r al op o us resolution e

Royal Opera HouseCovent GardenLondon WC2E 9DDTelephone +44 (0)20 7240 1200www.roh.org.uk

Managing Editor, Dan Foulkes for MilknosugarRegistered Charity no. 211775

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ROYAL OPERA HOUSE ANNUAL REVIEW 2009/10 CONTENTS

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CONTENTS

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TITLE

The year at a glanceChief ExecutiveChairmanTalentPerformanceNurtureReachPartnershipFinanceReference

GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENTThe direction and control of the Royal Opera House is determined by the Boardof Trustees, which meets at least six times per year. The role of the Board is todirect the Royal Opera House strategy to ensure that it is on the right course

and that it is properly and effectively managed. The Trustees are alsoresponsible for the appointment of the Chief Executive, as well as the most

senior management positions. The Chief Executive, with the assistance of theExecutive Team, manages the day–to–day operations of the Royal Opera House.

BOARD OF TRUSTEESSimon Robey (Chairman)

Baroness BlackstoneThe Countess of Chichester

Sir David ClementiPeggy DannenbaumSir Nicholas Hytner

Sir Frank LoweThomas Lynch

Professor Margaret MadenNicholas Prettejohn

Heather RabbattsSir Simon Robertson

Dame Gail Ronson DBEAnthony Salz

Dame Sue Street DCBKenneth Tharp OBE

Robert WallaceJudith Weir CBE

EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT TEAMTony Hall CBE – Chief Executive

Monica Mason DBE – Director, The Royal BalletAntonio Pappano – Music Director,

The Royal OperaCaroline Bailey – Director of Marketing

Elizabeth Bridges – Director of PersonnelDeborah Bull CBE – Creative Director

Ruth Jarratt – Director of Policy DevelopmentPeter Katona – Director of Opera Casting

Jeanetta Laurence – Associate Director,The Royal Ballet (from April 2009)

Stephen Michael – Managing Director, RoyalOpera House Enterprises (from July 2009)

Christopher Millard – Director of Press and Communications

Sally Mitchell – Orchestra Administrative Director

John Mortlock – Deputy Director of Financeand Company Secretary

Kevin O’Hare – Administrative Director,The Royal Ballet

Sally O’Neill – Director of Finance (from February 2009)

Elaine Padmore – Director of OperaHazel Province – Director of Planning

Paul Reeve – Director of EducationAmanda Saunders – Director of Development

John Seekings – Director of Operations

DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEESimon Robey (Chairman)

The Countess of ChichesterPeggy Dannenbaum

Thomas LynchSir Simon Robertson

Dame Gail Ronson DBEDanny Wyler

Lady Young of GraffhamENGAGEMENT, EDUCATION AND

ACCESS COMMITTEEProfessor Margaret Maden (Chairman)

Peggy DannenbaumCharlie Leadbeater

Abigail PogsonSimon Robey

Kenneth Tharp OBERob Thomas

Judith Weir CBE

FINANCE AND AUDIT COMMITTEENicholas Prettejohn (Chairman)

Sir David ClementiSir Nicholas Hytner

Thomas LynchSir Simon Robertson

Simon RobeyDame Sue Street DCB

FOUNDATION ADVISORY CIRCLESimon Robey (Chairman)

Frank Van den BoschJosephine Fitzalan Howard

Hamish ForsythViscount LinleyVictoria MatherJulian MetherellSalim MoollanKristina RoggeRoland Rudd

Sir James SassoonBernard Taylor

Sir Brian WilliamsonNOMINATIONS COMMITTEE

Simon Robey (Chairman)Sir David Clementi

Thomas LynchProfessor Margaret Maden

Nicholas PrettejohnSir Simon Robertson

REMUNERATION COMMITTEESimon Robey (Chairman)

Sir David ClementiThomas Lynch

Nicholas Prettejohn

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THE YEAR AT A GLANCE

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ROYAL OPERA HOUSE ANNUAL REVIEW 2009/10

REACH64

regional On the Road events, performances and exhibitions

150,000worldwide cinema audience for ROH screenings

2,518,001multimedia views and listens

ACCESS

79,242people participated in Education events

55,191new customers for the main stage

311performances on the main stage

211performances on other stages

658,000total audience

PERFORMANCE

£106.7million total income (an increase of £10.3 million over last year)

£35.5 millionbox office revenue

INCOME

Tickets held at 2008/09 prices

50%of tickets at £50 or less

39%of tickets at £30 or less

PRICING

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

11th successive balanced budget

£60+milliondirected to frontline performance, education and outreach

FINANCE

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The Royal Opera House aims to act as a catalyst for positive change withinthe arts, in partnership with likeminded organizations. Our Culture QuarterProgramme epitomizes this approach. In February 2010 we were awarded agrant from the Future Jobs Fund, a government initiative set up to supportthe creation of temporary,paid jobs for long-term unemployed young peopleaged 18– 24. The Royal Opera House used this funding to design and lead aunique employment project, the Culture Quarter Programme (CQP), inconjunction with nine other high profile creative and cultural institutions.The CQP partner organizations offered 68 young people paid work andtraining opportunities for a six-month period. Of these jobs, 21 were at theRoyal Opera House and 47 were among the nine partner employers,including English National Opera, National Portrait Gallery, SomersetHouse and the V&A Museum. The roles offered were in a diverse range ofbackstage positions, encompassing the full spectrum of departments withinthe various organizations. In leading this project the Royal Opera Housesought to play its part in addressing the issue of youth unemployment. Thisalso fed into our strategic objectives of developing a more diverse workforcefor the sector and assisting young people who may have previously beenexcluded from a career in the creative industries. The CQP was carefullystructured to ensure that all participants benefited from their time on theprogramme. In addition to their job, each participant studied towards aNational Vocational Qualification and attended a weekly programme ofmasterclasses delivered by experts from across the sector, giving them aninsight into the range of work that goes on behind the scenes. In parallel tothis they were involved in a range of off-the-job training sessions to supporttheir employability skills including one-to-one mentoring, CV building, jobsearching and mock interviews. The participants also worked as artsambassadors,developing their creative talents and sharing their experience ofworking in the arts with their local community. This culminated in thecreation of images,podcasts and videos displayed in Seven Days in Seven Dials,an exhibition staged in a vacant shop used as a gallery. More than 500 peopleviewed this work. It is a measure of the success of the programme that morethan three quarters of the CQP graduates went on to further employment,many taking up jobs with the organizations involved, or progressed on tofurther education opportunities.

NEW HORIZONS

There are moments in the life of every organization thatcome to define it. Seismic shifts in government fundingfor the arts mean that we now inhabit a changedlandscape. The challenge is how to navigate through itwithout compromising the essence of why we exist: tolead, nurture and set the standards for our art forms; toconnect with audiences nationwide and around the worldwith unequivocally outstanding work; to encourage adiverse artistic tradition; to expand the opportunities foraccess to what we do; to inspire young minds and hearts;to work in partnership with other organizations withinthe arts sector; and to evolve and live by a coherent strategythat will sustain all of this.

This Review is a retrospective of the exceptional workthat has taken place over the past year in every sphere ofour operations. It also marks, however, a transition to anew paradigm. So we must look and plan ahead to ensurethat we continue to serve our audiences,our art forms,andour country in the best possible way. We are well placed todo this primarily because our strategy of the past decadehas equipped us to respond in a positive and sustainablefashion to the new funding realities that we face.We are anarts organization, a learning resource, a facility for artists, atourist attraction, an engine of social change, a player inthe digital arena and a global brand. We are home to a pairof globally respected Companies, a world-class orchestraand chorus, three stages and a landmark building that

Tony Hall, Chief Executive

TONY HALL CHIEF EXECUTIVE

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affordable. Our pricing strategy, facilitated to a significantextent by the generosity of our supporters, is predicated onremoving financial impediments to experiencing theRoyal Opera House. In 2009/10, 50% of our tickets were£50 or below retaining the same prices as 2008/09. Ourwell established commitment to enabling children to tastewhat we do continues in the shape of The Taylor FamilyFoundation Schools Matinees which boast 12,000 annualattendees. In Thurrock and the Thames Gateway we havenow worked with more than 230 schools. We aim to buildon this and to utilize the High House Production Park asa centre for training to develop a diverse workforce andbring new opportunities for the people of the region.

We will continue to play a role as a national leader forthe arts and cultural sector of our country. This is why ourparticipation in programmes such as the London 2012Cultural Olympiad, our leadership of the Culture QuarterProgramme for the jobless that won Runner Up in theYouth Employment Awards, and our mentoring andsupport of companies such as Ballet Black, is so important.The Royal Opera House is an engine for so much in thebroadest cultural terms.

Our location in London does not obscure the fact thatwe are here to serve the entire nation and also to act as aglobal ambassador and champion of opera and ballet.We will expand our reach as an organization to maximizethe number of people that we can inspire. We connectwith communities beyond the capital through ourcommitment to places such as Thurrock, our On the Roadinitiatives, our BP Summer Big Screens, our use ofbroadcast and online media, and directly to the wider

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never sleeps. All of this must be supported by our ownefforts as much as by funding from government. We willcontinue to embrace that challenge.

Our art is the lifeblood of what we do. It flows into every aspect of the Royal Opera House. We areuncompromising in our creative and artistic ambition tobe the best. This is why the greatest performers in theworld come to our stages. These artists are a magnet forour audiences. We are incredibly fortunate to have thekind of people here who can create and deliverextraordinary experiences for those audiences – such asMonica Mason and Antonio Pappano who guaranteesensational work that consistently plays to capacity houses.There is no greater testimony to the hunger for what wedo than a full house night after night. Our job is to expand, diversify and inspire our audiences.

There should be a democracy of access to the RoyalOpera House. We do not believe in exclusivity or somehackneyed notion of elitist art. It is one of our keyresponsibilities to ensure that we enable and encouragediversity in our audiences, in every sense of the word. I wasdelighted to see our efforts recognized by theGramophone Awards where we won The Classic FMInnovation Award (given to an initiative or organizationthat has broken down barriers and attracted newaudiences). This was for our Hamlyn First Night of DonGiovanni, offered to Sun readers, supported by The HelenHamlyn Trust. It is one of many initiatives that seek newand better ways of connecting with people to expand ouraudience base. It is also obviously critical to enableattendance here by making the price for a ticket


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world through our tours. Touring our work ensures thatwe remain a genuine presence nationally and a globallysignificant advocate for our art forms. From 2011/12 wewill stage annual concert performances in Birmingham.This year our BP Summer Big Screen performancesattracted over 24,000 people; we anticipate audiences for our revenue-generating cinema programme, newlysupported by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, increasingsubstantially from their 150,000 level of last year as weextend our screenings to 106 cinemas. In 2011/12 we willrelease ten ROH titles to cinema and we partnered withRealD in the 2010/11 Season to produce an innovative 3DCarmen.In conjunction with the BBC and other broadcasterswe are watched by over a million viewers every year, with afurther 1.5 million radio listeners. Our website attracts270,000 unique visitors per month and our use ofappropriate digital media, such as YouTube, to reach specificaudiences strengthens our ability to connect more intimatelyand memorably with people. Taken collectively, the strengthof our strategy to ensure that the Royal Opera House can beexperienced nationwide and worldwide becomes clear.

