Trusts and Foundations
English Touring Opera is incredibly grateful for the generous support it receives from charitable trusts and foundations towards all aspects of its work.
Funding from charitable trusts and foundations helps us to make opera accessible to regional audiences around the UK, via an extensive programme of fully-staged opera performances and education outreach work.
If you would like to support English Touring Opera through a trust or foundation, contact Development & Finance Officer Sarah Bailey by email sarah.bailey@englishtouringopera.org.uk or 020 7833 2555.
Current projects
Innovative work – Exciting plans for Autumn 2010 – A world premiere of a new opera by Alexander Goehr entitled Promised End (based on Shakespeare’s King Lear) and performances of Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s rarely-performed 18th century gem, The Duenna.
Education outreach – A programme of 3 education outreach projects linked to the themes of Promised End: A project with older long-term male prisoners in the prison environment; workshops in secondary schools looking at the musical potential of Shakespeare’s text; and composition workshops primarily for full-term music students. Turtle Song, the third in a series of projects involving Alzheimer’s disease sufferers and their carers.
Artistic development – Our ongoing work with emerging talent – helping aspiring singers and directors to springboard into a career in the creative industry.
Core costs – Enabling the company to keep on the road in the face of rising expenses.
Recent projects
Education outreach – Residencies and workshops in primary, secondary and special schools. The second project in our Mythic Opera Trilogy, Voitihia! involved 2,600 participants in 2008. The third opera in the trilogy In the Belly of the Horse is touring to 30 primary schools and special schools in Autumn 2009.
Community opera – Our large-scale community project One Day, Two Dawns (involving more than 200 local performers aged 8 to 80) was performed at the Hall for Cornwall in Truro in May 2009.
Regional Development – A programme to deepen ETO’s footprint in four key areas around the UK – Cambridge, Exeter, Truro and Wolverhampton.
Ambitious repertoire – ETO Handelfest 2009, an ambitious touring festival of 5 of Handel’s greatest works, featuring rarely-performed operas and a programme of supplementary introductions, masterclasses, recitals and schools projects.
Technical requirements – The purchase of specialist equipment required for touring top-quality productions to regional audiences.
Current Supporters
English Touring Opera would like to thank the following trusts and foundations for their generous support:
Angus Allnatt Charitable Foundation
The Brinsley Ford Charitable Trust
The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust
The Earmark Trust
The Elmley Foundation
The Equitable Charitable Trust
Ernest Cook Trust
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
The Forman Hardy Charitable Trust
Foyle Foundation
The Geoffrey C Hughes Charitable Trust
The Goldsmiths’ Company
The Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation
The Helena Oldacre Trust
The Holst Foundation
JC Green Charitable Trust
The John Ellerman Foundation
John Lyon’s Charity
The Joyce Fletcher Charitable Trust
The Linbury Trust
The Lynn Foundation
The Mercers’ Company
Nicholas John Trust
The Paul Hamlyn Foundation
PRS Foundation for New Music
RVW Trust
Youth Music
Case studies
In 2007 English Touring Opera received a generous 3-year grant from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation to help us to deepen the company’s footprint in four key regions.
This support has helped the company to develop strong relationships with arts organisations and local communities in Cambridge, Exeter, Truro and Wolverhampton.
With the Paul Hamlyn Foundation’s help, ETO has been able to maintain and develop its presence within the cultural landscape of these four areas – even when our main tour is out of town.
This has been achieved in a number of ways, including:
- The appointment of Strategic Development Officer Henriette Krarup, who has helped to develop ETO’s relationship with local arts organisations, businesses and individuals
- ETO’s active programme of education outreach projects including community operas, workshops and residencies
- The development of ETO’s ambassador scheme, Networks
- Talks with local opera societies
- Recitals
- Marketing initiatives between ETO and its partner venues
- Increased regularity of ETO staff visits – There were 50 more visits to these 4 key areas in 2008/09 compared with 2007/08, during which we were able to meet with venue staff, local groups and audience members