Opera purists want to ‘keep the riff-raff away’ by having them sung in their original language

Opera purists want to ‘keep the riff-raff away’ by having them sung in their original language rather than English, director says

  • Critics who want opera sung in original language want to keep ‘riff-raff away’
  • Director Mark Wigglesworth says some take ‘pleasure’ in making it inaccessible
  • The former director of English National Opera calls it ‘cultural elitism 
  • He was speaking out in defence of the ENO’s controversial English only policy

Critics who want operas sung in their original language are perpetuating ‘cultural elitism’ by hoping to ‘keep the riff-raff away’ it has been claimed.

Mark Wigglesworth, the former music director at the English National Opera said purists wanting to see performances such as La Boheme in Italian take a ‘certain pleasure’ in making them inaccessible to a wider audience.

Mr Wigglesworth, who quit the ENO in 2016 amid budget cuts and changes to the company, was responding to a debate over its English only policy.

Writing for Bachtrack, a classical music website, he said: ‘The rumours whispering through the cracks of the London Coliseum are alarming for those who believe English National Opera has a vital role to play in making opera accessible to all.

Mark Wigglesworth, the former music director at the English National Opera said purists wanting to see performances such as La Boheme (pictured) in Italian take a ‘certain pleasure’ in making them inaccessible to a wider audience

‘If the language policy that forms such a pillar of its identity is abandoned, it would be a betrayal of the company’s most valuable mission to perform opera in a way that can be understood by the largest number of people.’

He added: ‘A more unspoken view is one that thinks singing in a foreign language ‘keeps the riff-raff away.’

‘An accusation of vanity is unfair to the majority of original language devotees but I do believe a certain pleasure in cultural elitism exists, even if only by a few.’ 

He claimed Verdi and Wagner were ‘energetically supportive of translations’, adding that it would have been ‘inconceivable’ to them that the ‘words wouldn’t have been understood’ the Daily Telegraph reports.

Mr Wigglesworth, who quit the ENO in 2016 amid budget cuts and changes to the company, was responding to a debate over its English only policy

Mr Wigglesworth, who quit the ENO in 2016 amid budget cuts and changes to the company, was responding to a debate over its English only policy

Mr wigglesworth claimed Verdi and Wagner were 'energetically supportive of translations', adding that it would have been 'inconceivable' to them that the 'words wouldn't have been understood' Pictured: A performance of La Boheme

Mr wigglesworth claimed Verdi and Wagner were ‘energetically supportive of translations’, adding that it would have been ‘inconceivable’ to them that the ‘words wouldn’t have been understood’ Pictured: A performance of La Boheme

English National Opera says that its English language only policy will remain, and it wants to make opera accessible to all. 

The opinion piece followed an interview by the same publication with Barrie Kosky, an Australian theatre and opera director.

He said he had advised Daniel Kramer, ENO’s artistic director, to ‘bite the bullet and get rid of the all-singing-in-English thing’. 

Martyn Brabbins, the ENO music director who took over from Wigglesworth, last year told the Daily Telegraph ‘We sing in English and it has ever been thus: it’s our policy and I have to be happy with it. 

‘On a case-by-case basis, there could be room for change and there may be a review in the future.’  

A spokesman for English National Opera said: ‘ENO is not considering changing our English language-only policy.

‘ENO is about opera for everyone – we believe that singing in our own language connects the performers and the audience to the drama onstage, and enhances the experience for all.’

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk