Lowry Questions ROH Northern Base

The chairman of the trustees of The Lowry, the Salford arts complex, says the Royal Opera House’s £100million plan for a northern base for opera and ballet will be “bad for the arts”.

In what was billed as a move to reach new audiences in new parts of the country, The Royal Opera House said last year it was in talks to establish a presence in Manchester.

But The Lowry is claiming that the proposal would threaten £116million of public money already invested in Salford. The Lowry could not survive if the proposal proceeds as planned, said Rod Aldridge, chairman of its board of Trustees. He says that a so-called dual-house model is the better plan, with The Lowry being the northern home for dance (including visits from The Royal Ballet) and Manchester’s Palace Theatre concentrating on opera and music.

In a statement, Aldridge, said “The Lowry remained committed to the overall vision of bringing the Royal Opera House to Manchester” but that it was “clear that the current proposal is not viable and cannot be made to work without causing unacceptable damage to existing arts provision”.