakPolishNorina Don Pasquale

Sarah Lamb AmericanPrincess Aurora The Sleeping BeautySugar Plum Fairy The NutcrackerSylph La SylphideOdette/Odile Swan Lake Polyphonia

Petra Lang GermanJudith Duke Bluebeard’s Castle

Stefanos LazaridisGreekDesignerGötterdämmerung

Nicola LuisottiItalianConductor Il trovatoreand Madama Butterfly

Georgina LukacsHungarianTitle role Turandot

Charles MackerrasAustralianConductor Orlando

Roberta MarquezBrazilianLise La Fille mal gardéePrincess Aurora The Sleeping BeautySwanilda CoppéliaOdette/Odile Swan Lake

Catherine NaglestadAmericanTitle role Tosca

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Angela DenokeGermanThe Woman Erwartung

Natalie DessayFrench Marie La Fille du régiment

Albert DohmenGermanTitle role Duke Bluebeard’s Castle

Plácido DomingoSpanishTitle role Cyrano de Bergerac

Gerald FinlayCanadianCount Almaviva Le nozze di Figaro

Juan Diego FlórezPeruvianTonio La Fille du régiment

Mihoko FujimuraJapaneseWaltrauteGötterdämmerung

Mara GaleazziItalianPrincess Aurora The Sleeping BeautyTatiana Onegin

Vladimir GalouzineRussianGherman The Queen of Spades

Lisa GasteenAustralianBrünnhilde Götterdämmerung

Angela GheorghiuRomanianTitle role ToscaMarguerite Faust

Ben HeppnerCanadianCalaf Turandot

Soile IsokoskiFinnishCountess Almaviva Le nozze di Figaro

Philippe JordanSwissConductor EugeneOnegin and La bohème

Jonas KaufmannGermanDon José Carmen

31Royal Opera House Annual Review 2006/07 31

Camilla TillingSwedishArminda La finta giardiniera

Katie Van KootenAmericanAminta Il re pastoreMarguerite FaustMimì La bohème

Viktoria VizinHungarianTitle role Carmen

Michael VolleGermanCount Almaviva Le nozze di Figaro

Eva-Maria WestbroekDutchKaterina Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk

Zenaida YanowskySpanishOdette/Odile Swan LakeStravinsky Violin ConcertoThe Four Temperaments Apollo

Miyako YoshidaJapaneseJuliet Romeo and JulietLise La Fille mal gardéeSwanilda CoppéliaSugar Plum FairyThe Nutcracker

Francesca ZambelloAmericanDirector Carmen andThe Queen of Spades

Liping ZhangChineseCio-Cio-SanMadama Butterfly Micaëla Carmen

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Marianela NuñezArgentinianPrincess Aurora The Sleeping BeautySugar Plum Fairy The NutcrackerSwanilda CoppéliaOdette/OdileSwan Lake

Marina PoplavskayaRussianRachel La Juive in concertThird Norn Götterdämmerung

Ivan PutrovUkranianJames La SylphideLensky OneginTitle role Apollo

Sondra RadvanovskyAmericanRoxanne Cyrano de Bergerac

Samuel RameyAmericanBaron Scarpia Tosca

Tamara RojoSpanishPrincess Aurora The Sleeping BeautySugar Plum Fairy The NutcrackerSylph La SylphideOdette/Odile Swan LakeRequiem

Nicola Rossi GiordanoItalianCaravadossi Tosca

Viacheslav SamodurovRussianColas La Fille mal gardéeRequiemThe Four TemperamentsPrince The NutcrackerPrince Florimund The Sleeping Beauty

Thiago SoaresBrazilianPrince Florimund The Sleeping BeautyPrince The NutcrackerFranz Coppélia


Thomas AdèsComposer andconductor The Tempest

Simon ArmitageLibrettist The Assassin Tree

BellowheadBand Voices Across the World

Ian BostridgeCaliban The Tempest

Paul BrownDesigner Tosca

Darcey BussellTitle role GiselleThe Queen of the Air Homage to The QueenTerpsichore Apollo

Helen ChadwickComposer andperformer Dalston Songs (Firsts)

Paule ConstableLighting Le nozze di Figaro, Faustand Carmen

Lauren CuthbertsonMyrtha GiselleAurora and The Lilac Fairy The Sleeping Beauty Chroma

Colin DavisConductorLe nozze di Figaro

Charles EdwardsDesigner Faust

Mark ElderConductor Cyrano de Bergerac

Martin FirrellVisual ArtistIt’s passion that binds us

John Eliot GardinerConductor La finta giardiniera

Edward GardnerConductor Il re pastore

Chantelle GotobedDancer Ballet Black

Susan GrittonLiù Turandot

Martin HarveyColas La Fille mal gardéeTitle role Onegin

Matthew HartOsvald Ghosts

Belinda HatleyLise La Fille mal gardée

Wendy HeskethChoreographer and performer Wired Aerial TheatreHandmade/manmade (Firsts)

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Home Grown

Our country boasts a wealth of worldclass artists. Because we are the nationalfocus for our arts, we are committed tosupporting them, as well as discovering,training, nurturing and exposing new British talent so that we may swelltheir ranks.


Christine RiceJudith Duke Bluebeard’s CastleSiébel FaustSonyetka Lady Macbeth of MtsenskConcepcion L’Heure espagnole

Joan RogersNella Gianni Schicchi

Kate RoyalMiranda The Tempest

Liam ScarlettChoreographer Vayamos al Diablo(In Good Company)ChoreographerHinterland(Ballet Black)

Andrew ShoreDon Inigo Gomez Gianni Schicchi

Bryn TerfelBaron Scarpia ToscaTitle role Gianni Schicchi

John TomlinsonHagenGötterdämmerung

John TreleavenSiegfriedGötterdämmerung

William TuckettWidow Simone La Fille mal gardéeDirector andChoreographer The Wind in the WillowsDirector andChoreographer TimeCode

Fin WalkerChoreographer 5 2 10(Walker Dance Park Music)

Keith WarnerDirector Götterdämmerung

Edward WatsonCount Albrecht Giselle Polyphonia Castle NowhereChroma

Judith WeirComposer Blond Eckbert

Jonathan WatkinsChoreographer Silent Vision (In Good Company)

Christopher WheeldonChoreographerPolyphonia

Adam WiltshireDesigner Children of Adam and Blond Eckbert

Part 1– Quality34

Richard JonesDirector Lady Macbeth of MtsenskGianni Schicchi andL’Heure espagnole

Eddie LaddChoreographer and performer Blodeuwedd and Cof y Corff/MuscleMemory

Simon KeenlysideProspero The Tempest

Jonathan KentDirector Tosca

John MacfarlaneDesigner Lady Macbeth of MtsenskGianni Schicchi andL’Heure espagnole

Stuart MacRaeComposer The Assassin Tree

Wayne McGregorChoreographer Chroma

David McVicarDirector FaustLe nozze di Figaro

Christopher MaltmanDoctor Malatesta Don PasqualeRoberto/Nardo La finta giardinieraRamiro L’Heure espagnole

Alastair MarriottWidow SimoneLa Fille mal gardéeChoreographer Children of Adam

Cathy MarstonChoreographer Ghosts

Jonathan MillerDirectorDon Pasquale

Diana MontagueMarcellina Le nozze di Figaro

Robert MurrayAgenore Il re pastore

Dennis O’NeillEléazar La Juive in concert

Ben ParkComposer 5 2 10 (Walker Dance Park Music)

John PawsonDesigner Chroma

Rupert PennefatherPrince The Sleeping Beauty Requiem

3736 Royal Opera House Annual Review 2006/07 Part 2 – Scope

“Black and Asian faces are virtually absentfrom ballet. Ballet Black was set up to address this by providing coaching, role models, andperformances. When the ROH offered usongoing rehearsal and training space, we thoughtwe’d be in a dank, basement studio. When we gothere we were just awed by the facilities; it’s stillhard to believe we’re allowed to use them! It’s themost incredible place to be and it lifts all of us.By performing in The Linbury we demonstrate ourcapabilities, raise our profile and make ourselvesas accessible as possible, which is what we’re about.”

