Press Releases

SCOTTISH OPERA AND AMBASSADOR THEATRE GROUP EXCHANGE CONTRACTS FOR THEATRE ROYAL GLASGOW

Issued : 7 March 2005

Scottish Opera and the Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) have today announced that an agreement has been finalised and contracts have been exchanged for the transfer of management of the Theatre Royal Glasgow to ATG, thereby securing the venue’s long-term future. ATG will take over management of the Theatre Royal from today (Monday 7 March 2005).

ATG’s central aim for the Theatre Royal is to offer a first-class customer experience in a welcoming environment, providing high quality live entertainment. The deal will mean that Scottish Opera and Scottish Ballet will still use the theatre as their Glasgow base. ATG and Scottish Opera have already been working in collaboration to programme the current winter season and produce the season’s brochure.

Christopher Barron, Chief Executive of Scottish Opera:
“We believe that the Theatre Royal is in safe hands with ATG. We look forward to working with the management of ATG to continue to provide the very best facilities and environment for our audiences in Scotland.”

Rosemary Squire, Executive Director of ATG:
“We know how important the Theatre Royal is to the people of Glasgow and the nation as a whole. We are delighted to have exchanged contracts with Scottish Opera, as we take this wonderful venue into an exciting new era, building on its reputation as one of Scotland’s most prestigious theatres.”

Notes for editors:
Theatre Royal Glasgow – A Brief History
The first theatre on the present site was opened on Thursday 28 November 1867 with a sensational drama called The Sea of Ice or The Gold Seeker of Mexico. The name was changed to the Theatre Royal by charter granted by Queen Victoria in May 1869. After two fires, in 1879 and 1895, the theatre was reconstructed by its owners Howard & Wyndham (who also built the King’s Theatre which opened in 1904) and so began the long and successful association of the Theatre Royal with the best in the world of entertainment. In 1956, The Theatre was sold to Scottish Television for conversion into a studio complex, before being purchased by Scottish Opera and re-opened in October 1975 with Die Fledermaus. The Theatre Royal has continued to go from strength to strength, presenting its home company, Scottish Opera, but also Scottish Ballet. Successive front of house and backstage developments have ensured the Theatre Royal keeps pace with standards of customer care and technical facilities. A phase of refurbishment, involving redecorating the public areas, replacing seating and carpeting and a much-needed extension to the orchestra pit was completed in 1997. It is interesting to note the history of both the Theatre Royal and the King’s Theatres has reached full circle, with the two venues back under one joint management.

Scottish Opera
Scottish Opera is Scotland’s national opera company and the largest performing arts organisation in Scotland. Under its Music Director, Sir Richard Armstrong, Scottish Opera is committed to bringing the widest range of opera, performed to the highest standards, to the maximum audience throughout Scotland and the United Kingdom. Scottish Opera constantly seeks to maintain and extend its audience and develop new relationships with the business community. Scottish Opera is also committed to delivering socially inclusive outreach and education work that will benefit communities throughout Scotland; both through the activities of its education unit, Scottish Opera For All, and through a wide range of initiatives undertaken in partnerships with sponsors and local authorities. Founded in 1962 by Sir Alexander Gibson, Scottish Opera has grown to become one of the world’s most renowned opera companies, building a considerable reputation for its distinguished productions. The company has won a host of illustrious awards including the Barclays TMA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera for Macbeth and Der Rosenkavalier (both in 1994) and for Die Walküre and Siegfried (both in 2002), as well as the South Bank Show Award for Best Opera for the Ring Cycle (2004). Scottish Opera has also staged many successful productions abroad including Peter Grimes and Tristan un Isolde in Lisbon; Macbeth at the Vienna International Festival and the European Premiere of MacMillan’s Ines de Castro in Porto, Portugal.

Ambassador Theatre Group
ATG is renowned for its highly successful management of 23 theatre venues throughout the UK and is currently the second biggest theatre group in London’s West End and separately, in the regions. In 2002, ATG took over management of the King’s Theatre Glasgow and since then, has increased the venue’s annual audience attendance from 314,000 (2002) to 442,000 (2004). It has also increased the number of weeks programmed from 35 to 48, representing a 37% increase in capacity. ATG is also one of the country’s foremost musical theatre and drama producers and is behind some of the most successful and innovative productions in Britain and internationally.

Highlights of the new Season at the Theatre Royal includes Scottish Opera’s productions of Handel’s Semele, Beethoven’s Fidelio and an April programme from Scottish Ballet including work by Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine and the Ballet’s own Artistic Director Ashley Page. The season also includes the brand new production of Matthew Bourne’s Highland Fling; Daphne Du Maurier’s classic Rebecca; a production of Roald Dahl’s The Witches and America’s Joan Rivers – with her show Broke and Alone as part of the Glasgow International Comedy Festival.

Further Information:
Scottish Opera: Libby Jones/Rona Cameron
Tel: 0141 242 0511/07739 077551. Email: libby.jones@scottishopera.org.uk
Ambassador Theatre Group: John Chittenden
Tel: 020 8545 7919. Email: johnchittenden@theambassadors.com

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