Page 190 - Media Coverage Book - 75th Aldeburgh Festival 2024

Sheffield is a major, historic city with a thriving cultural and creative
industries sector, accounting for 7.2% of Sheffield’s working
population – almost double the national average. ETO already has

existing links with Sheffield built through its regular visits to Sheffield
Theatres on its tours and work with the Sheffield Music Hub and

partner schools in the area. This move allows the company to deepen
its relationship with Sheffield Theatres and work closely with new
partner organisations such as Music in the Round in broadening the

scope of their work and introduce new audiences to opera. ETO also
looks forward to building on exciting initial discussions around

partnerships with Sheffield Hallam and Sheffield Universities. Sheffield
is ideally located for much of ETO’s touring cycle, especially for its

other venues in the North of England, which include Buxton Opera
House, York Theatre Royal, the Gala Theatre in Durham and

Storyhouse in Chester.

ETO’s Learning and Participation programme is central to the

company’s mission and reaches over 10,000 people each year through
productions in theatres, schools, museums and libraries. This Spring,
ETO’s opera for 7-11-year-olds, The Great Stink received 54

performances around the country, including at its partner school in
Sheffield. This move will allow the company to build roots within the

community and work with local partners, including Sheffield Music
Hub and the new South Yorkshire Music Hub, to enrich the musical

lives of local residents through dedicated productions for children and
members of the community as well as workshops and more.

The initial move will be to a temporary office base in Sheffield, to be

completed by October 2024, allowing ETO to form deeper
relationships within the city before moving to a permanent home

there in 2025. Because of the long-term nature of the company’s
planning cycle, ETO will continue to rehearse and open its tours at

London’s Hackney Empire in 2025, with the ambition to rehearse and
open in Sheffield from the Spring 2026 season.