The breadth of our work, on all our stages, offers astimulating range with uniquely wide appeal. This isfuelled not only by the multiplicity of productions by TheRoyal Ballet and The Royal Opera, augmented by theOrchestra of the Royal Opera House and the Royal OperaChorus, but also by the work of ROH2 and our numerouscollaborations with external artists and companies. TheLinbury Studio Theatre is a vital performance space forcontemporary opera and dance, encouraging innovation,creative risk-taking and the development of new talent.

Guest companies and artists from beyond the ROH havefound it an invaluable resource. Since 2002, it has hosted246 productions, 66 world premieres and provided 144opportunities for visiting companies, welcoming over250,000 people to 900 performances. In recognition of theLinbury Studio Theatre’s pivotal role in expandingcreative opportunities and attracting diverse audiences weare launching Open Up ROH. This is an ambitious newcapital project that will better present the Royal OperaHouse as a single venue, increase the visibility of work inthe Linbury Studio Theatre, and share the space with anincreased range of small-scale artistic companies. It aims toopen up the heart of the building facing the Piazza inCovent Garden and will create new space for creative,participatory and educational activity, as well as upgradingthe Linbury Studio Theatre’s seating capacity. Inaccordance with our umbrella strategic policy of self-reliance, this vision can only be realized with significantadditional private support.

We are proud of the incredible work that we produceand its appeal to different audiences. Every month you canexperience a completely different artistic perspective here,uniform only in its uncommon quality. That is so exciting.It was gratifying for our efforts to have been recognizedthis year with so many awards. The Royal Ballet scoopedfour of the most prestigious at the National Dance Awardsof the Critics’ Circle, and Nina Stemme deservedly wonthe Outstanding Achievement in Opera Olivier Award forher Isolde in Tristan und Isolde which also won us the BestNew Opera Production Award. Our excellence isaugmented by our eclecticism. As a national home for our

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art forms we need to reflect their diversity; but sometimesthe sheer scope of what we do is amazing. Cast a briefglance over the past year and you will see Tristan und Isoldeand Goldberg: the Brandstrup - Rojo Project both of whichwon Olivier Awards; the wonderful revisiting of ThomasArne’s Artaxerxes; and The Tsarina’s Slippers which sold outeven though it was virtually unknown outside Russia,alongside perennial favourites such as The Nutcracker. TheTsarina’s Slippers was released on DVD through Opus Arteand was also broadcast on television and radio by the BBC.We gave it that exposure. The list goes on: The Gambler,Aida, Manon, Mayerling, Chroma, Romeo and Juliet, TheJudas Tree. Then consider such work as Simon Boccanegrawhich uniquely received three successive standingovations, sold out its Prom appearance at the Royal AlbertHall and really highlighted the incredible talent of theRoyal Opera Chorus,among other things.Together, it is allquite breathtaking.

Talent builds art. We build talent. It is wonderful to seesuch productions as Limen, As One and Asphodel Meadowsshowcasing outstanding, contemporary choreographers,respectively Wayne McGregor, Jonathan Watkins andLiam Scarlett.These are people from within our own wallsraising the bar for ballet. This year our Jette Parker YoungArtists received a record number of applicants fromaround the world. Our Apprenticeship schemes continueto strengthen both the futures of its participants and ourorganization as a whole. From ROH2 Associates to ourorchestral mentoring partnership with SouthbankSinfonia and Chance to Dance, our broad, long termcommitment to nurturing talent is most apparent. In a

year in which we lost Dame Joan Sutherland, PhilipLangridge and Sir Charles Mackerras, whose finalperformance of The Cunning Little Vixen we wereprivileged to stage, it is heartening to recognize thecontinuity of excellence that feeds our art forms. Lastyear’s service at Westminster Abbey held in November todedicate a memorial stone, in Poets’ Corner, to thefounders of The Royal Ballet underlined that continuum.We are the guardians of opera and ballet and everygeneration makes its contribution. If we stand on theshoulders of giants, our role is to enable people to becomethose giants.

In this economic climate it is more imperative than everthat we are both efficient as an organization, and self-reliant in terms of developing and diversifying income.This is what ensures that we will not have to compromiseon the quality of our work or our ability to include asmany people as possible in what we do. We have made aconcerted effort to achieve savings across the Royal OperaHouse, including streamlining procurement andtendering processes and restructuring our productionsystem. We have also evolved a robust and productivecommercial strategy that has scrutinized every aspect ofhow we work. It has examined new opportunities forrevenue streams, it has explored how to strengthen ourretail and commercial operations, and it has also looked toadapt our planning, scheduling and contracts so that theycan accommodate the demands that the new dynamics offunding present to every arts’ organization. Look at RoyalOpera House Restaurants, operated in conjunction withCompany of Cooks, or our brand licensing business

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partnering companies such as FREDDY, Joules, ArtFileand Paul Smith. Strategic partnerships enable us notsimply to broaden our operational and financial base butalso enhance the experience of the Royal Opera House ina variety of ways.

Fundamentally everyone here has a contribution tomake. We are one of the UK’s great institutions andinternationally recognized as such. We have a role to playboth nationally and globally by producing great art. Wehave to value that and to feel proud, as a country, that wehave places such as the Royal Opera House. Our peers arein New York, Milan and Paris, but our roots are incommunities such as Thurrock. This is what we are a partof and this is where we look to create a different sense ofthe future. We are a partner for other companies, acrucible for developing talent and young artists, a placethat generates jobs and prospects for people, and a homefor our own Companies which are second to none. TheRoyal Opera House is a catalyst for so much. We willensure that it remains so.

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Simon Robey, Chairman

We talk about the Royal Opera House as a singularentity, but really it is a nexus for so much in a variedrange of activities across the culture sector. Its significantcontributions to the artistic life of the United Kingdomhave to be safeguarded. There is only one way to do that:through responsible and responsive management andfinancial prudency. That is what permits everything elseto happen. This is what allows the Royal Opera Houseto be creatively ambitious and to dare to take artisticrisks - the hallmark of a truly great artistic institution.

Funding is key to all arts’ organizations. Simplybecause a cultural centre is unequivocally successful, aswe are, does not remove the need for governmentalsupport. Success should never be penalised. That we aresuccessful in all that we do is due to the skill of theExecutive Team under Tony Hall’s leadership and theimmense talent and commitment of the performers andstaff here. In turn our success enables us to contribute tothe development of other companies and artists as thelist of our partnerships on page 86 illustrates. On TonyHall’s watch the correct decisions have been taken, andthe right preparations made, to assure the future of theRoyal Opera House in the face of a substantial reductionin funding from government. These actions will alsohelp to strengthen other organizations within the artsby extending resources and expertise to them so thatthey are more able to weather these challenging times.

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EXCEPTIONAL PHILANTHROPY

The Chief Executive, Chairman and Trustees of the Royal Opera Housewould like to thank the following individuals and organizations whoseexceptional generosity has helped to make our 2009/10 Season possible.

Lady Ashcroft, BP, Deloitte, The Fidelity (UK) Foundation,Mrs Aline Foriel-Destezet, The Foyle Foundation, Garfield Weston

Foundation, Sir Donald Gordon, The Helen Hamlyn Trust, Ronald andMarina Hobson, Alan and Sabine Howard, Jean Sainsbury Royal Opera

House Fund, Aud Jebsen, The John Beckwith Charitable Trust, Lordand Lady Laidlaw of Rothiemay, Tamar and Bob Manoukian, Medicor

Foundation, The Monument Trust, Oak Foundation, The Peter CruddasFoundation, Sir Simon and Lady Robertson, The Robey Family, Rolex,

The Taylor Family Foundation, Xstrata and two anonymous donors.

The financial underpinning of the wonderful work thattakes place here is significantly bolstered by the RoyalOpera House’s considerable success in supporting itself.We have to be aware of the imperative, in the currentfunding model for the arts, to connect artistic quality tothe need to pursue income vigorously. Really this shouldbe an axiom for any contemporary arts’ organizationthat is truly ambitious about the standards of its workand its capability to engage with its audiences. This iswhy we have to make every effort to be as self-reliant asis practicably possible. In parallel with this we mustconnect with our numerous supporters ensuring thatthey have a sense of being included in the life of ourorganization, and that their immense generosity andcontribution to enabling the amazing things that takeplace here is recognized. As an organization we willwork closely with government to enable and sustain aclimate of giving, so that philanthropy is encouragedand its value to the artistic life of the countryacknowledged.

The breadth of the activities and productions that theROH is involved in will always present a challenge as tohow to fund them so that artistic excellence and therichness of the experience here are never diluted.Thankfully, the Royal Opera House’s financial figurestell a clear story. It is one that is both an exemplar ofgood management and a demonstration of the kind ofartistic work that can be achieved when this is the case.For the eleventh successive year the books are balancedand the Royal Opera House is still raising nearly £3 forevery £1 it receives in public subsidy. It is part of our

responsibility to the nation as custodians of this uniqueplatform for opera and ballet to ensure that we nevertake those figures for granted. That is a daily effort.

This place is, quite simply, a marvel. Ask anyone whohas sat in front of our stages. This is what inspires thephenomenal dedication of everyone here. That is why theRoyal Opera House will continue to epitomize excellencein opera and ballet and define the way in which a 21st-century arts’ organization can lead and shine. We willembrace the realities of this financially challenging yearand emerge even stronger. This is our pledge.

TALENT

We give ouraudiences the

world’s greatestartists, established

and rising.

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Sarah Lamb and Rupert Pennefather Tryst S

Rupert Pennefather Cinderella Marianne Cornetti and Marcelo Álvarez Aida

Sarah Lamb and Sergei Polunin The Nutcracker Edward Watson As One

Tamara Rojo and Bennet Gartside Asphodel Meadows Micaela Carosi Aida

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Artists of The Royal Ballet Asphodel Meadows

Yves AbelFranco-Canadian

Conductor La traviata

Carlos AcostaCuban

Prince Rudolf MayerlingColas La Fille mal gardéeRomeo Romeo and JulietForeman The Judas Tree

Roberto AlagnaSicilian-French

Don José Carmen

Eleanor AlbergaJamaican

Composer Letters of a Love Betrayed

Marcelo ÁlvarezArgentinian

Radames Aida

Ildebrando d’ArcangeloItalian

Escamillo Carmen

Angela DenokeGerman

Polina The GamblerTitle role Salome

Natalie DessayFrench

Marie La Fille du régiment

Plácido DomingoSpanish

Title role Simon Boccanegra

Juan Diego FlórezPeruvian

Tonio La Fille du régiment

Tommy FranzenSwedish

Goldberg: The Brandstrup - RojoProject

Feruccio FurlanettoItalian

Philip II Don Carlo

Mara GaleazziItalian

Mary Vetsera MayerlingJuliet Romeo and JulietWoman The Judas Tree

Chroma

Semyon BychkovRussian

Conductor Don Carlo

Joseph CallejaMaltese

Gabriela Adorno Simon Boccanegra

Bruno CampanellaItalian

Conductor La Fille du régiment

Tannishtha ChatterjeeIndian

Singer Ingerland (Opera Shots)