Cassa Pancho, Director, Ballet Black, discussing ethnic diversity in dance.

Ballet Black is the UK’s only neo-classical ballet company for dancers of Black and Asian descent.

Part 2 Scope


Scope

We strive to create genuine breadth in the experiences we can offerour audiences. The range of the RoyalOpera House is unique in the worldtoday. Each of our stages has its owndistinct personality, and this allows us to present an exciting array oftalent, fully-formed or just starting to set the world alight, in an eclecticrange of work and productions.

Main Auditorium152 opera and 140 ballet performancesseen by 564,084 people

Clore Studio Upstairs66 performances and events seen by 8270 people

Linbury Studio Theatre162 performances and eventsseen by 47,456 people

Paul Hamlyn Hall48 events entertaining 11,733 people

Crush Room31 performances seen by 4960 people

Marianela Nuñez and Thiago SoaresVoluntaries


Andrea Baker andBetsabée Haas Bird of Night

Alina CojocaruThe Sleeping Beautyin rehearsal


Tamara Rojo Swan Lake

Natalie DessayLa Fille du régiment

45Royal Opera House Annual Review 2006/07

Carlos Acosta Apollo

Part 2 – Scope44

Angela Gheorghiuand Bryn Terfel Tosca


Opera Our audiences have been challenged anddelighted in equal measure this year. Thelandmark conclusion of Wagner’s Ring Cycle,Götterdämmerung, was an enormous edifice toscale, artistically and logistically. The immenselypositive reactions from those who saw itunderlined the real public passion for ambitious,world class productions. Having now presentedall four parts of Wagner’s meisterwerk, we havethe wonderful prospect of being able to offer acomplete Cycle next Season.

Revivals have offered a wide array of strongwork. In September the first revival of The RoyalOpera’s Olivier Award-winning production ofShostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk was acritical and public success. It marked the firsttime that Antonio Pappano has returned to awork to conduct its revival, and typifies theensemble philosophy that has evolved under hismusical leadership. Pappano and his collaborators,director Richard Jones and designer JohnMacfarlane, ended our year with another widely-acclaimed production with the double-bill ofRavel’sL’Heure espagnol, and Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. InMarch, the first revival of Thomas Adès’s modernoperatic masterpiece, The Tempest, originally seenat the ROH in 2004, was well received.

Our core repertory was invigorated by freshperspectives and new talent. In December, TheRoyal Opera staged a new production of Bizet’sCarmen, the first at the ROH for nearly 15 years.Conducted by Antonio Pappano and directed byFrancesca Zambello, it featured the thrillingpartnership of Anna Caterina Antonacci in the

Part 2 – Scope

Part 2 Scope

Antonio PappanoLady Macbeth ofMtsensk rehearsal


South Bank Show Awards and an Olivier Award.On the same programme, Christopher Wheeldonpresented another world premiere which drewthe plaudits, with DGV (Danse à grande vitesse)accompanied by Michael Nyman’s vibrant score. Wheeldon’s innovative choreographytook elements of travelling by train as a keytheme and DGV shared Chroma’s Olivier Award.In March, Alastair Marriott’s second ballet forthe main stage, Children of Adam, presented yetanother original choreographic sensibility to theworld, with designs by Linbury Prize-winningdesigner Adam Wiltshire.

The Royal Ballet celebrated its gloriousheritage this year in its ongoing 75th Anniversaryprogramme of performances and events. As part of this, ROH2 staged its first internationalproject, to commemorate the global legacy ofDame Ninette de Valois, the founder of TheRoyal Ballet. Companies were invited fromCanada and Australia to perform in the Linburyin two programmes that also featured BirminghamRoyal Ballet and The Royal Ballet. In Good Companyfeatured ballets from two companies that DameNinette played a part in founding, as well as workfrom her own companies. 35 Degrees East was anevening of performance from the Ankara andIstanbul companies of the Turkish NationalBallet, which Dame Ninette also founded.Another aspect of the 75th Anniversary celebrationwas a new production of The Sleeping Beauty, for The Royal Ballet, a signature piece of theCompany for over 50 years, featuring a refreshingevolution by Monica Mason, in collaboration with Christopher Newton and Peter Farmer, of its familiar elements.

Part 2 – Scope

title role and Jonas Kaufmann as a hot-bloodedDon José. In January, Donizetti’s comic masterpieceLa Fille du régiment proved a massive hit. NatalieDessay and Juan Diego Flórez took the lead rolesto universal applause in Laurent Pelly’s stunningproduction. The show has been filmed by theROH for a BBC broadcast; a DVD may follow.Another new offering of a much-loved classic wasJonathan Kent’s Tosca. It supplanted our previousproduction, which was 40 years old, with adynamic, 21st century incarnation brought to lifeby the dazzling cast of Angela Gheorghiu, MarceloAlvarez and Bryn Terfel.

New work and premieres abounded. InSeptember, The Assassin Tree, a new opera by Scottishcomposer Stuart McRae, commissioned by ROH2and the Edinburgh Festival, packed the LinburyStudio Theatre. The following month, in thesame venue, the world premiere of Bird of Nightwas staged. This was a new opera by DominiqueLe Gendre, commissioned by The Royal Opera,having originally started life as a 20-minute projectin ROH2’s A NITRO at the Opera.

