Stage stars fear for future of British arts

As a wealth of British theater and opera maestros cross the Channel to perform at French festivals this summer, many are worried about the state of live arts back home.

The combined impact of Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, rising inflation and a Conservative government that sees live arts as a low priority have all taken their toll.

"In the U.K., a lot of small places are closing - I'm not optimistic about the direction it's going," said Tim Crouch, who is directing two plays at the Avignon Festival in southern France that starts this week.

In October, Arts Council England announced several London institutions would face cuts after the government asked it spread funds to other areas.

Among the victims was the English National Opera, set to lose 12.6 million pounds next year and possibly relocate out of the capital.

Funds were frozen at the BBC, the biggest employer for classical music in the country, forcing it to shed 20 percent of staff at its three English orchestras. A plan to scrap the "BBC Singers," the country's only permanent professional choir, was only overturned after an open letter from 700 composers around the world.

French artists worry about declining support, too, but still enjoy some of the most generous state subsidies in the world, and festivals such as Avignon and Aix-en-Provence attract many classical and stage stars from Britain.

Among them is composer George Benjamin, premiering a new opera, "Picture a Day Like This," in Aix on Wednesday.

He was "angry and shocked" over the BBC cuts, he told AFP.

"The BBC is the greatest benefactor and patron of music that our country has ever had in its whole history," he said.

"Closing down the BBC Singers and reducing and humiliating...