Alina CojocaruRomanian

Sugar Plum Fairy The NutcrackerLise La Fille mal gardée

Title role CinderellaRushes - Fragments of a Lost Story

Alessandro CorbelliItalian

Don Geronio Il turco in ItaliaSulpice La Fille du régiment

Annette DaschGerman

Countess Almaviva Le nozze di Figaro

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Clara BarberaSpanish


Piotr BeczalaPolish

Rodolfo La bohème

Leanne BenjaminAustralian

Mary Vetsera MayerlingJuliet Romeo and JulietWoman The Judas Tree

Infra

Maurizio BeniniItalian

Conductor Il turco in Italia

Kim BrandstrupDanish

Choreography Goldberg: TheBrandstrup - Rojo ProjectRushes – Fragments of a

Lost Story

THE WORLD STAGE

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Elina GarancaLatvian

Title role Carmen

Angela GheorghiuRomanian

Violetta La traviata

Valentina GolfieriItalian

The Bride God’s Garden

Vittorio GrigoloItalian

Chevalier des Grieux Manon

Kyle KetelsenAmerican

Nick Shadow The Rake’s Progress

Johan KobborgDanish

Prince Rudolf MayerlingAgon

Romeo Romeo and JulietSymphony in C

Sophie KochFrench

Brangäne Tristan und IsoldeOctavian Der Rosenkavalier

Aleksandra KurzakPolish

Fiorilla Il turco in Italia

Mariusz KwiecienPolish

Count Almaviva Le nozze di Figaro

Sarah LambAmerican

Countess Marie LarischMayerling

Princess Aurora The SleepingBeauty

Title role CinderellaTryst

Colin LeeSouth African

Don Narciso Il turco in ItaliaTonio La Fille du régiment

Robert LepageCanadian

Director The Rake’s Progress

Nicola LuisottiItalian

Conductor Aida

Steven McRaeAustralian


Colas La Fille mal gardéeRomeo Romeo and Juliet

Chroma

Charles Mackerras (1925 - 2010)Australian

Conductor The Cunning Little Vixen

David MakhateliGeorgian

Prince The NutcrackerPrince Cinderella

Prince The Sleeping BeautySymphony in C

Roberta MarquezBrazilian

Princess Aurora The Sleeping BeautySugar Plum Fairy The Nutcracker

Lise La Fille mal gardéeJuliet Romeo and Juliet

Ingo MetzmacherGerman

Conductor The Rake’s Progress

Laura MoreraSpanish

Countess Marie LarischMayerling

Sugar Plum Fairy The NutcrackerLise La Fille mal gardée

Rushes - Fragments of a Lost StoryChristianne Stotijn Tamerlano


Ben HeppnerCanadian

Tristan Tristan und Isolde

Dmitri HvorostovskyRussian

Giorgio Germont La traviata

Jacques ImbrailoSouth African

Count Almaviva Le nozze diFigaro

Soile IsokoskiFinnish

The Marschallin DerRosenkavalier

Countess Almaviva Le nozze diFigaro

Ermonela JahoAlbanian

Violetta La traviata

Mikhail KarakisGreek

Singer Ingerland (Opera Shots)

Jonas KaufmannGerman

Title role Don Carlo

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Ann MurrayIrish

La Marquise de Berkenfeld La Fille du régiment

Andris NelsonsLatvian

Conductor La bohème

Anna NetrebkoRussian

Title role Manon

Marianela NuñezArgentinian

Princess Aurora The SleepingBeauty

Title role SphinxLise La Fille mal gardée

Title role Cinderella

Antonio PappanoAnglo-Italian

Conductor Tristan und IsoldeL’Heure espagnole/Gianni Schicchi

The GamblerManon

Laurent PellyFrench

Director La Fille du régimentManon

Kirill PetrenkoRussian

Conductor Der Rosenkavalier

Saimir PirguAlbanian

Alfredo La traviata

Arthur PitaPortugese

Choreographer God’s Garden

Sergei PoluninUkrainian

Prince Florimund The SleepingBeauty

Prince CinderellaPrince The NutcrackerElectric Counterpoint

Marina PoplavskayaRussian

Elizabeth of Valois Don CarloAmelia Simon Boccangera

Ivan PutrovUkrainian

Prince Florimund The SleepingBeauty

Colas La Fille mal gardéePrince The Nutcracker

Romeo Romeo and Juliet

Albert QuesadaSpanish

Dancer and choreographer Your Eyes

Johan ReuterDanish

Jokanaan Salome

Tamara RojoSpanish


Mary Vetsera MayerlingPrincess Aurora The Sleeping Beauty

Juliet Romeo and Juliet

Roberto SaccáGerman-Italian

Alexei The Gambler

Nitin SawhneyAnglo-Indian

Composer Entanglement(Opera Shots)

Erwin SchrottUruguayan

Title role Le nozze di Figaro

Nuno SilvaPortugese

Prodigal SonGod’s Garden

Giles de Tourette Pleasure’s Progress

Thiago SoaresBrazilian

Prince Rudolf MayerlingPrince Cinderella

Foreman The Judas TreeRomeo Romeo and Juliet

Nina StemmeSwedish

Isolde Tristan und Isolde

Christianne StotijnDutch

Title role Tamerlano

Kurt StreitAmerican

Marquis The GamblerBajazet Tamerlano

Vera TussingGerman

Dancer and choreographer Your Eyes

Michael VolleGerman

Kurwenal Tristan und Isolde

Miyako YoshidaJapanese

Sugar Plum Fairy The NutcrackerTitle role Cinderella

Juliet Romeo and Juliet

Francesca ZambelloAmerican

Director CarmenThe Tsarina’s Slippers

Liping ZhangChinese

Micaëla Carmen

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John Tomlinson The Gambler

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HOME GROWN

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Thomas AllenTitle role Gianni Schicchi

Prosdocimo Il turco in ItaliaFaninal Der Rosenkavalier

Rakie AyolaSinger Dalston Songs

George BenjaminComposer Into the Little Hill

Ivor BoltonConductor Tamerlano

Laura CaldowDancer Goldberg: The Brandstrup

- Rojo ProjectPamela Prim

Pleasure’s Progress

Dave CamlinSinger Dalston Songs

Lucy CarterLighting Limen

Infra

Helen ChadwickComposer, creator and singer

Dalston Songs

Caryl ChurchillLibrettist A Ring, a Lamp, a

Thing (Opera Shots)

Paule ConstableLighting Carmen

The Cunning Little Vixen

John CopleyDirector La bohème

Michelle CorneliusDot The Enchanted Pig

Colin DavisConductor Le nozze di Figaro

Lucy CroweSophie Der Rosenkavalier

Anna DennisNancy Pleasure’s Progress

Jonathan DoveComposer The Enchanted Pig

Martin DuncanDirector Artaxerxes

Richard Edgar-WilsonJose Letters of a Love Betrayed

Mark EdlerConductor Linda di Chamonix

(in concert)

Paul EnglishbyComposer Pleasure’s Progress

Rebecca EvansMimi La bohème

Richard EyreDirector La traviata

Sarah FoxAsteria Tamerlano

John FulljamesDirector The Enchanted Pig

Dawn FrenchLa Duchesse de Crackentorp

La Fille du régiment

Chantelle GotobedDancer Ballet Black

Orlando GoughComposer A Ring, a Lamp, a

Thing (Opera Shots)

Jade Hale-CristofiDancer Ballet Black

Matthew HartTom Rakewell Pleasure’s Progress

Michael HenrySinger Dalston Songs

Ingerland (Opera Shots)

Nicholas HytnerDirector Don Carlo

George IkediashiSinger Ingerland (Opera Shots)

Richard JonesDirector L’Heure

espagnole/Gianni SchicchiThe Gambler

Rosemary JoshuaAnne Trulove The Rake’s Progress

Simon KeenlysideRodrigo, Marquis of Posa

Don Carlo

Beverley KleinThe Book of Fate The Enchanted Pig

Sarah KundiDancer Ballet Black

Karina LucasFlora The Enchanted Pig

Wayne McGregorChoreography Limen

InfraChroma

David McVicarDirector Aida

Le nozze di FigaroSalome

Christopher MaltmanRamiro L’Heure espagnole

Gamekeeper The Cunning LittleVixen

Marcello La bohème

Sally MatthewsFiordiligi Così fan tutte

Elisabeth MeisterFox The Cunning Little Vixen

Alasdair MiddletonLibrettist The Enchanted Pig


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Jonathan MillerDirector Così fan tutte

Hannah PedleySinger Twitterdammerung

The Twitter Opera

Cassa PanchoArtistic Director Ballet Black

Melanie PappenheimSinger A Ring a Lamp a Thing

(Opera Shots)Ingerland (Opera Shots)

Rupert PennefatherPrince Rudolf Mayerling

Prince The Sleeping BeautyOedipus Sphinx

Romeo Romeo and Juliet

Mary PlazasAnalia Torres Letters of a Love

Betrayed

Jocelyn PookComposer Ingerland (Opera

Shots)

Helen PorterComposer Twitterdammerung

The Twitter Opera

John B. ReadLighting Mayerling

Agon, Sphinx, ConcertoElite Syncopations, Les Patineurs

La Fille mal gardéeRomeo and Juliet

Christine RiceConcepcion L’Heure espagnole

Title role Carmen

Joan RodgersDuchess Powder Her Face

Arlene RolphMother Superior/Gloria Letters of a Love Betrayed

Peter RoseBaron Ochs Der Rosenkavalier

Liam ScarlettChoreography Asphodel

Meadows

Tom SolomonKing of the East/The Moon

The Enchanted PigHogarth Pleasure’s Progress

Toby SpenceTom Rakewell The Rake’s

Progress

Donald SturrockLibrettist Letters of a Love

Betrayed

John TomlinsonGrand Inquisitor Don Carlo

General The Gambler

Graham VickDirector Tamerlano

Will TuckettChoreographer and Director


Edward WatsonPrince Rudolf Mayerling

Anubis Sphinx

Jonathan WatkinsChoreography As One

Elizabeth WattsMandane Artaxerxes

Christopher WheeldonChoreography

Electric CounterpointTryst

Thomas WhiteheadDancer Goldberg: The Brandstrup

- Rojo Project

Simon WildingThe Pig The Enchanted Pig

Barry WordsworthConductor Mayerling

SphinxLa Fille mal gardée

CinderellaAsphodel Meadows

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SLeanne Benjamin and Steven McRae in rehearsal

ENTERPRISE CULTURE

The Royal Opera House has a long and successful tradition of almosttrebling the funding subsidy we receive through our own efforts, theresults of which we invest in our work, our landmark building and ourfacilities. In the present funding climate it is critical that we continue tostrengthen our position to ensure that we will never have to compromiseour standards. Royal Opera House Enterprises, the commercial tradingarm of the Royal Opera House, is a vital part of this strategy. Establishedin September 2009, Enterprises consolidates our merchandizing,licensing, venue hire, catering and digital media activities into a singledivision, led by Managing Director Stephen Michael. It has enjoyed anexcellent first year, characterized by revenue growth, increased reach of ourdigital output and by the inception of a number of innovative newcommercial partnerships. In June 2010, we joined forces with RealD, theworld’s leading 3D technology supplier, to film Bizet’s Carmen – the firstfull-length opera to be filmed in 3D for commercial cinematicdistribution. Carmen in 3D was released in cinemas globally in early 2011.We anticipate that further 3D projects will follow. Our other cinemaactivity goes from strength to strength with Opus Arte, our multi-platformarts production and distribution company, bringing the finest opera,ballet, theatre and music to cinemas around the world. This year it addedthe Bayreuth Festival to its roster in an exclusive partnership that willresult in the release of a number of Bayreuth titles on CD, DVD and incinemas over the next five years. In April 2010, Enterprises launched RoyalOpera House Restaurants, our new in-house bar and restaurant offer,operated in partnership with Company of Cooks. It offers our customersa fresh approach to eating and drinking at the Royal Opera House, as weroll out a programme of investment that will see our bars and restaurantsremodelled and refurbished. Enterprises has also reinvigorated the RoyalOpera House retail offer with a complete product refresh and a refit of ourshop. Our brand licensing business, too, has been developed throughoutthe year, with a number of new partnerships being established incategories as diverse as children’s clothing (Joules), stationery (ArtFile) andphotography (Paul Smith). We look forward to strengthening our tradingrevenues over the course of the coming years to empower the work of theRoyal Opera House further.