BalletThis year featured some incredible new piecescreated for The Royal Ballet. A landmark MixedProgramme at the end of 2006, featured thework of two of the world’s most exciting youngchoreographers. The world premiere of Chromaby Wayne McGregor, subsequently appointed asResident Choreographer, was a stunning success.Collaborating with architect John Pawson for the sets, and with Joby Talbot and The WhiteStripes for the music, McGregor established anew choreographic language and gripped youngaudiences for sell-out performances with a topticket-price of only £37.50. Chroma won both the


New ProductionsGötterdämmerung Richard Wagner/ Antonio Pappano/Keith Warner/Stefanos LazaridisIl re pastore Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart/Edward Gardner/John Lloyd Davies

Key debutsEdward Gardner conducting Il re pastoreMihoko Fujimura Waltraute GötterdämmerungEdward Watson Count Albrecht Giselle

Landmark performancesLisa Gasteen Brünnhilde GötterdämmerungJohn Tomlinson Hagen GötterdämmerungJaimie Tapper and Darcey Bussell in the title role Giselle

New ProductionsCyrano de Bergerac Franco Alfano/MarkElder/Francesco Zambello/Peter J. DavisonThe Sleeping Beauty Marius Petipa/Pyotr Il’yichTchaikovsky/Monica Mason/Christopher Newton/Oliver Messel/Peter Farmer

Key debutsSarah Lamb Princess Aurora The Sleeping BeautyViacheslav Samodurov Prince Florimund The Sleeping Beauty Rupert Pennefather Prince Florimund The Sleeping Beauty

Landmark performancesPlácido Domingo in the title role Cyrano de BergeracThe Royal Ballet 75th Anniversary production The Sleeping BeautyPetra Lang Judith Duke Bluebeard’s CastleAngela Denoke The Woman Erwartung

April

Part 2 – Scope

Highlights 2006

May

New ProductionsBlond Eckbert The Opera Group Judith Weir/ John Fulljames/Adam Wiltshire

Key debutsIsabel Bayrakdarian Susanna Le nozze di Figaro

Landmark performancesSoile Isokoski Countess Almaviva Le nozze di FigaroThe Royal Ballet 75th Anniversary productionHomage to The Queen

New ProductionsTosca Giacomo Puccini/Antonio Pappano/Jonathan Kent/Paul Brown

Key debutsAngela Gheorghiu title role Tosca

Landmark performancesBryn Terfel Baron Scarpia ToscaAlessandro Corbelli title role Don Pasquale

June

July


New ProductionsLa finta giardiniera Wolfgang AmadeusMozart/John Eliot Gardiner/Annika Hallerafter Christof Loy/Herbert Murauer

London PremiereThe Assassin Tree Stuart McRae/GarryWalker/Emio Greco/Pieter C. Scholten

Landmark performancesPiotr Beczala title role FaustNicole Cabell Princess Eudoxie La Juivein concert at the BarbicanMarina Poplavskaya Rachel La Juivein concert at the BarbicanThe Royal Opera/Chorus/Orchestra/Antonio Pappano/Richard Jones Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk

New ProductionsBird of Night World Premiere Dominique LeGendre/Yuval Zorn/Irina Brown/Rae Smith

London PremiereHouse of the Gods Lynne Plowman/MichaelRafferty/Michael McCarthy/Colin Richmond

Key debutsThe Phantom of the Opera (1925) Rupert Julian’ssilent film/Carl Davis/The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House

Landmark performancesMarianela Nuñez and Roberta MarquezSwanilda CoppéliaMarcelo Alvarez Rodolfo La bohèmeEdward Watson Stravinsky Violin ConcertoZenaida Yanowsky Stravinsky Violin Concerto

September

October

Part 2 – Scope

New ProductionsChroma World Premiere Wayne McGregor/Joby Talbot/John PawsonDGV World Premiere Christopher Wheeldon/Michael Nyman/Jean Marc Puissant La serva padrona Giovanni Battista Pergolesi/Andrew Griffiths/Harry Fehr/Becs Andrews

Key debutsCarlos Acosta Prince Florimund The Sleeping Beauty Lauren Cuthbertson Princess Aurora The Sleeping BeautyDarcey Bussell The Four Temperaments

Landmark performancesVladimir Galouzine Gherman The Queen of SpadesAlina Cojocaru ChromaEdward Watson Chroma

New ProductionsCarmen Georges Bizet/Antonio Pappano/Francesca Zambello/Tanya McCallin

Key debutsLauren Cuthbertson Sugar Plum Fairy The NutcrackerEwan Wardrop Toad The Wind in the Willows

Landmark performancesAnna Caterina Antonacci title role CarmenJonas Kaufmann Don José Carmen

November

December


New ProductionsLa Fille du régiment Gaetano Donizetti/BrunoCampanella/Laurent Pelly/Chantal ThomasNapoli Divertissements August Bournonville/Helsted and Paulli/Johan Kobborg

Key debutsNicola Luisotti conductor Il trovatoreBallet Black

Landmark performancesNatalie Dessay Marie La Fille du régimentJuan Diego Flórez Tonio La Fille du régimentThe entire supporting cast, Chorus andOrchestra La Fille du régimentMarcelo Alvarez Manrico Il trovatoreStephanie Blythe Azucena Il trovatore

New ProductionsEddie Ladd Cof y Corff London Premiere

Key debutsBellowhead Voices Across the World Paul Hamlyn HallJoana Amendoiera and Mitsoura Voices Acrossthe World Linbury Studio Theatre

Landmark performancesLiping Zhang Cio-Cio-San Madama ButterflyBejun Mehta title role OrlandoCharles Mackerras conductor Orlando

January

February

Part 2 – Scope

Highlights 2007 New ProductionsChildren of Adam World Premiere AlastairMarriott/Christopher Rouse/Adam Wiltshire

European PremiereConstantinople Multi Music Theatre/LinburyStudio Theatre/Christos Hatzis/Gryphon Trio

Key debutsKate Royal Miranda The Tempest

Landmark performancesSimon Keenlyside Prospero The TempestCyndia Sieden Ariel The TempestThomas Adés conductor/composer andThe Orchestra of the Royal Opera House The Tempest

March


“He grew in so many ways. James can’tpretend or lie and there was nobody he didn’tlike at Turtle Opera. He hadn’t had a birthdayparty since he was very little – he just doesn’t dothem but he celebrated his 14th birthday there.He said: “It’s so nice being with normal people,”meaning people similar to him, and he’s neversaid that before. I think he felt truly comfortable.He made a new friend too. To see James enjoyinghimself so much in a social context was a specialexperience for us. At school he’d found dramavery frustrating and so had never really done any, so I think he found Turtle Opera liberating; all the musicians and helpers were excellent.He’d do it every weekend given half a chance.”

Anne Rhodes, recalling the experience of her son, James,aged 14, violin-player and Turtle Opera participant.

Turtle Opera is a music, movement and performance project for children, aged 10–14 years, with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Part 3 Participation

Part 3 – Participation

5958 Royal Opera House Annual Review 2006/07 Part 3 – Participation

The Royal Opera House has novalue as a national institution unlesswe seek to involve and engage withas many people as possible. It is our jobto remove any barriers to participationand ensure that our policies andactivities encourage people to explorethe Royal Opera House in its variousfacets. Broadcast media – web,television, radio and BP Summer Big Screens – help us to interact morebroadly with potential audiences, andwe continue to take our productionsand expertise to various regions withinthe UK, and beyond. But it is our choiceof work, and commitment to inclusionstrategies, that enables us to embracediversity and deliver as the nation’sopera house.

Participation

Paul HamlynPerformance




Intergenerational Tea Dance



Bellowheadperforming in Paul Hamlyn Hall



BP Summer BigScreens,VictoriaPark,Tower Hamlets

Ballet Black Richard Glover Taniec



Youth We have an energizing range of programmes and events aimed at young people. Introducing and involving the young in opera and danceis a central objective of the Royal Opera House, as a failure to engage with what we have to offeroften arises simply from a lack of familiarity.

