English National Opera has recently been occupying the headlines as a result of the resignation of Nicholas Payne, the restructuring of the organization, the chorus strikes, the job cuts and the interventions of the Arts Council.
It seems that disputable artistic choices, together with mismanagement were to blame for the current state of affairs. Ticket sales fell to 65%, not in the least part due to Calixto Bleito's controversial productions.
This situation is a consequence of the contemporary obsession with the over emphasized role of the producer. This is no doubt an effect of the attitude of music critics who find writing about productions much more rewarding (and certainly easier) than writing about voices and music.
In all the press coverage of ENO no one seems to have mentioned what has been the most persistent problem in the past few years: the company's casting policy.
ENO has built a reputation for controversial productions and that did fill the seats in the years of The Powerhouse. I am probably a naive idealist but I still believe that voices are the main attraction for operatic audiences. That is where in my opinion ENO has shown the greatest weekness.
Most certainly it is not the singers who are to blame but those who decide about casting and repertoire.
If ENO has to be a company that sings in English, with the limitations imposed by such structure and with the balance sheet in mind, it should rely on a staple repertoire with the occasional exceptions provided by visiting artists.
ENO should limit their ambitions in the realm of Italian opera and rely more on works originally written for the English voice. Casting Ernani in this day and age would be a tough task for anyone!
If ENO wants to be innovative and compete with the Royal Opera House (and only God knows why they would want to), it would need the same kind of vocal personalities London's main operatic stage can afford. In any case, the secret is attentive and wise casting.
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Casting is a fine and intricate art. It demands not only great knowledge of the repertoire and of the vocal instrument in all its subtleties, but also understanding of the performing space and of the way all vocal personalities involved will blend within that space.
Anyone can recognise a good voice but to know what to do with it is a different matter.
When casting is influenced by economic considerations, the variable should be the repertoire, not the singer.
Apparently, in the past few years ENO has suffered greatly from misunderstanding of the importance of skilfull casting. Constrained by their budget and company structure young singers have been invited to sing wrong roles, often in the wrong Fach, while the company endures an endemic under-casting.
Obviously, the Fach system is very restrictive. At the same time it is a God-send to the inexperienced casting director who is still learning that the requirements for Nemorino and the Duke of Mantua are indeed very different.
In the English-speaking world there is a very popular and useful book, "The Art of Auditioning" by Anthony Legge (Peters has recently published its second edition). It contains a very good introduction to the Fach system. Voices are divided into types: seven for soprano, three for mezzo soprano, five for tenor, four for baritone and three for bass.
The voice types are then described with the relevant repertoire attached.
It is quite ironic to learn that the author of this book is the Head of Music at ENO. It would appear that a copy has not made it to the right office...
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