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PERFORMANCE

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Opening the 2009/10 ballet Season, the three-actballet Mayerling was an immaculate revival ofKenneth MacMillan’s signature work, featuringfive Principals of The Royal Ballet sharing the roleof Prince Rudolf, one of the most challenging inthe whole male ballet repertory. John Kobborg,Edward Watson and Carlos Acosta had all dancedthe part before, while role debuts were made byThiago Soares and Rupert Pennefather. With itsphysically and technically demanding frameworkand exhilarating dance-acting, Mayerling provideda showcase for the monumental talents of some theCompany’s leading lights. In spring 2010MacMillan’s work was further celebrated in thetriple programme of Concerto, The Judas Tree andElite Syncopations. This presented the spectrum ofMacMillan’s career from his success in 1966 withConcerto to Elite Syncopations in 1974 and theaward-winning triumph of The Judas Tree in 1992.

The familiar and the boldly new combined indazzling fashion to lead ballet into winter with thetriple bill of Agon, Sphinx and Limen. Agon, the lastcollaboration between George Balanchine andIgor Stravinsky, presented an abstract piece thatextended classicism beyond its boundaries in its1957 premiere. Sphinx was created by Glen Tetleyfor American Ballet Theatre in 1977, inspired byJean Cocteau’s play of the same name. Royal BalletResident Choreographer Wayne McGregor set Limen, Marianela Nuñez Sphinx

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his new ballet, to Finnish composer KaijaSaariaho’s Notes on Light for cello and orchestrawith designs by the Japanese sculptor andinstallation artist Tatsuo Miyajima.

Our opera Season opened with two concertperformances of Donizetti’s Linda di Chamounix,never previously performed by The Royal Opera.Mark Elder, Music Director of the Hallé Orchestra,conducted a cast that included two notable RoyalOpera debuts: Eglise Gutiérrez, the rising Cuban-American soprano, in the title role of Linda andAmerican tenor Stephen Costello as Carlo. Theperformances were recorded for Opera Rara.

It is rare for a production to redefine how weview a key work. The double Laurence OlivierAward-winning Tristan und Isolde did precisely that.It reunited Antonio Pappano with Germandirector Christof Loy with whom he collaboratedon Ariadne auf Naxos when he first joined theRoyal Opera House. Loy’s creation of a stark,monochromatic world stripped the piece to itsessence to expose its pain and drama in a uniquefashion. This was amplified by the extraordinary


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Tommy Franzen Goldberg:The Brandstrup - Rojo Project

emotional depth and resonance of Nina Stemme’suniversally acclaimed performance as Isolde, whichwon her the Laurence Olivier Award for OutstandingAchievement in Opera. Leading Wagnerian tenor,Ben Heppner, sang the role of Tristan.Risk has alwaysbeen integral to great art and the gamble of revealingan entirely new aspect of a major work through acourageous interpretation, is not something easilyundertaken. It is a privilege for the Royal OperaHouse to be able to offer those kinds of performancesto its audiences.

In October audiences were given the opportunity toenjoy The Royal Opera in the Linbury Studio Theatreperforming Artaxerxes, a neglected but outstandingopera. Written in the 18th century by Thomas Arne, itwas last heard in repertory at Covent Garden duringthe 1842/3 Season. The new production was directedby Martin Duncan working with The Royal Opera forthe first time. South African-born countertenorChristopher Ainslie sang the title role.

In the lead up to Christmas Francesca Zambelloreturned to the Royal Opera House to direct thecharming tale of The Tsarina’s Slippers, based on aChristmas tale by Gogol. For this production TheRoyal Opera and The Royal Ballet shared the stage,and Alastair Marriott – working with The RoyalOpera for the first time – choreographed the ballet. Acast of Russian principals was conducted byAlexander Polianichko.

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Prokofiev’s opera The Gambler, based on Dostoevsky’snovel of the same name, paired the formidable talentsof Antonio Pappano and Richard Jones. Theirprevious collaborations include the award-winningLady Macbeth of Mtsensk and the double programmeof L’Heure espagnole/Gianni Schicchi, revived earlier inthe 2009/10 Season. The opera was presented for thefirst time by The Royal Opera and German-bornItalian tenor Roberto Saccà sang Alexei, with Germansoprano Angela Denoke as Paulina.Both were makingtheir debuts in their respective roles. The productionalso included six members of the Jette Parker YoungArtist Programme.

Laurent Pelly returned to direct The Royal Opera ina breathtaking new production of Massenet’s Manon,a co-production with La Scala, Milan, Théâtre duCapitole, Toulouse and the Metropolitan Opera NewYork.Russian soprano Anna Netrebko was dazzling asManon, the first time she has played the part with TheRoyal Opera. The role of Chevalier des Grieux wasbrought vividly to life by Vittorio Grigolo. The RoyalOpera Chorus was also on sensational form tocomplete an extraordinary production conducted byAntonio Pappano.

A new production in spring of Verdi’s Aida in amythical but non-Egyptian setting was directed byDavid McVicar in a co-production with NorwegianNational Opera and Palau de les Arts, Valencia. Italiansoprano Micaela Carosi played Aida,while Argentinian

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tenor Marcelo Álvarez,sang Radames for the first time.American mezzo-soprano Marianne Cornetti sang therole of the jealous Amneris having made her debutwith The Royal Opera singing Princess Eboli in DonCarlo in September 2009. The conductor was NicolaLuisotti, Music Director of San Francisco Opera.

In another remarkable Season, as it approaches itstenth year of life, ROH2 mounted some dazzlingwork including Goldberg: the Brandstrup - Rojo Project,an Olivier Award winning collaboration betweenDanish choreographer Kim Brandstrup and RoyalBallet Principal Tamara Rojo. Deloitte Ignite onceagain filled the ROH with an abundance of creativeenergy and introduced the much media heraldedTwitterdammerung: the Twitter Opera. The annualreturn of FIRSTS, Ballet Black and Voices Across theWorld were all much enjoyed.Dalston Songs, created byROH2 in 2007, made a welcome return to the RoyalOpera House in 2010. Its origins lay in composerHelen Chadwick’s work with OperaGenesis whichculminated in her composition of a series of songs toexplore the experiences and stories of the diasporacommunities of Dalston and East London.Choreography and direction was by FranticAssembly’s Steven Hoggett. Continuing ROH2’scommitment to enhancing the chamber operarepertory, Music Theatre Wales returned with theworld premiere of Eleanor Alberga’s opera, Letters of aLove Betrayed.

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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR 2009

SEPTEMBERNew productions

Deloitte Ignite 09 curated by Time OutGoldberg: the Brandstrup - Rojo Project Kim Brandstrup/J S Bach/Richard

HudsonTristan und Isolde Richard Wagner/Antonio Pappano/Christof

Loy/Johannes LeiackerWorld premiere of Twitterdammerung: the Twitter Opera

Major revivalsDon Carlo Giuseppe Verdi/Semyon Bychkov/Nicholas Hytner/Bob Crowley

Key debutsEglise Gutiérrez title role Linda di Chamounix in concert

Landmark performancesAntonio Pappano and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Tristan und Isolde

Jonas Kaufmann title role Don CarloTamara Rojo Goldberg: The Brandstrup - Rojo Project

Nina Stemme Isolde Tristan und Isolde

OCTOBERNew productions

Artaxerxes Thomas Arne/Ian Page/Martin Duncan/ Johan EngelsLimen World Premiere Wayne McGregor/Kaija Saariaho/Tatsuo Miyajima

Sphinx Glen Tetley/Bohuslav Martinu/Rouben Ter-ArutunianLetters of a Love Betrayed World Premiere Eleanor Alberga/Michael

Rafferty/Michael McCarthy/Colin Richmond/Holly McCarthy

Major revivalsCarmen Georges Bizet/Bertrand de Billy/Francesca Zambello/Tanya McCallin

L’Heure espagnole/Gianni Schicchi Maurice Ravel/GiacomoPuccini/Antonio Pappano/Richard Jones/John Macfarlane

Key debutsRupert Pennefather Prince Rudolf Mayerling

Thiago Soares Prince Rudolf MayerlingSergei Polunin Prince Florimund The Sleeping Beauty

Landmark performancesElina Garanca title role Carmen

Edward Watson Prince Rudolf MayerlingThomas Allen title role Gianni Schicchi

NOVEMBERNew productions

The Tsarina’s Slippers Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky/AlexanderPolianichko/Francesca Zambello/Mikhail Mokrov/Tatiana

Nogovina/Alastair MarriottFIRSTS seventh season of groundbreaking and experimental art from

young and emerging artists new to the ROH. Included ROH2commission Your Eyes by Vera Tussing and Albert Quesada

Major revivalsThe Nutcracker Peter Wright/Lev Ivanov/Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky/Koen

Kessels/Julia Trevelyan Oman

Key debutsAlastair Marriott with The Royal Opera. Choreography The Tsarina’s Slippers

Olga Guryakova Oxana The Tsarina’s SlippersViktoria Yastrebova Oxana The Tsarina’s Slippers

Landmark performancesMiyako Yoshida Sugar Plum Fairy The Nutcracker

DECEMBERNew productions

The Enchanted Pig Jonathan Dove/Tim Murray/John Fulljames/Dick Bird

Major revivalsDer Rosenkavalier Richard Strauss/Kirill Petrenko/John

Schlesinger/William Dudley/Maria BjörnsonLa bohème Giacomo Puccini/Andris Nelsons/John Copley/Julia Trevelyan Oman

Key debutsAndris Nelsons conductor La bohème

Akane Takada Les PatineursTeodor Ilincai Rudolfo La bohème

Landmark performancesSoile Isokoski Marschallin Der Rosenkavalier

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MARCHNew productions

Tamerlano George Frideric Handel/Ivor Bolton/Graham Vick/RichardHudson

Major revivalsLa Fille mal gardée Frederick Ashton/Ferdinand Hérold/Barry

Wordsworth/Osbert LancasterThe Cunning Little Vixen Leos Janácek/Charles Mackerras/Bill

Bryden/William Dudley

Key debutsKurt Streit Bajazet Tamerlano

Steven McRae Colas La Fille mal gardéeCarlos Acosta Foreman The Judas TreeThiago Soares Foreman The Judas Tree

Landmark performancesCharles Mackerras (1925–2010) conductor The Cunning Little Vixen.