In a youth culture dominated by music anddance, it should always be possible to buildbridges to our world. Projects such as New DanceMakers, perfectly illustrate this. A collaborationbetween The Royal Ballet, ROH Education, and East London Dance, it culminated in twoperformances at Stratford Circus, the second of which also celebrated ELD’s 20th anniversary.Choreographers Jonathan Watkins of The RoyalBallet, and Vicky ‘Skytilz’ Mantey (ELD), workedtogether to create Abstract Balance fusing streetstyles and ballet into an exciting whole. Theproduction was danced by The Royal Ballet’sKristen McNally and James Wilkie, alongsideVicky Mantey and two of her dancers.

This year we are proud to have celebrated the 15th anniversary of Chance To Dance, ourextensive programme that provides opportunitiesfor children to taste dance and movement forthemselves, perhaps for the first time. In May,children who had experienced the schemeperformed their own versions of Homage to theQueen and Birthday Offering on the Linbury stage.They were joined by members of The Orchestraof the Royal Opera House, conducted by PaulStobart, and Royal Ballet dancers AlexandraAnsanelli and Valeri Hristov. Violinist DavidButler made a special arrangement of Sir Malcolm

Part 3 Participation

TimeCode FamilyWorkshop,Dartington,Devon


Arnold’s score for Homage to the Queen, and SirMalcolm sent his best wishes to all the children.

Individual schools and colleges continue tobenefit directly from our work. A four-year,ongoing, ROH Education project with DowdalesPerforming Arts College, Cumbria, culminatedthis year in Azucena’s Revenge, a fully-staged, 30-minute version of Il trovatore. The performancetook place at the Forum 28 theatre in Barrow.Students and adults from the local music centreformed a chorus and design/stage managementteam, and worked alongside a professional teamof 11 people including Royal Opera Chorusmembers Tom Barnard and Luke Price, withusher Richard Jones as Assistant Director. Theproject was covered on Radio 3’s Music Matters.

Teachers The Creative Voices South African township project,part of the Creative Teachers scheme, which aimsto inspire and offer further training to teachingprofessionals, commemorated its 5th anniversarywith a unique festival of original operas. Stagedat the National School of the Arts, Braamfontein,it was performed by 500 South African primaryschool children in the presence of the BritishHigh Commissioner The Rt Hon Paul Boateng.The ten new works were all written, composed,choreographed and designed by school childrenliving in Johannesburg and surrounding townships,including Soweto, whose teachers attended CreativeVoices’ training courses. Over the past five years,the scheme has provided 480 teachers with theskills, training and support required to createentirely original pieces of musical theatre with theirstudents. Creative Voices is generously funded by theDonald Gordon Foundation and has benefitedalmost 42,000 South African children to date.


Families Will Tuckett’s winning production of The Wind in the Willows returned to the Linbury StudioTheatre for the festive season, and as with itsprevious two Christmas runs proved a huge draw.It followed up this success with a tour in spring 2007to The Lowry, Salford Quays, and the CoronationHall, Ulverston.

Another Will Tuckett offering, TimeCode, touredto Woodbridge (Suffolk) and also to Devon,delighting new audiences with the adventures ofProfessor Deeply Dullish, as well as offering themthe chance to participate in a series of creativefamily workshops.

At the end of May, Sounding Out! was an action-packed musical week offered to children and theirfamilies during the half term holiday featuringdrama, music, dance and story workshops in arange of ROH venues.

MediaBBC2The Royal Ballet’s Giselle was shown on BBC2 onBoxing Day 2006. There were also two showingsover the Christmas period of Dreams to Reality, adocumentary about students at The Royal BalletSchool and various members of The Royal Balletdiscussing career paths and aspirations.

Siegfried and Götterdämmerung were bothscreened on BBC2 in March 2007.

BBC4During October 2006, the BBC filmed The RoyalBallet in three specially arranged rehearsalsessions in the Clore Studio Upstairs. AnthonyDowell and Antoinette Sibley coached extractsfrom Swan Lake ; Peter Wright from The Nutcracker ;and Monica Mason and Anthony Dowell rehearsed


The Sleeping Beauty. The three 45 minute-longprogrammes were aired in 2007 on BBC4 as partof the BBC’s Tchaikovsky season, alongside thetransmission of The Sleeping Beauty, introduced byDeborah Bull.

Das Rheingold and Die Walküre were shown onBBC4 in February 2007.

TouringAs an opera house with a world-class reputation,we have a part to play in sharing our work withthe wider, global community. The Royal Ballettoured extensively over the summer, taking itsuniquely expressive signature to the USA, Spainand Turkey, with performances of Manon, thenew Sleeping Beauty and Romeo and Juliet, as well asa mixed programme of La Valse, Tanglewood,Enigma Variations and Gloria. Members of TheOrchestra of the Royal Opera House played twosuccessful concerts in August 2006, in the Italianhill town of Cortona, as part of the ROH’s thirdvisit to the Tuscan Sun Festival. The programmefeatured music ranging from Mozart to Wagnerand Stravinsky. Antonio Pappano conducted theChamber Orchestra of the ROH with pianistLang Lang and violinist Nikolai Znaider joiningfor two Mozart concertos.

BreadthPreconceptions about the Royal Opera Houseshould be challenged. By expanding the rangewe have to offer, in exciting new ways, we hope toencourage a sense of discovery in our audiencesand be as inclusive as possible of other companiesand artists.

In January, ROH2, as part of the 29th London International Mime Festival, hosted aprogramme comprising three pieces by aerialist

company Ockham’s Razor. It began with a worldpremiere of the company’s work Arc, followed bythe award-winning Momento Mori and concludingwith the daring Every Action. Swiss duo,Zimmermann/De Perrot, presented the UKpremiere of Gaff Aff. On a giant record turntable,rubber-limbed circus artist Martin Zimmermann,spun his way around a day’s existence, lived outin DJ Dimitri de Perrot’s live soundscape.

The following month, ROH2 also staged theChinatown Arts Festival, including performancesof The Circle, in association with the ChinatownArts Space. It featured a kaleidoscope of British,East-Asian, dance, theatre and music, fusing the best of East and West in performances andworkshops with Korean, Chinese, and Japaneseinfluences and performers.

7372 Royal Opera House Annual Review 2006/07 Part 4 – Enrichment

“Il trovatore was an interesting story and I really liked the way we adapted it for a modernsetting with Azucena’s Revenge. I got the chance to see the original at the ROH. I’d never been to an opera before, and thought that I wouldn’tenjoy it, but it was amazing – the music, acting,scenery, atmosphere, singing, and meeting oneof the young directors. I learned that opera canbe very entertaining. I enjoyed working with theROH education company but my favourite partwas our actual performance. To do opera youneed to be dedicated to singing and have goodleadership from someone who enjoys opera.”

Emma Hoekstra, talking about Azucena’s Revenge, a fully-staged, 30-minute version of Il trovatore herschool performed, working with ROH members.

Emma is in Year 7 at Dowdales Performing Arts College, Dalton in Furness, Cumbria.

Part 4 Enrichment

7574 Royal Opera House Annual Review 2006/07 Part 4 – Enrichment

Adding to people’s lives is central to our ethos. We aim to augment skills, provide opportunities, expandinterests, provoke thought andstimulate emotions. By doing this we will develop a wealth of new talent in every aspect of opera and dance, and create ideas, initiatives,events and performances that will give even more to the public.

