A statement from the ENO regarding Martyn Brabbins' resignation
15th October 2023 in News Press
The ENO is surprised that Martyn Brabbins has decided to end his tenure as Music Director so abruptly.
As a member of the ENO’s senior leadership, Martyn has been party to all key discussions at all stages and the extremely difficult decisions that have to be made by the Board and Management in constrained financial circumstances.
After nine months of negotiation with Arts Council England, the ENO has reached a position where we are confident we can maintain a substantial level of operatic work – as opposed to the original reality of total redundancy across the entire company (following Arts Council England’s previous decision to remove the ENO as a National Portfolio Organisation in November 2022).
As recorded in Board minutes, an all-staff meeting and in correspondence with Management and the Board, Martyn agreed that the position reached with Arts Council England in July 2023 provides a workable outcome.
As the ENO’s musical leader, we are disappointed that Martyn has chosen to resign rather than support the company by engaging with the process of creating a sustainable future for the ENO.