Northern Ballet has confirmed its decision to replace its live orchestra with recorded music on several of its upcoming touring productions.
The decision comes after the company raised it as a possibility in September 2023, when Northern Ballet announced that it had gone into negotiations with Northern Ballet Sinfonia and the Musicians’ Union (MU) to address the amount of live music that would be used in its national tours in April 2024.
After the success of additional fundraising initiatives and cost-cutting measures, the Northern Ballet Sinfonia will join Northern Ballet’s full tour of Romeo & Juliet in the spring, and a tour of Jane Eyre later in the year. The autumn performances of Romeo & Juliet at the RSC and in Southampton, Canterbury and Newcastle in September will be performed to recorded music, as will the tour of A Christmas Carol.
‘The decision was not taken lightly but in response to an incredibly challenging financial environment where inflation and rising costs have made our traditional touring model unsustainable,’ National Ballet said in a statement. ‘In an environment where many arts organisations are facing hard choices to ensure sustainability, we will be performing to a mixed programme of live and recorded music in the coming year.’
Northern Ballet has also stated that it is still actively fundraising and lobbying stakeholders on this issue to ensure that future performances can be accompanied by a live orchestra again.
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