ENO Wins RPS Audience Development Award

ENO was last night awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) award for Audience Development 2011. The award was given for the 2010 site specific production of The Duchess of Malfi and the Access All Arias initiative, which enables 16-30 year olds and full time students to see ENO’s world class work for as little as £10.

The RPS committee commented, “ENO’s Access all Arias free membership scheme for students and under 30s has, over 5 years, attracted 15,700 members through targeted marketing and ticket discounts. This, together with the marketing of imaginative collaborations with other companies – in 2010 The Duchess of Malfi with Punchdrunk in a warehouse – is developing new audiences for the company’s wide repertoire.”

Receiving the Award John Berry, Artistic Director, ENO said, “We are very proud to win this award because it continues to highlight the changing face of our audience with more than a third aged 16-44. ENO’s orchestra were undoubtedly the stars of our Duchess of Malfi opera which again proved how we can reach out to new audiences through exciting collaborations with smaller scale companies like Punchdrunk.”

The sold-out The Duchess of Malfi, commissioned by ENO from composer Torsten Rasch, was collaboration between ENO and theatre company Punchdrunk, with Felix Barrett as director.

Staged at Great Eastern Quay in London’s Royal Albert Basin, Newham, the ground breaking immersive opera was the subject of a Channel 4 documentary The Making of The Duchess of Malfi.

Access All Arias is the largest scheme of its kind in Europe. Membership is free and benefits include the opportunity to book pairs of discounted tickets, access to free social events and half-priced programmes.

The award was presented by pianist Imogen Cooper at a ceremony at The Dorchester Hotel, London.

Further details: dphelan@eno.org

Editors Notes

ENO is creating the future of opera by:

·         Producing contemporary, theatrical work which is world class

·         Collaborating with creative talent from across the arts

·         Developing and supporting British talent

·         Making opera for everyone

www.eno.org

The RPS Awards held in association with BBC Radio 3, who will broadcast a programme about the category winners this Sunday 15 May.

The annual RPS Music Awards, presented in association with BBC Radio 3, are the highest recognition for live classical music in the UK.  Awards, in thirteen categories, are decided by independent panels consisting of some of the music industry’s most distinguished practitioners.  The awards honour musicians, composers, writers, broadcasters and inspirational arts organisations.  The list of previous winners reads like a Who’s Who of classical music.  

This year’s RPS Music Awards ceremony, at London’s Dorchester Hotel, was hosted by BBC Radio 3’s Katie Derham and Andrew McGregor, with awards celebrating outstanding achievement in 2010 presented by the pianist Imogen Cooper.  A special programme devoted to the RPS Music Awards will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on Sunday 15 May, 2-4pm.

www.rpsmusicawards.com