Mackerras’s final performances with The Royal Opera

APRILNew productions

Aida Giuseppe Verdi/Nicola Luisotti/David McVicar/Jean-MarcPuissant/Moritz Junge

Major revivalsIl turco in Italia Gioachino Rossini/Maurizio Bennini/PatriceCaurier/Moshe Lesier/Christian Fenouillat/Agostino Cavalca

Powder Her Face Thomas Adès/Timothy Redmond/Carlos Wagner/ConorMurphy

Key debutsMarianela Nuñez title role Cinderella

Steven McRae Prince CinderellaSergei Polunin Prince Cinderella

Landmark performancesMarcelo Álvarez Radames AidaThe Royal Opera Chorus Aida

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR 2010

JANUARYNew productions

The Rake’s Progress Igor Stravinsky/Ingo Metzmacher/Robert Lepage/CarlFillion/François Barbeau

Romeo and Juliet Kenneth MacMillan/Sergey Prokofiev/Boris Gruzin/NicholasGeorgiadis

Key debutsJulia Jones conductor Così fan tutte

Kyle Ketelsen Nick Shadow The Rake’s Progress Troy Cook Guglielmo Così fan tutte

Landmark performancesSally Matthews Fiordiligi Così fan tutte

FEBRUARYNew productions

God’s Garden Arthur Pita/traditional fado/Jean-Marc Puissant/NatashaChivers

The Gambler Sergey Prokofiev/Antonio Pappano/Richard Jones/AntonyMcDonald/Nicki Gillibrand

As One World Premiere Jonathan Watkins/Graham Fitkin/BarryWordsworth/Simon Daw

Major revivalsDalston Songs Helen Chadwick/Steven Hoggett/Miriam Buether

Rushes - Fragments of a Lost Story Kim Brandstrup/Sergey Prokofiev/MichaelBerkeley/Daniel Capps/Richard Hudson

Infra Wayne McGregor/Max Richter/Julian Opie

Key debutsRoberto Saccà Alexey Ivanovich The Gambler

Angela Denoke Paulina The GamblerJohn Tomlinson General The Gambler

Landmark performancesThe Royal Opera Chorus The Gambler

Ballet Black’s sixth sold out season in the Linbury Studio Theatre

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MAYNew productions

Asphodel Meadows World Premiere Liam Scarlett/FrancisPoulenc/Barry Wordsworth/John Macfarlane

Major revivalsLa Fille du régiment Gaetano Donizetti/Bruno Campanella/Laurent

Pelly/Chantal ThomasElectric Counterpoint Christopher Wheeldon/J.S. Bach/Steve

Reich/Jean-Marc Puissant

Key debutsYves Abel conductor La traviata

Notable eventsBBC3 In Tune live from the Paul Hamlyn Hall. The entireprogramme was devoted to Royal Opera House content

Landmark performancesNatalie Dessay Marie La Fille du régiment

Juan Diego Flórez Tonio La Fille du régiment

JUNENew productions

Opera Shots Three world premieres by established composers new to opera

Pleasure's Progress Will Tuckett/Paul Englishby/Alasdair Middleton/JonBausor performed in Ipswich, Covent Garden Piazza and then

Latitude FestivalManon Jules Massenet/Antonio Pappano/Laurent Pelly/Chantal

Thomas/Jean-Jacques Delmotte

Major revivalsCarmen Georges Bizet/Constantinos Carydis/Francesca

Zambello/Tanya McCallinSimon Boccanegra Giuseppe Verdi/Antonio Pappano/Elijah

Moshinsky/Michael Yeargan/Peter J. Hall

Key debutsBryan Hymel Don José Carmen

Constantinos Carydis conductor Carmen

Landmark performancesTwo performances of Carmen were filmed in 3D by RealD – the first

full-length opera to be filmed in 3DPlácido Domingo title role Simon Boccanegra

Antonio Pappano and the Royal Opera Chorus and Orchestra of theRoyal Opera House Simon Boccanegra

JULYMajor revivals

Into the Little Hill George Benjamin/Franck Ollu/JohnFulljames/Soutra Gilmour

Key debutsJames Valenti Alfredo Germont La traviata

Landmark performancesAngela Gheorghiu Violetta La traviata

Voices Across the World annual world music season at the ROHBBC Promenade Concerts Antonio Pappano and The Royal Opera

Simon Boccanegra

AUGUSTWhile The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera were on holiday or in

rehearsal, the Royal Opera House hosted visits from The BolshoiBallet and Bolshoi Opera

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Dance Dynamic is a key initiative to introduceschool children to dance and ballet in amemorable and exciting way. More than 800 pupilsfrom 24 schools participated in sessions in whichthey developed their dancing and choreographicskills after watching demonstrations by The RoyalBallet. The project used The Royal Ballet repertoryas a stimulus, drawing on La Fille mal gardée forprimary schools and Wayne McGregor’s Infra forsecondary schools. Teachers in the participatingschools also collaborated with our artists todevelop their skills in leading creative dancesessions: 583 pupils from 14 London primaryschools then gave performances through whichthey shared the work. A further 250 students fromsecondary schools in Ipswich, Essex, Thurrock andLondon, performed in the Clore Studio Upstairs,Thameside Theatre Thurrock and JerwoodDanceHouse Ipswich, as part of our On the Roadprogramme. Royal Ballet dancers Laura Morera,Ricardo Cervera, Eric Underwood, Philip Mosley,Melissa Hamilton and David Pickering workedwith the groups along with members of theOrchestra of the Royal Opera House, Adrian Reedand Margaret Campbell.

The impact of teachers’ skills on the lives of thechildren in their schools cannot be overestimated.This is why their professional development is acontinuing focus for the education programme of

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the Royal Opera House. By reaching and inspiringteachers we hope to achieve a ripple effect as theyimpart their enthusiasm to their pupils and applythe skills we have helped to equip them with. Thisyear we established a pilot project working inpartnership with Exeter University to develop anddeliver a training course for trainee primaryschool teachers. Using the cross-arts nature of operaas the foundation, professional artists (a director,composer and designer) worked with the group toexplore approaches and skills that would enable araft of work to be delivered throughout thecurriculum. The teacher trainees then implementedthis in practical sessions with pupils in localschools, and assessed their experiences with theircourse tutors and the Royal Opera House team. Anevaluation of the pilot revealed that the course hada very positive impact on confidence levels inteaching the arts. We hope that this blueprint willenable us to work more extensively with teachertraining institutions in the future.

The Royal Opera House believes in sustainingour engagement with schools and teachers to leavea genuine, lasting legacy. This is why we arecommitted to ongoing initiatives such as Voices ofthe Future, which aims to empower teachers to leadsinging in schools. We first began work with 46teachers in Kent in September 2007, andconcluding sessions took place in spring 2010.

The Purfleet Opera Ludd and Isis dance workshop

Renata Pokupic Tamerlano

Jon Young FIRSTS Dancing Like No-one’s Watching

We are confident that the journey these teachershave made will make a tangible difference to theirschools and strengthen the value and enjoymentthat they derive from singing.

Our Write an Opera programme celebrated its25th anniversary in 2010. Two courses attractedteachers from the UK and overseas. A large numberof opera world premieres composed, designed andperformed by children took place in school hallsacross the UK and in other European countriesduring the year. Since the programme began morethan 700 teachers have attended courses, creating awealth of new operas and inspiring countlessyoung performers.

In October 2009 we launched First Stage. Thisopened the doors for employment in the creativearts sector to people from diverse backgrounds byoffering placements within the Royal OperaHouse. Through this programme all workexperience opportunities are now advertised onour website for anyone to apply to. During the2009/10 Season, 174 placements were offeredacross 19 departments in Covent Garden, in ourworkshops in Beckton and in our stores inAberdare. Over a third of our placements wereoffered to applicants who were not from Londonand the Home Counties. The opening of the HighHouse Production Park in Thurrock will providefurther opportunities for extension of the

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programme, and the arrival of the carpentry andscenic art teams there will mean that placementscan be offered within the locality. Opportunitiesavailable within Thurrock and the ThamesGateway have been promoted in local schools andmedia, and through Insight events. Over the nextSeason, as well as increasing the number ofplacements offered by those departments alreadyparticipating, we will work to expand the rangeand diversity of available roles.

With support from Arts Council England’s Sustainprogramme, we have been able to offer a diverseportfolio of opportunities for opera practitioners,encompassing workshop opportunities for composersworking on new commissions for both the LinburyStudio Theatre and main stages, and courses fordirectors, composers and librettists led by ROH2. Thishas encouraged new talent and is enabling freshperspectives in opera. The Royal Opera House isgrateful to Arts Council England for both the Sustainsupport and for its confidence in this activity.

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SROH2’s first commission for the 2009/10 Season proved a tourde force, bringing together Danish-born, British-basedcontemporary choreographer Kim Brandstrup and RoyalBallet Principal Tamara Rojo. Staged in the Linbury StudioTheatre Goldberg: the Brandstrup - Rojo Project, set to Bach’sGoldberg Variations, offered an intriguing insight into thenature of dance rehearsal and highlighted the intense andintimate relationships that dancers share. Famed for hisnaturalistic and narrative approach, Brandstrup’s choreographyexposed the hard work, experimentation, repetition anddedication required to create a new piece of dance, opening awindow onto the essence of performance. Set in a stark,rehearsal studio, Goldberg: the Brandstrup - Rojo Project mixeddance traditions to great effect casting seven performersincluding Royal Ballet Principal Steven McRae and SoloistThomas Whitehead, alongside contemporary dancers ClaraBarbera, Laura Caldow, Riccardo Meneghini and street dancerTommy Franzén. The Goldberg Variations is one of the mostambitious compositions written for harpsichord and thischallenging music was played live by pianists Philip Gammonand Henry Roche. Rojo’s extraordinary performance, marriedto Brandstrup’s subtle, articulate, innovative choreographywon ROH2 the Laurence Olivier Award 2010 for Best NewDance Production.

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Development CoursesVOX2 – composing for voice. Four weeks spreadover 2009/10 Season (Dominic Muldowney andJohn Lloyd Davies).The Singing Word – two short, linked courses forwriters interested in becoming librettists (JohnLloyd Davies and guest tutors).The Operating Table – intensive course fordirectors interested in the challenge of opera(Elaine Kidd, John Lloyd Davies and guest tutors).As It Happens – opera observer programme formain stage productions.

Workshop DevelopmentAnna Nicole, by Mark-Anthony Turnage andRichard Thomas; Royal Opera commission forthe main stage. Two workshops.Traps, new opera by Kenneth Hesketh, fromFriedrich Dürrenmatt story. A Kafkaesquechamber opera of intrigue and menace.Don’t Breathe a Word, a new opera by AndrewLovett and Fraser Grace. Satirical tragicomedyabout an outspoken British ambassador to centralAsian republic who falls in love with a belly-dancer.Under the Volcano, a new opera by Joseph Phibbsand Laurie Slade, based on the novel by Malcolm Lowry.

The Royal Opera House believes in creatingmomentum and empowering the trajectories ofsuccess for artists. 2009/10 marked the completionof the first year of the structured two-year Associateprogramme for emerging choreographers. Thisprovides access for the participants to every aspectof our organization to help their development andevolution as artists. Wayne McGregor has beenclosely involved in appointing the choreographersand the three Associates currently attached to theROH until August 2011 are Laila Diallo, SarahDowling and Freddie Oppoku-Addaie. Each ofthem has had work commissioned by ROH2 intheir second year and been given the freedom andopportunity to work with all of our departments.Orlando Gough and Aletta Collins have also beenappointed as ROH Associates until August 2012.