Enrichment

Mara Galeazzi,Darcey Bussell,Marianela NuñezApollo in rehearsal


Eva-Maria Westbroekand ChristopherVentris Lady Macbethof Mtsensk

Walker Dance ParkMusic – Lee Claydenand Jenny Tattersall 5 2 10

Part 4 – Enrichment


OperaOpera productions demand an enormouscollective effort, from a diverse array of talents.We want to develop the abilities of all those whocontribute to a performance, and equip themwith experiences that they can take with them ontheir career paths. The bi-annual Linbury Prizeoffers bursaries to two young theatre designers,recommended by the Linbury Prize Committee.This year the recipients were Giles Smith andBecs Andrews. Smith worked alongside TanyaMcCallin on Carmen, and Andrews partnered RaeSmith on Bird of Night. Each of the winners gainedunique and invaluable insights into the processof creating a new production by assisting, and beingmentored by, the two established designers.

Opera is a dynamic art form and it cannot beallowed to ossify. ROH2’s OperaGenesis programmeacts as a powerful catalyst for innovative work,bringing new composers and writers to the uniquechallenges of creating contemporary opera. Over20 projects are currently in development, withpremieres of recent work developed through theinitiative, such as Stuart MacRae’s The Assassin Tree,being well received. The interactive OperaGenesiswebsite(operagenesis.com) now has over 10,000visitors a month.

DanceAs an organization we must help to support andempower individuals who will make meaningfulcontributions to our art forms. This yearchoreographer Cathy Marston, former AssociateArtist of the Royal Opera House, launched hernew dance company, The Cathy Marston Project.


Part 4 Enrichment

Cyndia Sieden The Tempest


A national tour followed during autumn, 2006,which included two London performances at theLinbury Studio Theatre. This featured the worldpremiere of Arcana, and two existing worksoriginally commissioned by the Royal OperaHouse: before the tempest… after the storm, and Traces.Combining music, literature, visual art and fashion,the triple bill presented Marston’s unique blend of classical and contemporary dance, performedby seven classically-trained, international dancers.

Music The common denominator for opera and balletis music and it is vital that we hone the skills of themusicians who may come to form the backboneof orchestras in this country. Side by Side Day was a professional development opportunity for The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House andSouthbank Sinfonia, (an orchestra whichprovides a bridge for newly-trained musicians toenter the professional world). The day enabledthe young musicians to perform side by side withexperienced members of The Orchestra of theRoyal Opera House, who led coaching andsectional rehearsals. It also facilitated close workwith Royal Opera House music staff andconductors, and an exploration of the skillsrequired to play for both opera and ballet. Thecombined orchestra accompanied two dancersfrom The Royal Ballet, and singers from the JetteParker Young Artists Programme, culminating ina short concert featuring the music rehearsedthroughout the day. It proved a mutuallyproductive exercise as members of The Orchestraof the Royal Opera House developed their skillsas coaches, and Southbank Sinfonia musiciansreceived expert and practical guidance to helpfurther their careers.

InternationalWhere possible, we strive to present our work tonew regions around the world. At the end ofAugust, Peter Manning directed members of The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House in anoutstanding Trinidadian premiere of DominiqueLe Gendre’s Tales of the Islands at the Queen’sHall in Port of Spain. He also led a workshopperformance, in which young musicians of theTrinidad and Tobago Sinfonia participated. OurWorld Music Season, Voices Across the World, was aseries of concerts and workshops that celebratedthe diversity and innovation of vocal music fromaround the globe. During the course of threedays, audiences engaged with a multiplicity of singing styles, experienced the interaction oftraditional musical forms with modern multi-media technology, and enjoyed original andstriking performances of the highest calibre.These included the young, innovative fado singer,(the expressive folk music of Portugal), JoanaAmendoeira; Mitsoura an Eastern Europeanworld music group; and the eleven-piece English,folk-big-band, Bellowhead.

EngagementEnabling people to explore our work, and providinga permanent record of what we do, is an essentialpart of the work of ROH Collections. In May,Plácido Domingo and The Royal Opera was launchedas the latest in the Royal Opera House HeritageSeries, the first opera book in the series.

The lavish Royal Ballet 75th AnniversaryPhotographic Print Collection contained 24 uniqueimages featuring iconic figures from the Company’shistory who have epitomized its spirit. Thisbeautiful and unique pictorial record wascomplemented by the year-by-year photographic



exhibition that ran throughout The Royal Ballet’s75th anniversary season.

In February, Royal Ballet dancers appeared at a reception to mark the opening of DancingThrough the War, an exhibition presented by TheChurchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms, inassociation with the Royal Opera House and seenby over 80,000 people. Curated by ROH Collections,it showcased the contribution made by The RoyalBallet (then Sadler’s Wells Ballet) towards thewar effort during World War II. It includedpreviously unseen letters by Margot Fonteyn,recently acquired by ROH Collections, as well as photographs and excerpts from dancers’personal letters, and a specially commissionedfilm by documentary-maker Lynne Wake

In the autumn, the Royal Opera House, inassociation with the Zagreb City Museum,presented an exhibition to celebrate the centenaryyear of the final performance of Milka Ternina,the acclaimed Croatian soprano. Her fame was assured when she sang the title role inPuccini’s Tosca at its first performance at theRoyal Opera House in 1900. Puccini himself wasin the audience and took a curtain call withTernina, describing her as “the ideal Tosca”. The exhibition included vintage, exquisitely-decorated costumes, one of which took morethan 2000 hours to restore, jewellery, originalcostume designs and memorabilia. This exhibitionwas followed by a celebration of the 60thanniversary of The Royal Opera, opened byNatalie Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez joined by past and current members of The RoyalOpera. ROH Collections Touring Exhibitionprogramme launched in 2006/07, when WillTuckett: Creating Danced Theatre toured to Ulverstonand Totnes. During this period, ROH Collections

also marked Black History Month and the work ofROH Education.

Training Our contribution to training the next generationtakes many forms. We recently worked with theConference of Drama Schools to produce a Guideto Careers Backstage brochure. This went out to over5000 schools and colleges to encourage youngpeople to consider careers in technical andproduction disciplines. Many Royal Opera Housestaff featured in the guide, describing their jobsand the routes which led them to their positions.

The development of the Olympic Games site in East London necessitated a new locationfor our scenery-production facility. ChoosingThurrock as the home for our main set-construction, carpentry, metal work and scenery-painting units, has provided an unprecedentedopportunity for the Royal Opera House to createa production campus that will not only produceworld-class work for our stages, but will alsoprovide training in the disciplines for youngpeople. Thurrock will now become a focal pointfor creative and craft-based industries in theheart of Europe’s largest regeneration area. Thenew facilities will also enable us to expand ourtraining and youth apprenticeship programme,and build on our flourishing relationship withschools and the local community in the ThamesGateway region. We hope that the presence of theRoyal Opera House in Thurrock will also attractother businesses to the area, to bring furtheremployment to local people.


