Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.After two years of waiting, the mist over English National Opera’s future is starting to clear. We already knew that the company has chosen Manchester as its regional centre. Arts Council England’s demand that ENO should explore non-traditional venues for opera will see it move from place to place in the city according to the kind of production it is offering. Many, such as the headline, immersive staging of Philip Glass’s five-hour, minimalist epic Einstein on the Beach, will be experimental in one way or another.Where does this leave ENO in London? We are promised that the 2025/6 season will be announced next May and it looks as if opera will continue at the Coliseum indefinitely, at least on the scale that the company has managed this season, which is good news.The current artistic team is doing a good job of picking bankable shows. In theory, this revival of Mike Leigh’s 2015 staging of The Pirates of Penzance should be one of them, not least because it ranks as possibly ENO’s most popular ever production thanks to its success in cinema relays.Leigh’s name has pulling power, but the skill the director showed in film has not translated to the opera house. ENO has had a charmed history with Gilbert and Sullivan, but its luck ran out with this very flat, poorly designed, unimaginative production.It is a shame to see Richard Suart’s old sparkle fading in the quick-fire patter of Major-General Stanley. Otherwise, there is good work from Henry Neill as Samuel and James Creswell as the Sergeant of Police, and the bubbling vitality of William Morgan’s Frederic is hugely welcome in the circumstances. The female roles are mostly under-cast, though Gaynor Keeble makes her mark as Ruth. Natalie Murray Beale conducts.★★★☆☆To February 21, eno.orgMeanwhile, at the Royal Opera House, Jonathan Kent’s 2006 production of Puccini’s Tosca is back on the boards, still looking impressive, even if the early morning mist no longer hangs over the Castel Sant’Angelo as romantically as it did.Even for the world of international opera this revival threw up a uniquely intriguing combination. Only four performers in Tosca really matter. Of those, half were Welsh, half Korean.The Welsh pair — Natalya Romaniw and Bryn Terfel — have form in this production. Romaniw (who is Welsh of Ukrainian descent) has advanced since her already promising Royal Opera debut as Tosca in 2022. She makes a convincing, all-round Tosca, imperious rather than fiery, at once lyrical and dramatic, though the top of the voice is a touch thin and shrill. Terfel, the original Scarpia, remains a baleful presence, a true lecher, but pushed his voice mercilessly for volume and tired before the end.The Koreans are SeokJong Baek, who makes a fearless Cavaradossi, singing with strong projection (full-throttle cries of “Vittoria!”) and bright tone, and the new conductor, Eun Sun Kim. Coming from San Francisco, she gets unusual clarity from Puccini’s orchestra and keeps the drama on the boil in an auspicious Royal Opera debut. ★★★★☆To December 13, rbo.org.uk