Originally developed through ROH2’sOperaGenesis programme, Letters of a Love Betrayedwas Jamaican composer Eleanor Alberga’s firstopera, inspired by Isabelle Allende’s The Stories ofEva Luna. Drawing on the sounds and rhythms ofAlberga’s home country the opera is scored for 14players and includes the tiplé (the Colombianguitar) to reflect the South American sensibility ofthe subject matter. Mary Plazas, one of the UK’sleading singing actresses, created the role of AnalíaTorres, the opera’s central character, whose solitarylife is transformed by a series of love letters.

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The libretto was by Donald Sturrock, who had aunique insight into the piece having grown up inColombia. Performed in the Linbury StudioTheatre, and then on tour around the country,Letters of a Love Betrayed was a co-productionbetween ROH2 and Music Theatre Wales.

For the seventh successive year FIRSTS featuredan intriguing variety of groundbreaking andexperimental work by young and emerging artistsappearing in the Linbury Studio Theatre for thefirst time. Three separate programmes showcasedartists in a variety of art forms includingcontemporary dance, aerial performance, circus,live art and physical theatre, and in a particularlyexciting season included the ROH2 commissionYour Eyes by choreographic duo Vera Tussing andAlbert Quesada.

In April Exposure offered a unique opportunity toexperience a taste of new opera work in progress,by composers of all ages, in a series of semi-stagedpieces. The Linbury Studio Theatre became theExposure Cabaret venue for four nights andfeatured contemporary opera work by up andcoming composers drawn from among the 35current or recent opera development projects atthe Royal Opera House and with partners.Highlights included extracts from Tarik O’Regan’sHeart of Darkness, which had workshops withOperaGenesis in 2008; ROH2’s acclaimed

Twitterdammerung: the Twitter Opera by Marc Teitlerand Helen Porter; Ed Hughes’s Cocteau in theUnderworld; Andrew Lovett’s Don’t Breathe a Wordand a snapshot of Marc Teitler’s Stuck on a Sundaywhich included an animated sketch. Works byrising stars Laura Bowler, Sasha Siem and PhillipNeil Martin also featured.

The Royal Ballet never rests on its laurels andmembers of the Company are always exploringfresh methods of challenging themselves as artists.Draft Works, in the Clore Studio Upstairs, presentedten, diverse, experimental pieces made by and formembers of the Company and those associatedwith it. An open brief was set for aspiringchoreographers, who selected themselves forparticipation, as a platform for the expression ofshort ideas or longer choreographic essays. Theresulting highly individualistic works, created inthe midst of heavy commitments to the Season,reflected the imagination and commitment of allthose who took part.

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Steven McRae As One

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Connecting with audiences in unexpected ways iscentral to our strategy as an organization. For thesecond year, ROH2 took a programme of work tothe Latitude Festival in Suffolk with an audience ofalmost 23,000. This involvement opened up our artforms to new audiences and extended generalawareness of the varied work taking place at theRoyal Opera House. Pleasure’s Progress, a newlycommissioned dance piece from Will Tuckett, whichoriginally opened at the Jerwood DanceHouseIpswich as part of our On the Road programme,ran for four performances to festival goers andwent on to be performed in the Covent GardenPiazza, the Linbury Studio Theatre and at theLowry in Salford.

The Enchanted Pig by Jonathan Dove, awonderfully vivid production for family audiences,was revived by ROH2 having first appeared at theYoung Vic in 2006. It presented a highly visual, fast-moving and entertaining tale providing a first,agreeable taste of opera that joyfully kindled aninterest in the art form in the hundreds ofenthusiastic children who went to see it.

We supported members of the armed servicesand their families with a Tickets for Troopsperformance, made possible by Lord and LadyLaidlaw of Rothiemay.This took place on Valentine’sDay. Sir Richard Dannatt, former Chief of theGeneral Staff, commented, ‘On behalf of all those The Tsarina’s Slippers

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that attended, thank you for an absolutely splendidevening yesterday. You billed it as a family treat forValentine’s Day and that’s exactly what it was.’

Curtain Up! at the Thameside Theatre in Grayswas a three-day festival of celebration, participationand education for young people and the localcommunity that showcased our educational workin the Thurrock and Thames Gateway region. Itwas a packed 72 hours with workshops, trainingevents, exhibitions and performances attended bymore than 500 young people, participants andlocal audiences. The focus for the final day was thefirst Royal Opera House Creative PartnershipsLearning Conference which more than 150 peopleattended.

In September 2009 we celebrated 40 years ofROH Collections. Exhibitions in the Royal OperaHouse throughout this Season offered us theopportunity to highlight the wealth and diversityof the Collections which continue to grow boththrough deposits from other departments andthrough gifts and bequests. This year, externaldonations have included the bequest of acollection of costume and prop designs by LeslieHurry for Turandot (1947) and Swan Lake (1952), acostume worn by Geraint Evans as Papageno in DieZauberflöte (1962), Mary Miller’s collection ofmaterial relating to her role in Isadora (1981), andthe purchase of a diary kept by the Royal Box Christopher Maltman, Jeremy White and Robin Leggate The Cunning Little Vixen

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Antonio Pappano

steward from 1892 to 1909. Individuals celebratedduring this Season included Dame Eva Turner,whose generous gift of costumes, photographs,letters and diaries forms a comprehensive record ofone of the first 20th-century British sopranos toenjoy an international career. Kenneth MacMillan’sgreat contribution to The Royal Ballet wascommemorated through costumes and designsfrom his work. The designs were drawn from thecollections of two individuals: Ian Spurling,purchased through the generosity of DeborahMacMillan, and Yolanda Sonnabend, purchasedwith the generous assistance of Anya Sainsbury.Plácido Domingo’s long connection with theRoyal Opera House was highlighted in a Spotlightdisplay that coincided with his performances inthe title role of Simon Boccanegra.

We are always keen to push the boundaries ofwhat we do and to offer new experiences to ouraudiences. Voices Across the World is the Royal OperaHouse’s annual world music festival which takesplace each July. Now in its fifth year, thiscelebration of tradition, diversity and innovationin vocal music from across the globe includedartists from Pakistan, Iraq, Egypt and Hungaryperforming in a range of vocal styles such asQawwali, Maqam, Sudanese mystic trance musicand Hungarian folk in the Linbury Studio Theatreand the Paul Hamlyn Hall.

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Deloitte Ignite stretches preconceptions about theRoyal Opera House by offering a stimulating andeclectic range of performances and events fordiverse, younger audiences. This year, curated byTime Out, it involved more than 8,000 visitors in aprogramme of concerts, installations, film,performance and flash mob actions, pivotingaround dance and opera. Artists includedDreamthinkspeak, Angela Woodhouse, YinkaShonibare, Kathleen Herbert, Bourgeois andMaurice, and the St Paul’s Cathedral choir, alongsidenew works by Will Tuckett and Chris Goode.

The Royal Opera House connects directlywith so many places.

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A Filettaa2

Ajose Cutting DanceAkademi

All Marble CrewAltai Kai

American Ballet Theatre IIAmina Khayyam

Amy Bell & ValentinaGolfieri

Angela Woodhouse andCaroline BroadheadArc Dance Company

Arts Council England, EastArnold Hill School

(Springboard)Arron Sparks

Askew and AvisAurelie

Australian BalletBad Taste CruBallet Black

Ballet Central (Springboard)Base ChorusBedlam Oz

Beijing Modern DanceCompany

BellowheadBenji Reid

Bern:Ballett Bgroup

Birkbeck CollegeBird College

Birmingham BalletBistrothequeBlast Theory

Blind Summit TheatreBloody Foreigners

Bourgeois and MauriceBritish Library

Britten SinfoniaCapital Shopping Centres

Cath and Phil TylerCathy Marston Dance Project

Central School of Ballet(Springboard)

Creativity Culture andEducation

Chi2Chinatown Arts Space

Chisato MinamimuraChitah

Chris CoxChris Goode

CimarronCity of London Sinfonia

Claire CunninghamCollectif and then…

Compañia LaDaimohk (Springboard)

Dance SouthwestDance Umbrella Dance Xchange

DanceEastDante or Die

Dartington InternationalSummer School

David Hughes DanceDavid Rothenberg

Dhafer YoussefDJ Phat and Suki MokDragon Tongue Squad

DreamthinkspeakDynamo’s Rhythm Aces

East of EnglandDevelopment AgencyEast London Dance

Eddie LaddEdinburgh International

Festival El Toro Theatre

English National BalletEtran Finatawa

Essex County CouncilExeter University

Farida and The Iraqi MaqâmEnsemble

FatimaFaulty Optic

Fernando’s KitchenFiona Talkington Little

DragonFocal Point Gallery

Future CreativeGemma Palomar

Genius SweatshopGisele Edwards and Simon

BlendisGoddard | Nixon Project

Gravity & Levity

Gryphon Trio Halle EnsemblesHeather Hoyle

Helen Chadwick GroupHelena Hunter

Helga Stromberger and Vilascon Krilas

Hertfordshire CountyCouncil

Hetain PatelHigh House Community

GroupHofesh Shechter

Hoipolloi and TiebreakHorsemeat Disco

IlluminagoIlona Jäntti

Impact DanceIrven Lewis Dance Theatre

Jack and the Band of ThievesJames Cotterill

James FaganJamie Woon

Jan BangJason CarterJean Abreu

Jessica Curry and DanPinchbeck

Joana AmendoeiraJohn-Martin White

JointworksJon YoungJonny Woo

jonzi d productionsJosephine Dyer

Katy CarrKazuko Hohki

KeiradanceKerfuffle

KW4K (Springboard)Kwesi Johnson

Laïla DialloLambeth CouncilLevon Minassian

Lo Còr De La PlanaLondon Film School

London International MimeFestival

London Jazz FestivalLondon Sevdah

London SinfoniettaThe Lowry

Luke DanielsMaki Mannami

Maria Ryan Wild RootsCollective

Marie-Gabrielle RotieMárta Sebestyén-Bolya-

Dongo TrioMatilda LeyserMatt Hennem

Matthew Hawkins DanceCompany

Matthias SperlingMavin Khoo Dance

Mem MorrisonMETAL

Midnite Youth TheatreCompany (Springboard)

Millicent Hodson & KennethArcher

MitsouraModified Toy Orchestra

MomentumMusic Theatre Wales

Nancy KerrNatalie Williams

National Ballet of CanadaNational Ballet of TurkeyNational Dance Network

National Skills Academy forCreative and Cultural Skills

National Youth DanceCompany (Springboard)