8584 Royal Opera House Annual Review 2006/07 Part 5 – Innovation

“My ambition is to be the first Sri Lankansoprano ever to make it on the internationalstage. As a Jette Parker Young Artist havingaccess to the best House, the best directors, the best everything, so early on in your career, is unbelievable. It was never part of my plan to be an opera singer - I actually came to the UK to study law - but the support of my family, and my teacher at Nottingham University, Pamela Cook, who changed the course of mylife, convinced me it was the right thing to do. I’ve never looked back. This is an amazingopportunity and I feel extremely privileged.”

Kishani Jayasinghe, soprano, revealing her dreams.

The Jette Parker Young Artists Programme supports the artistic development of young professional singers,conductors, directors and répétiteurs, for two years at the ROH.

Part 5 Innovation


Maintaining our dynamism as an organization entails engendering a culture of openness, both creativelyand strategically. We continuously assessthe way we do things now, to see whatcan be improved to sustain our future.Embracing new insights, encouragingcreative exploration, and aiming to surprise and excite, are constants in the life of our organization.

Innovation

Edward Watson and Alina CojocaruChroma


Federico Bonelli DGV

Dalston SongsFirsts

Part 5 – Innovation


OperaIn November, as part of Meet the Young ArtistsWeek, a rare performance of Pergolesi’s La servapadrona, once one of the most famous of all 18thcentury intermezzos, was presented in the LinburyStudio Theatre. Staged by Harry Fehr, with Ana James as Serpina, and conducted by AndrewGriffith, all of whom are Jette Parker YoungArtists, the production also featured members ofthe Southbank Sinfonia. It was designed by LinburyPrize winner Becs Andrews.

Music Theatre Wales is a Royal Opera HouseAssociate Company that enjoys an ongoingpartnership with ROH2. The London premiere ofMTW’s production of House of the Gods, by LynnePlowman, ran in the Linbury Studio Theatre inOctober, bringing a taste of its distinctive work toLondon audiences.

DanceFollowing the huge success of Ballet Black’s sell-out performance in November 2005, Britain’sonly black ballet company returned to the LinburyStudio Theatre at the end of January. ROH2’ssupport enabled Ballet Black to commissioninnovative new work from emerging choreographictalent. Hinterland, the latest work by The RoyalBallet’s Liam Scarlett, was inspired by the musicof Shostakovich. African choreographer BawrenTavaziva transformed his 2004 Place PrizeFinalist work Umdlalo kaSisi, into a classical workespecially for Ballet Black, fusing ballet withtraditional African movement, accompanied byhis own musical composition. A revival of AntoniaFranceschi’s Shift, Trip… Catch was set to a cello

Part 5 Innovation

Raymond Aceto andRoyal Opera ChorusIl trovatore


score, specially composed and performed live byZoe Martlew. Taniec, a classical trio choreographedby company Ballet Master Raymond Chai,completed the programme.

ROH2’s production of Eddie Ladd’s extra-ordinary Cof y Corff, took dance set in a digitalenvironment to new levels and explored Welshhistory through movement analysis – a challengingcombination that proved a boundary-breakingtriumph.

Film This year there was an extraordinary range of BPBig Summer Screens stretching from Aberdeen,Belfast, Lake Windermere and Hull right up to the doors of the ROH. A new and excitingdevelopment was the presence of two presentersat the London sites - one backstage in the theatreat Covent Garden and the other in the crowds ofTrafalgar Square. Audiences around the countrywere able to interact with special guests, includingDarcey Bussell and Jette Parker Young ArtistRobert Murray, via text messaging. Two speciallycommissioned films – the first highlighting a day in the life of The Royal Ballet’s Liam Scarlett, and the second featuring Jette Parker YoungArtists Robert Murray and Ana James - entertainedaudiences during the intervals.

WebThe immediacy and power of the Internet is achannel that we are keen to maximize, to provideeven greater access to our work.

ROH Education has launched a new website:Swan Lake: From Planning to Performance, whichprovides a fascinating insight into the workinglife of The Royal Ballet, and the process ofbringing a production to the stage. The site includes

Part 5 – Innovation

interviews with Monica Mason, Company dancers,choreographers and other artistic and productionstaff, as well as featuring exclusive footage shotfrom the side stage and detailed information onthe history, music and story of Swan Lake.

Various Podcasts on the ROH website wereeach downloaded over 10,000 times during thefirst quarter of 2007, and we will continue to offera range of unique material using the medium,such as excerpts from Bryn Terfel’s In Conversationevening, and José Cura discussing his role inStiffelio. In the same period videos on the sitewere watched 50,000 times.

Exposure A fourth season of Firsts, sponsored by the HelenHamlyn Trust in memory of Paul Hamlyn, inNovember 2006, introduced a variety of creativeartists new to the Royal Opera House. Presentedand produced by ROH2 all tickets were only £5 for this mini-season of contemporary dance,theatre and music. Firsts took place in the LinburyStudio Theatre in three different programmesoffering a selection of different artists and artforms, including bungee-assisted dance, aerialperformance and puppetry. Highlights includedWendy Hesketh and Wired Aeriel Theatre in aspecially commissioned work; Ockham’s Razor,offering a unique blend of physical theatre andsharpened wit; Blind Summit, who raise puppetryto an art form; and Helen Chadwick’s DalstonSongs, based on a dialogue with the diversepopulation of her local area, which has led to afull commission for the ROH2 programme in 2008.

An elevation of the Royal Opera Housebecame the stage for a piece of public art, duringFebruary, when ROH2 commissioned MartinFirrell’s piece, It’s Passion That Binds Us. The


We have taken a unique and significant step forward in strengthening our commercialcapabilities by fulfilling a key objective of ourdigital media strategy. By purchasing Opus ArteUK, the first time any opera house has made anacquisition of this kind, the Royal Opera Housewill widen access to our work and record it for posterity, as well as the output of otherperforming companies. Opus Arte also possessesstate-of-the-art production and post productionskills that will enable many of our own digitalambitions. There are currently over 40 recordingsof productions by The Royal Opera and TheRoyal Ballet available for distribution, and OpusArte has a catalogue of a further 140 titles. Thecompany will be managed by a new Boardcomprising two Trustees: Sir David Lees andSimon Robey; two members of the Executive Team:Tony Hall and Sarah Kemp; and Hans Petri whocontinues as Managing Director. Other nonexecutive directors with relevant experience willbe appointed in due course.

InternationalExploring new creative frontiers helps to energizeany organization. The Royal Opera House isworking with the National Theatre for thePerforming Arts in Beijing in a mutually productive,ongoing programme of exchanges and training,designed to share skills and expertise. Thepartnership will also facilitate the exchange ofhigh profile Chinese and UK performing arts,2008-2012, a period which will incorporate bothcountries’ hosting of the Olympic Games. Thisdevelopment will provide a platform to supportROH tours to China, and in particular the returnof The Royal Ballet to Beijing in June 2008.

renowned public artist projected text around theCovent Garden piazza exploring the central andcohesive role of passion between individuals. Thecommission marked ROH2’s second world musicseason Voices Across the World, which presentedgeographically and musically diverse artists,representing three distinctive vocal traditions.

FLOCK was a free installation staged in TrafalgarSquare, in February. Inspired by Tchaikovsky’sSwan Lake, the work was commissioned by theICA, with the support of ROH2. It created a“virtual Swan Lake” where members of the publicformed a fluid corps de ballet. As each passer-byentered the installation area they received theirown personal spotlight which, when followed,revealed a series of ghostly projections. Exploringtheir section, each participant was woven intopart of a larger, connected public performance.

