Privatisation Option Touted for ROH Date: 10 November 1997
Culture Secretary Chris Smith has fired another unexpected shot into the increasingly frenzied battle to save London's two rival opera companies - privatisation of the Royal Opera House. The plan - even more radical than last week's proposal to move the English National Opera into the same Covent Garden home to save costs - is to privatise the ROH and float it on the stock exchange, thereby ending 50 years of escalating public subsidies. The Royal Opera was rescued last week from insolvency for a second time by £15m of private donations but its financial situation remains precarious. Sir Richard Eyre , former artistic director of the National Theatre, has been appointed to oversee a review group to come up with other alternatives over the next seven months. Smith warned, however, that any rescue plans for the ENO and ROH could not include increased subsidies.
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