Natural Theatre CompanyNiall Ashdown and Between

The NotesNick LuscombeNicole Conibere

Nina RajaraniNITRO

Northern School ofContemporary Dance

(Springboard)Northern Youth Dance

Company (Springboard)ocean for sale

Ockham’s RazorOpen Heart Productions

Opera Northopera-te

Other/Other/OtherPalya Bea Quintet

Pete FirmanPina

Portico Quartet

Premiere Space 05Purfleet Community ForumQueen of Puddings Music

TheatreRachael Mossom

Rachel ErdosRajyashree Ramamurthi

Rambert School of Ballet andContemporary Dance

(Springboard)Random Dance

Random InternationalRango

Ray LeeRizwan-Muazzam Qawwali

RNIBRob Horsman

Robert HarbronRobert Hylton

Rose Bruford CollegeRoswitha Gerlitz and Harvey

BroughRotterdam Dance Academy

Royal Academy of MusicRoyal Ballet School

Sap DanceSatoshi Takeishi

Seeta PatelShobana Jeyasingh Dance

Company Shrewsbury School

(Springboard)Sidsel Endresen

Silent DiscoSiobhan Davies Dance

CompanySmallpetitklein

Sofia Buchuck and AndeanBand

SoothsayersSoulseekers Allowance

Southbank SinfoniaSouthend Borough CouncilSouthend Educational Trust

South Essex CollegeSouthwark Council

Spiltmilk DanceSpiro

St Clement Danes Church ofEngland Primary School

St. Paul’s Cathedral ChoirStac

Stammer ProductionsStan’s Café

Sväng New HarmonicaQuartet

Sweetshop RevolutionTanja Råman

Taraf de HaïdouksTartan ChameleonThameside TheatreThe Clod Ensemble

The Coal Porters The Ensemble GroupThe Errollyn Wallen

CompanyThe Opera Group The Orpheus Trust

(Springboard)The Shout

The Sugar Beast CircusThe Unthanks

The Zig QuartetTheatre AbsoluteTheatre Cryptic

Theatre Francais de laMusique of Compiègne

Theatre IsThurrock CouncilThurrock Learning

PartnershipThurrock Music Services

Thurrock Thames GatewayDevelopment Corporation

TilanneTim Van Eyken

TimberlinaTime OutTom Hull

Toronto Dance Theatre ToyHearts

Trio GitanoUnicorn Theatre for Children

Union Dance Urban Magik

Ursula MartinezVayu Naidu Company

Vena RamphalVera Tussing and Albert

QuesadaVox Clamantis

Walker Dance Park MusicWired Aerial Theatre

Yasmin LevyYouth Dance England

Youth Sports TrustYouth Music

Zinc

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FACILITIES, EXPERIENCE AND SUPPORT.

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PARTNERSHIP

We give oursupport in

numerous waysto strengthenour art forms.

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Continuing our policy of embracing andcollaborating with other companies to share ourfacilities and support and to bring their creativeenergy inside the Royal Opera House, Ballet Blackfollowed its highly successful 2009 Linbury StudioTheatre performances with a return in spring 2010.This featured new commissions from ChristopherHampson, Robert Hylton, Raymond Chai andHenri Oguike. Working with companies such asBallet Black allows the Royal Opera House toexplore different artistic perspectives and towelcome increasingly diverse audiences. This iswhy we value our creative partnerships so highly.

God’s Garden was an ROH2 co-commission withDance East of a new, full-length work fromchoreographer Arthur Pita. Dance East is thepartner organization for our On the Roadprogramme in the East region and this productionis just one of several collaborative projects. God’sGarden, based on the parable of the Prodigal Son, isa family drama set on the island of Madeira wherePita was born, laced with comic undertones,danced in a dreamlike context. Live fado music wasjust one highlight of this multi-layered work ofdance theatre which featured a dynamic cast of sixdancers. God’s Garden opened in Dance East’shome, the new Jerwood DanceHouse in Ipswich,and then moved to the Linbury Studio Theatrewhere it was warmly received. Michael Henry Dalston Songs

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The Royal Opera House’s role as the nationalcentre for opera and ballet means that we are thefirst port of call for all enquiries about materialrelating to our art forms. Significant additions toour database include details of all PlácidoDomingo’s performances at the Royal OperaHouse, as both singer and conductor, and completedetails of all of the ballets choreographed byKenneth MacMillan performed here by ourresident Companies. During the 2009/10 Season,ROH Collections online responded to more than athousand enquiries ranging from requests forphotographs to detailed academic research. Ourarchive is clearly of real value to countlessindividuals and organizations and we are proud tohave made a contribution to so many varied projects.

As part of a developing relationship, Royal OperaHouse Education and The Royal Ballet Schoolworked in partnership with Youth Dance Englandto support the nationwide Young Creativesprogramme. In January, 35 young choreographers,aged 14–19, attended a sharing event at the RoyalOpera House from which the final 12 YoungCreatives were selected. These winners were giventhe opportunity to work with a professionalmentor, take part in a Residential programme andperform their work at the Linbury Studio Theatrein April. Associate Artists Freddie Opoku-Addaieand Sarah Dowling and Royal Ballet Soloist

Kristen McNally were involved in the selection ofchoreographers, mentoring and contributing tothe Residential week.

We endeavour to nurture our art forms with ourcollective skill, knowledge and experience so thatthey may flourish. Mentoring young talentinternally and in partnership with externalorganizations is central to this ambition. TheBenesh Institute provides education programmes,validated by the Royal Academy of Dance, in theBenesh system of Movement Notation. Thisframework is used by dance companies, worldwide,to record, preserve and restage choreographicworks. The Royal Ballet pioneered the use ofBenesh Notation and currently has a staff of threefull-time notators who record and teach theCompany’s repertory in-house and also re-stageRoyal Ballet productions for companies aroundthe world. A mentoring scheme has beendeveloped between the two organizations thatprovides a placement for a Benesh student notatorto work alongside the Company’s notators at theRoyal Opera House. During the 2009/10 SeasonGrant Coyle, The Royal Ballet’s Principal DanceNotator and Répétiteur, mentored a final-yearBenesh Notation student as part of herprofessional qualification. Unique placements suchas this, offer invaluable ‘learning by doing’ in whatis a highly specialized and invaluable job while at

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the same time providing a mentor with theopportunity to reflect on their own practice.Mutuallybeneficial partnerships are the bedrock upon whichthe Royal Opera House is built.

Opera Shots is an exciting initiative that promises tostrengthen contemporary opera. This major newinitiative from ROH2 is one aspect of a range of operadevelopment work across the Royal Opera House,from full-scale commissions to developmentworkshops, courses and observer programmes. EachSeason three to four composers, established in fieldsbeyond traditional opera with a broad appeal foraudiences, will be commissioned to create 30-minuteoperas that will be staged over a two-week period.Thenew work is all composer-led and the artists areencouraged to push the boundaries of the art form.The launch took place in June 2010 with three worldpremieres and featured commissions from Nitin

Sawhney, Orlando Gough and Jocelyn Pook. Theircreative collaborators included Caryl Churchill andNinja Culture. The subject matter ranged fromentanglement theory to football chants, and wasengaging and stimulating for both new and existingopera audiences. Orlando Gough’s A Ring a Lamp aThing was an unaccompanied music drama for asingle female voice using Ableton Live loopingtechnology which looped and mixed the singer’svoice during the live performance. Nitin Sawhney’sEntanglement, inspired by Schrödinger’s Cathypothesis, centred on a young female at the momentof reading a pregnancy test. It used singers fromdiverse backgrounds and a mixture of traditional andIndian instruments. Ingerland, by Jocelyn Pook,explored the parallel passions of football and opera,and grew from the composer’s fascination with thechants floating from Arsenal, her local football club.

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Bennet Gartside and Tamara Rojo in rehearsal

milestone

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SInvolving young people with the Royal Opera House and helping themto realize their potential is a crucially important aspect of our work.The Fanfare Competition was launched in October 2009 to encouragechildren to compose music. It gave school students aged 11–14 theopportunity to compose an original, 30-second fanfare to replace theRoyal Opera House’s front-of-house bell,which summons audiences totheir seats. The first task was to connect with potential entrants and soa strong web campaign was conducted featuring films on ROHEducation uploaded to YouTube, extensive resources for teachers, and apartnership with schools’music sharing site NUMU. As a consequencewe were delighted to receive hundreds of entries from a hugely diverserange of schools. A judging panel that included Antonio Pappano,Barry Wordsworth (Music Director of The Royal Ballet), composersJoby Talbot and Orlando Gough and members of the Orchestra of theRoyal Opera House,chose ten winning entries.These young composersspent a day working with the Orchestra and composer DuncanChapman to arrange their fanfares for a 45-piece orchestra.Some weekslater they returned to sit alongside Antonio Pappano to rehearse andrecord their compositions. These entirely original fanfares can now beheard at every Royal Opera House performance. Due to the immensesuccess of Fanfare we have run the competition again.

Fanfare winners:1. Michael Ranasinghe, Stoke Newington School

2. Lucy-Rose Graham, Oakham School 3. Song Eun Choi, The Purcell School, Herts

4. Josh Hagley, The Purcell School, Herts 5. Adam Deans, Burgoyne Middle School, Beds 6. Ainanshe Ali, Burgoyne Middle School, Beds

7. Group entry: India James and Lucy Farestvedt, BurgoyneMiddle School, Beds

8. Group entry: Rebecca Seaton, Connor Smither, Billy Fisher, AlexLeach, Lewis Hobbs, Louis Juster, Glenthorne High School, Surrey

9. Jack Somerset Scott, Trinity School, Croydon 10. Max Brown, St Edwards School, Cheltenham

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FINANCE

Our figures tell apositive story, formingthe basis of our ability

to offer a uniqueexperience.

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Maintaining the global profile of the Royal Opera House isvital in myriad ways. It enables us to be a presence in the livesof audiences and artists across the world and to underline thestrength of the arts in the United Kingdom generating interestand attracting visitors. There is no more effective way toachieve all of this than by touring and 2010 marked an historicdouble for the Royal Opera House. The tours to Japan of TheRoyal Ballet in June and The Royal Opera in Septembermarked the first time that both companies have visited thecountry in the same year. The Royal Ballet offered threesignature works from its repertory: Frederick Ashton’s comicballet La Fille mal gardée, and Kenneth MacMillan’smasterpieces Romeo and Juliet and Mayerling. Performanceswere staged in Tokyo at the Bunka Kaikan and at the HyogoPerforming Arts Centre, Nishinomiya, Osaka. In an emotionalhomecoming Japanese-born, Principal Guest Artist MiyakoYoshida gave her farewell performance with The Royal Balletas Juliet, having joined in 1995. The Royal Opera, led byAntonio Pappano, toured with a 200-strong Company thatincluded the full Chorus and the Orchestra of the RoyalOpera House to offer a total experience to enthusiasticJapanese audiences. It presented Massenet’s Manon, with AnnaNetrebko in the title role and Sir Richard Eyre’s lavishly stagedproduction of Verdi’s La traviata as well as a concertperformance of Handel’s Messiah. Both tours were wildlysuccessful and should cement relationships with Japaneseaudiences and kindle fresh interest in the work of the RoyalOpera House.

TO JAPAN

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In a global economic downturn our success instewarding our finances and consistently attractingcapacity audiences, is a considerable achievement.

For the 11th full accounting year since the RoyalOpera House re-opened in 1999, we have achieved abreak even financial result. A small surplus on theunrestricted general fund of £29,000 was achieved for the 52 week period ended 29 August 2010.Furthermore we continued to hold positive cashbalances throughout the year.

Total income on the unrestricted fund for the yearreached £106.7million, an increase of £10million overthe previous full accounting year.

In the main auditorium 150 Royal Opera, 135 Royal Ballet and 26 visiting company performancesattracted total audiences of some 658,000. The RoyalOpera staged 23 productions including five newcommissions. The Royal Ballet staged six full lengthproductions and six mixed programmes includingthree new one-act commissions.

The strength of our work, combined with vigorouspricing and subsidy initiatives, has helped to maintainour audiences during the current recessionary climate.Box office income was strong throughout the year andaverage main stage audiences were 94.5% of capacity.

The Royal Opera House now generates nearly £3 forevery £1 received in public subsidy. We received ArtsCouncil England funding of £28million representing26% of our total income.