CommercialThe splendour of the Royal Opera House wasrecognised with 24 external organizations choosingto stage events in the building in September alone,starting with the GQ Men of the Year Awards. TheROH also provided the backdrop to other highprofile happenings such as the Orange BritishFilm Awards (BAFTAs), which were hosted live inFebruary. In summer, The Royal Ballet, togetherwith Eaglemoss publications, launched a majornew magazine, Magic of Ballet, for young girlsinterested in ballet and dance. Publishedfortnightly, and distributed across the whole of theUK and overseas, the launch campaign featuredThe Royal Ballet’s Helen Crawford. The magazineaims to give young readers a unique insight intothe world of The Royal Ballet and fuel theirenthusiasm for the art form.

96 Royal Opera House Annual Review 2006/07 97 Part 6 – Finance

“It’s probably more selfish than altruistic! I get so much from being a Friend; particularlywatching rehearsals which give a unique, intimateinsight into what it takes to dance to the level ofThe Royal Ballet. It’s an unbelievable privilegeto be afforded that access, and I know otherFriends feel the same. I took my grandchildrento a performance of Coppélia and we were luckyenough to get a tour. They were bowled over bythe scale, complexity and commitment of whatgoes on at the ROH. We have made donations,on a modest scale, to play a part in supportingthat. When I come out of a performance I feel as if I’ve been on holiday. This is a ‘thank you’.”

Julie Jarman, explaining why she has become so involved with The Royal Ballet.

There are 26,000 Friends of Covent Garden who play an active role in supporting the ROH.

Part 6 Finance

9998 Royal Opera House Annual Review 2006/07 Part 6 – Finance

£2raised for every £1 received in public subsidy

8thsuccessive balanced result

8thsuccessive year of positive cash balance retained throughout the year

Finance

Our world class performances, our capacityto engage in so many different ways with ouraudiences, our ability to support rising talent, andto maintain our iconic landmark home, are builton the bedrock of responsible and sustainablefinancial management.

We recognise that it is increasingly important to seek new and innovative ways of attracting freshaudiences. In pursuit of this goal, we have acquiredOpus Arte as a fundamental element of our digitaland commercial ambitions. In addition to thisacquisition, we have supported the developmentand implementation of new ticketing andmarketing systems to enhance customer serviceand experience, and have also begun initiativesto significantly develop our web environment. Good progress has been made with existingcommercial revenue streams, with increases inrevenues significantly ahead of inflation. We wonconsiderable critical acclaim for the release ofour Heritage CD label during the year, and madevery effective commercial use of the theatre, onotherwise dark nights, through venue hires. Aparticularly noteworthy event was hosting theBAFTAs in the spring.

For the eighth successive year we haveproduced a balanced result, giving a surplus onunrestricted funds of £62,000 for the year to 26March 2007. Furthermore, we continued to holdpositive cash balances throughout the year.

Total income for the year reached £90.2m, anincrease of £10m over the previous year. Highlyeffective and responsive marketing campaignssupported both opera and ballet, and gave rise

Part 6 Finance


to a 12% increase in the Box Office over theprevious year.

In the main auditorium we achieved a total of 152 performances by The Royal Opera, 140performances by The Royal Ballet and welcomed30 performances by The Bolshoi. The RoyalOpera staged 19 productions, including six newproductions. The Royal Ballet created 16 fulllength and mixed programmes including fournew, one act commissions. ROH2 presented its fifth successful season. Average audiencesreached 91% of the physical capacity of thetheatre. Effective cost control continues to forma significant element of our financial managementand is crucial for the long term health of theRoyal Opera House.

The Royal Opera House received Arts CouncilEngland funding of £25.6m, representing some29% of our total income. As in previous years, wegenerated more than £2 for every £1 received inpublic subsidy.

Part 6 – Finance

£90.2mTotal income (An increase of £10 million over last year)

65%+of resources directed to front-line performance, education and outreach

12%+increase in box office over last year

Finance

102 Royal Opera House Annual Review 2006/07 103

A ACE £25.6mB Box office £33.5mC Donations, legacies and similar incoming resources £16.2mD Commercial trading, touring and other income £8.0mE Other income £6.9m

A Performance, education and outreach £59.1mB Premises and depreciation £9.6mC Marketing and publicity £6.1mD Management and administration £4.8mE Fundraising £2.7mF House management £1.8mG Other £6.1m

A Performance, education and outreach £55.4mB Premises and depreciation £9.3mC Marketing and publicity £5.6mD Management and administration £3.2mE Fundraising £2.4mF House management £1.7mG Capital fund £2.6m

2006 £80.2m 2006 £80.2m

Part 6 – Finance

A

BC

D

EA

B

C

D

EGF

A

B

C

D

E GF

Total income2007 £90.2m

Total costs2007 £90.2m

A ACE £24.9mB Box office £30.0mC Donations, legacies and similar incoming resources £16.2mD Commercial trading, touring and other income £7.6mE Other income £1.5m

A

BC

D

E

105104 Royal Opera House Annual Review 2006/07 Philanthropists and Sponsors

The Royal Opera Housegratefully acknowledges the generosity of all those who have supported us this financial year.

Thanks to:Arts Council England

IndividualsAnonymous (6)Peter BorenderPeggy Broad David Brownlow/HuntswoodAlan CarrThe Countess of ChichesterMarco CompagnoniLeigh CollinsKarl and Peggy DannenbaumAlex and Susan De MontMr and Mrs Peter EspenhahnMr Irving DavidPeter and Barbara EllistonMr Graham FletcherThe late Mr John A. FranklinGabriela GadeliusSir Donald GordonDr Carolyn GreenwoodMichael HartnallEstate of Dr John HayesMarina Hobson MBE Sarah-Jane InghamMr and Mrs Christopher W.T.JohnstonMrs Philip Kan Michael LehmanNick LeslauLord and Lady Laidlaw ofRothiemayTamar and Bob ManoukianMrs Andrew MorisonCatherine and David MossSara NaudiJürgen and Clarissa PierburgDavid and Diana PillingThe Pitblado Family

Stephanie PowellThe Priestley Family Mr and Mrs Alec ReedSimon and Virginia RobertsonThe Robey FamilyJanine Roxborough BunceMrs Coral SamuelJohn StudzinskiPhil and Caroline SwallowMrs Maurice TrowbridgeBonnie WardDr and Mrs Michael WestAdrienne WaterfieldDavid and Liz Wootton

Trusts and FoundationsAmerican Friends of

Covent GardenAmerican Fund for the

Royal Opera HouseAnonymous Trust (2)Andaspirit.comThe Archie Sherman

Charitable TrustArmourers and Brasiers'

Gauntlet TrustThe Audrey Sacher

Charitable TrustBBC Children in NeedThe Candide TrustThe Clothworkers'

FoundationThe Dalriada TrustDunard FundThe Friends of Covent Garden

Genesis FoundationThe Shauna Gosling TrustPaul Hamlyn FoundationThe Headley TrustHedley FoundationThe Helen Hamlyn TrustThe Henry Lumley

