Glyndebourne will not tour in 2023

East Sussex opera house, Glyndebourne, has announced that it is unable to tour as planned this year as a result of Arts Council England’s (ACE) reduction in the company’s funding for its touring and education and outreach projects. Glyndebourne’s revised autumn 2023 programme will be published in the coming weeks.

Although Glyndebourne was successful in joining Arts Council England’s 2023 – 2026 National Portfolio the £800,000 annual funding offered is half the amount the company received during the previous NPO funding period (2018 – 2022).

Glyndebourne managing director, Richard Davidson-Houston, said: ‘These cuts have been justified in part by the need to redirect public funding to support culture in the regions. In this context, the decision to reduce Glyndebourne’s funding by 50% appears contradictory because it has the direct, inevitable and foreseeable consequence of rendering our tour financially unsustainable.’

In a statement released today, Glyndebourne states it has been exploring alternative ways to make touring financially viable without ACE funding but has not been successful. The company receives no public subsidy and has used its annual Glyndebourne Festival to absorb losses from its autumn tour in recent years.

Davidson-Houston added: ‘This news adds to a series of setbacks for freelancers, is disappointing for our loyal venue partners and worsens cultural provision for audiences around the country who have enjoyed Glyndebourne's world-class opera productions at an affordable price in their local area for more than 50 years.’

The Glyndebourne Tour was launched in 1968 with support from ACE. It aims to bring opera to audiences across the country and provide a platform for young talent with performances from October to December accompanied by a year-round learning and engagement programme.