£2+raised for every £1 received

in public subsidy

11thsuccessive balanced full

accounting year

11thsuccessive year of positive cashbalance retained throughout

the year

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UNRESTRICTED GENERAL FUND INCOME

£60m

£50m

£40m

£30m

£20m

£10m

£0m

UNRESTRICTED GENERAL FUND COSTS

2010 £106.7MILLION2010 £106.7MILLION

A Performance, education and outreach B Premises and depreciationC Marketing and publicityD Management and administrationE FundraisingF CommercialG House managementH Capital and project fund

£64.9million£10.6million£6.0million£4.7million£2.3million£12.7million£1.7million£3.8million

A ACEB Box OfficeC Donations, legacies and similar incomeD Commercial trading, touring and other incomeE SponsorshipF Other income

£28.0million£35.5million£20.3million£20.6million£2.1million£0.2million

2009 £96.4MILLION2009 £96.4MILLION

A Performance, education and outreach B Premises and depreciationC Marketing and publicityD Management and administrationE FundraisingF CommercialG House managementH Capital and project fund

£64.9million£10.4million£5.9million£5.0million£2.1million£5.0million£1.8million£1.3million

A ACEB Box OfficeC Donations, legacies and similar incomeD Commercial trading, touring and other incomeE SponsorshipF Other income

£27.3million£35.5million£17.0million£13.9million£1.9million£0.8million

£60m

£50m

£40m

£30m

£20m

£10m

£0m

£60m

£50m

£40m

£30m

£20m

£10m

£0m

£60m

£50m

£40m

£30m

£20m

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CHAPTER 8 FINANCE

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A B C D E F G H

A B C D E F G H

A B C D E F

Write An Opera Mara Galeazzi and Gary Avis The Tsarina’s Slippers

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PHILANTHROPISTS AND SPONSORS 2009/10

INDIVIDUALS

Lady Alexander of WeedonNicholas Allan

Jane Van AmmelLady Ashcroft

Edward and Celia Atkin Geoff and Judith Batchelar

Dame Margaret BoothFrank and Kyra van den BoschLorna and Christopher Bown

Gillian BuckleJanine Roxborough Bunce

John and Susan BurnsSue Butcher

Jill and Michael CarpenterThe Earl and Countess of Chichester

Ricki Gail and Robert ConwaySiri and Rob Cope

Mr and Mrs Nicholas Coulson Deborah Cowles

Virginia Crum-JonesRichard and Jennie CunisSarah and Lloyd Dorfman

Kimbell and Yelena DuncanPeter and Barbara Elliston

Peter and Fiona EspenhahnEstate of Dr Anthony PikePatrice and Frederica Feron

Mr Graham FletcherFrancesca FremantleSir Donald Gordon

Stephen and Peg HaleD W Hancock

Linda and Philip HarleyMichael Hartnall

Mr and Mrs Steven Heinz Malcolm Herring

Mina Gerowin Herrmann and Jeffrey Herrmann

Marina Hobson MBE andThe Hobson Charity

Alan and Sabine HowardGlenn Hurstfield and David de Jager

Sarah InghamOlga and Renaud Isman

Lady Jarvis Aud Jebsen

Mr and Mrs Christopher W.T. JohnstonMrs Philip Kan

David and Marion KhaliliGeorge Kingston

Frances KirshMr and Mrs Aboudi Kosta

Lord and Lady Laidlaw of RothiemayPeter Lloyd

Sir Frank LoweThomas and Deirdre Lynch

Michael MallinsonIngeborg Margulies

The Margulies FamilyThe Metherell familyMr Jeremy Middleton

Catherine and David MossMargaret Mountford

Trifon and Thespina NatsisMrs Sara Naudi

Mr Stefan OlssonRosemary O’Mahony

Keith and Hilary Orrell-JonesFraser Partridge

Marian PellDavid and Diana Pilling

Judith PortraitMr John RankJanine Rensch

Yvonne and Bjarne RieberSir Simon and Lady Robertson

The Robey FamilyKristina Rogge

Stephen and Helen RoseBryan and Sirkka SandersonCarolina and Martin Schwab

Gerry SmurfitStuart and Jill Steele

Dr and Mrs Timothy Stone CBESusie Thomson

Lindsay and Sarah TomlinsonProfessor Michael Trimble

Mr and Mrs Graham TurnerRobert and Kathleen Wallace

Bonnie Ward

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Our ongoing commitment to Thurrock, established by thecreation of the High House Production Park, allows us toengage closely with the community and local audiences todeliver real and lasting benefits. We want to capitalize on theopportunity that our permanent presence in the area presentsto encourage and enable people of all ages and backgroundsto become directly involved with the process of creativity thatfeeds our art forms. Nowhere is this better represented than inthe creation of The Purfleet Opera Ludd and Isis. The opera’sgenesis came from the community itself with many of itsmotifs rooted in local history and significant events such as aGerman Zeppelin being shot down in 1916 by the Purfleetgarrison. It tells the tale of a confrontation between Queen Isisand King Ludd, rulers of the Thames, over the creation of theProduction Park. The audience is subsequently taken on ajourney through local history and characters to resolve thesituation. Every aspect of the production from plot, stagingand music, to set and costume design, was conceived anddeveloped – in collaboration with composer Richard Taylor,librettist Stephen Plaice, designer Rhys Jarman and directorTom Guthrie – by local people through a series of workshopsheld in schools, colleges and within the community. Purfleet’shistory provided rich material as did the personal experiencesof numerous individuals and families. The result was a piece ofhigh-quality work about the area made by the people ofThurrock, for the people of Thurrock, with ROH expertise onhand to enable their ambitions to be realized. Lucy Harris, alocal resident, commented after the performance: ‘Last nightwas great! It really felt like Thurrock could actually change. Iwas so impressed with the use of the space and how it workedwith the opera. All the supporting staff guiding us around thePark smiled and were lovely. Well done to everyone at theROH; as Thurrock residents we are glad to have you here.’

LOCAL PRODUCE

111110

Mrs Alfiya KuanyshevaLiberty International plc

Lloyds TSB Group plcMarks & Spencer Group Plc

Zvi and Ofra Meitar Family FundSusan A Olde OBE and

Graeme C ThomsonPrudential plc

RolexRothschild

Mrs Lily SafraSt James’s Co Ltd

Telegraph Media GroupTesco plc

Sir Brian Williamson CBEXstrata

Lord and Lady Young of Graffham

FIRST NIGHT PATRONS

Blackburn Associates LtdDr Genevieve and Mr Peter Davies

Frank and Sylviane DestribatsHuntswood

Lord and Lady Kalms MBECatherine and Pierre LagrangeDr and Mrs Mortimer Sackler

Smiths Group plc

AMERICAN FUND FOR THEROYAL OPERA HOUSE

SUPPORTERS

The Annenberg FoundationMr and Mrs Jeffrey Eldredge Terry and Jean de GunzburgMrs Aline Foriel- Destezet

Hélène and Jean PetersAnonymous (2)

AMERICAN FRIENDS OF COVENTGARDEN SUPPORTERS

Jayne Wrightsman

BOB AND TAMAR MANOUKIANPRODUCTION WORKSHOP

THURROCK

Arts Council England, EastEast of England Development Agency

The Foyle FoundationBob and Tamar Manoukian

Medicor FoundationThe Rayne Foundation

Redcase LimitedThurrock Borough CouncilThurrock Thames GatewayDevelopment Corporation

PHILANTHROPY AND BEQUESTSTO THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE

ENDOWMENT FUND

The Estate of the late John FranklinJean Sainsbury Royal Opera House Fund

Paul Hamlyn Foundation

INDIVIDUALS continued

Adrienne WaterfieldDr and Mrs Michael West

Peter WigginsDr Yvonne Winkler

David and Liz WoottonDanny and Lillan Wyler

TRUSTS AND FOUNDATIONS

The American Fund for the Royal Opera House

The Anson Charitable TrustThe Archie Sherman Charitable Trust

Audrey and Ronnie’s FundThe Band Trust

The Bernard Sunley Charitable FoundationThe Boltini Trust

The Constance Travis Charitable Trust The David and Elaine Potter Foundation

Ernest Cook TrustThe Estate of the late John Franklin

Estate of Dr John HayesThe Fidelity (UK) Foundation

Fondation 1796Foundation for Sport and the Arts

Garfield Weston FoundationThe Gerald Ronson Foundation

The Gordon FoundationThe Headley Trust

The Helen Hamlyn TrustThe John Beckwith Charitable TrustSir John Ritblat Family Foundation

The Joseph and Lena Randall Charitable Trust

The JP Jacobs Charitable TrustThe Laura Ashley Foundation

The Michael Harry Sacher Charitable TrustThe Monument Trust

National Lottery through the HeritageLottery Fund

Oak FoundationThe Peter Cruddas Foundation

PF Charitable TrustThe Quercus Trust

The Samuel Sebba TrustThe Shauna Gosling Trust

The StratREAL Foundation

The Taylor Family FoundationThe Walcot Foundation

Zvi and Ofra Meitar Family Fund

CORPORATE

AccentureAudi

Bank of America Merrill LynchBP

The Canary Wharf GroupCharterhouse

The Communications StoreCoutts & Co

DeloitteFinsbury Group

FREDDYHildon

J Sainsbury PLCLazard

Pernod RicardPom Wonderful UK Ltd

RolexSotheby’s

Tokio Marine RoggeXstrata

Anonymous (22)

SEASON PATRONS

Anglo American plcThe Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd

Bovis Lend LeaseCanaccord Adams Ltd

Canary Wharf Group plcCiti

The Clore Duffield FoundationDavid Cooper and Co

Mrs Aline Foriel-DestezetLady Forte

Finsbury GroupLord and Lady Gavron

Seifi GhasemiGlaxoSmithKline

DW HancockChristopher Holder

Alan and Sabine HowardMr Timur Kuanyshev and

ROYAL OPERA HOUSE ANNUAL REVIEW 2009/10 PHILANTHROPISTS AND SPONSORS

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REFERENCE

FINANCE£2+ raised for every £1 received in public subsidy

11th successive balanced full accounting year11th successive positive cash balance retained throughout the year

£106.7million total income£60+million for frontline performance, education and outreach

£35.5million box office revenue

PERFORMANCE94.5% occupancy throughout the year

311 performances on the main stage211 performances on other stages

658,000 total audience

PRICINGTickets Held at 2008/09 prices

50% of tickets at £50 or less39% of tickets at £30 or less

REACH64 regional On the Road events, performances and exhibitions

150,000 worldwide cinema audience for ROH screenings2,518,001 multimedia views and listens

ACCESS79,242 people participated in Education events

55,191 new customers for the main stage

SPlácido Domingo Simon Boccanegra

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Inside back cover

Fran HergesselRob Moore Sim Canetty-Clarke Bill Cooper Tristram Kenton Johan Persson Catherine AshmoreClive Barda Richard Hubert SmithIlona Jäntti Paul Starr Bertil Nillson Philip Conrad Kate Mount

(Cover)39, 17, 8220, 23, 25, 27, 38, 43, 44/45, 76, 79, 107224, 26, 28/29, 46/47, 53, 81, 91, 98, 11530, 37, 66/67, 11233, 40/41, 48/49, 885060/6164/656992/93106

Photography

Laura Morera in rehearsal

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