Charitable TrustThe Hobson CharityKing’s College LondonThe Linbury Trust

Royal Opera House Philanthropists and Sponsors 2006/07

The Stella and AlexanderMargulies Charitable TrustMLA (Museums, Libraries and

Archives) London.Newcomen Collett FoundationOak FoundationReed ElsevierThe Jean Sainsbury Royal

Opera House FundThe Royal Opera House

Endowment FundWalcot Educational Foundation

(Lambeth Endowed Charities)

Corporate3i plcABN Amro Hoare GovettApollo Real Estate AdvisorsAllen and OveryAudi UK LtdAny Event International LtdBarclays PLCBASF plcBBCBentley Motors LtdBombardier SkyjetInternationalBooz Allen HamiltonBP InternationalThe British Land CompanyThe Canary Wharf GroupCapital Shopping Centres PLC, Chapelgate AssetManagementCoutts & CoDe BeersDFS Furniture Company PlcDunnhumbyEsureExtenda, SevillaFirst ProtocolHildonHSBC Private BankHuntswoodInvestecJohnson Matthey PLCJunta de AndaluciaJPMorganKPMGLegal & General

L K BennettMACMarkit GroupMcKinsey & Company IncMont BlancMorgan Stanley & CoPermira Advisers LimitedPernod Ricard UKPerrier JouëtPrudential plcSainsburysSaint GobainSibelius Ltd (Colin Southgate)The Spanish Embassy Turismo de AndaluciaThe Sherry Institute of SpainStrategic Real Estate AdvisorsTeadirectTelegraph Media Group Ten UKTravel for the ArtsTravelex PlcUBSUrencoWaitroseWells & Young's BrewingCompanyWines from Spain

American Fund for the RoyalOpera House SupportersThe Annenberg FoundationThe Blavatnik Family FoundationDianne and Michael BienesAline and Philippe

Foriel-DestezetJoseph HackmeyHélène and Jean PetersRobert W. Wilson

The American Friends ofCovent Garden SupportersJayne Wrightsman

The Royal Opera HouseEndowment Fund is gratefulfor the generous bequests thathave been received over thepast year.


Patron Trust MembersAnglo American plcThe Bank of Tokyo-MitsubishiUFJ, LtdCanary Wharf Group plcCanaccord Adams LtdCB&I UK LtdCitigroupThe Clore DuffieldFoundationCorus Group plcDegussaMr & Mrs M J DowdThe EMI Group plcMr Philippe Foriel-Destezet &Mrs Aline Foriel-DestezetLord Forte Lord and Lady GavronGlaxoSmithKlineInvestecKPMG Liberty International PlcLloyds TSB GroupMorgan Stanley NM Rothschild & SonsPermiraPetit Papillon ManagementLimitedPriory GroupPrudential PlcQuintain Estates &Development plcRio Tinto PlcSG Hambros Bank & TrustLimitedSmiths Group PlcSt James’s Co LtdStandard Chartered BankThe Telegraph GroupTesco PlcSir Brian Williamson CBELord and Lady Young ofGraffham

American Fund for the RoyalOpera House Board Michael Bienes – ChairmanDianne Bienes John E. Graham Dame Judith Mayhew Jonas DBESir David Lees

American Friends of CoventGarden Board Mrs Walter Annenberg –

Honorary ChairmanAlexander Ercklentz –

ChairmanDavid Gendron –

PresidentPeggy Dannenbaum –

Vice PresidentMrs Sid R BassMichael BienesMrs Adrian BowdenMrs Gordon P Getty Tony Hall Albert P Hinckley, JrJohn M KrizDame Judith Mayhew JonasRoberto G Mendoza Mrs Charles Price IIPatrick Thomas, MDMrs Charles B Wrightsman Mrs Ezra ZilkhaBarbara Schlain –

SecretaryAlexander Hoare –

TreasurerKatrina Vanderlip –

Executive Director

Royal Opera HouseEndowment FundDame Vivien Duffield DBE –

ChairmanSir David Lees Simon Robertson Peter Troughton The Hon. Olga Polizzi

Philanthropists and Sponsors

The Royal Opera House benefits from the continued effortsand donations of so many differentindividuals and organizations. Theirsupport has contributed immeasurablyto the many achievements of our year.

109108 Royal Opera House Annual Review 2006/07 Part 7–Reference

PerformancesTotal Main Stage293Opera152Ballet140ROH21

Linbury 132Clore26Crush Room31Paul Hamlyn Hall38

Reference

BP Summer Big Screens AberdeenBelfastBirminghamBowness-on-WindermereBradfordHullIpswich

LeedsLiverpoolLondonManchesterPlymouthRotherham

AudiencesAttendanceOpera main stage295,977Ballet main stage268,107Linbury StudioTheatre42,625

Clore Studio Upstairs2971Crush Room4960Paul Hamlyn Hall2569Hamlyn Performances4124

* Excluding The Ring performances

Access7th successive season, half of all tickets for every performance, cost £50 or less*

4815 Paul Hamlyn Club tickets sold

13,500 students registered for £10 Student Standby tickets

9628 children reached through Schools’ Matinees Composition

TotalMale/Female Ratio: 40%/50%

Opera Male/Female Ratio: 47%/45%

Ballet Male/Female Ratio: 35%/55%

ROH2 Male/Female Ratio: 39%/52%

Opera Under 35s:17%

Ballet Under 35s:19%

Mainstage Under 35s:18%

New Royal Opera House patrons: 45%

Part 7


FinanceMore than £2 generated for every £1received in public subsidy

An 8th successive balance result

An 8th successive year of positive cash balance retained throughout the year

Total income grew to £90.2 million (An increase of £10 million over last year)

Over 65% of resources directed to front-lineperformance, education and outreach

12% increase in box office over last year

E-salesNew Customers 62,964 – 58%% of Total sales 28%Value £11,123,468.08

Photography kindly supplied byJohan Persson (Pages 19, 20, 22/23, 41, 42, 87, 89), Rob Moore(Pages 21, 40, 46, 65, 75, 90), Bill Cooper (Pages 24, 25, 39, 43, 64), Clive Barda (Pages 26, 77, 78), Catherine Ashmore (Page 44), Dee Conway (Page 45), Sim Canetty-Clarke (Pages 59, 60, 63), Carmen Klammer (Page 61), Susie Bond (Page 62), Kate Mount(Page 66), Ravi Deepres (Page 76), Simon Richardson (Page 88)

“It’s been a bit mad lately. We’ve been over toTurkey, recording in Wales and mid-July we’re offto Italy for ten days. In between all of that, spendingtime with the players at the ROH has been fantastic.It’s great to get their feedback on what you’redoing well, and where you need to practise andimprove. Everyone’s been so helpful and friendly.Five of us accompanied four ROH players on achildren’s ballet, which was a fabulous experience.It’s a real treat going to the ROH and using whatthey give you to make yourself a better musician.”

Amy Fawcett, viola player with Southbank Sinfonia, reflecting on the mentoring experience afforded by the ROH.

Southbank Sinfonia is an orchestral project designed to support and train outstanding musicians for the year following graduation.

Royal Opera HouseCovent GardenLondon WC2E 9DDT +44 20 7240 1200www.roh.org.uk

Registered Charity no. 211775

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