The June 23 referendum in the United Kingdom (England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland) as to whether it should end its membership in the European Union resulted in a 52% to 48% victory for the Leave faction over the Remain faction. This triumph was considered something of a surprise in many quarters and, in the days since, has led to resignations including those of British prime minister David Cameron and many members of his Conservative Party government as well as the Labour Party opposition. Many leaders in both parties advocated for remaining part of the EU and lost credibility after the results were tallied.
I followed the campaign that preceded the vote in favor of “Brexit,” a new term that is a contraction of “British exit.” As someone who has spent a great deal of time in continental Europe as well as Great Britain and Ireland for the past 43 years, I have strong opinions — pro and con — about the EU, a political entity that began in 1957 with six nations (Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany) and now has 28 member states covering most of the continent.
It is not my desire to opine as to whether Brexit is good or bad. I have beloved friends in Great Britain who voted to leave and others who wanted to remain. But Brexit may have a notable impact on opera and other art forms. Richard Mantle, the general director of Opera North in Leeds, observed in an article, “I think you can certainly see over the last 40 years the real value of being part of an enormous talent pool which is Europe … This natural exchange of ideas, of people, of talent that has gone on over 30 or 40 years has really strengthened and enriched our cultural sector to an extent that possibly wouldn’t have been there in the past.”
In addition to the political turmoil caused by Brexit, there has been considerable economic uncertainty. Since the referendum, the British pound has lost 9.4% of its value against the US dollar and is at its weakest level in decades. The pound was worth $1.49 before the Brexit vote. A week later it was $1.33. In the same time frame, the pound dropped from €1.31 to €1.20.
The weakened pound will make it less appealing for foreign artists to appear in the UK and more expensive for British companies to pay them. If a singer's fee was established as £10,000 on June 22, it was worth $14,900 or €13,100 that same day. A week later it was worth $13,300 or €12,000, which means less income for the singer. If a presenter in the UK agreed to pay a foreign artist in euros or dollars, that theater would wind up paying much more than they anticipated. In the short term, most singers will likely honor their contracts but could be less likely to return to British opera houses unless they can negotiate higher fees. As a result, those theaters might have fewer foreign singers on their stages in coming years.
There are many outstanding British singers and musicians, but all opera companies thrive when they have the best artists from around the globe at their disposal. While the Royal Opera at Covent Garden is an international institution, smaller companies (such as Welsh National Opera, Opera North and Scottish Opera) won’t be able to avail themselves of as much fine talent from the continent.
Donagh Collins, chief executive of London-based Askonas Holt, one of the most important arts management companies in Europe, said in a statement, “we are saddened and frightened at the prospect of what lies ahead, and by the lack of clarity that faces us.”
Peter Carwell, executive director of the New York–based Richard Tucker Music Foundation, happened to be in London the day of the vote. He wrote to me: "It was very confusing to most people I spoke to and everyone was in a state of shock, trying to figure out all the ramifications on macro and micro levels for the arts and artists. There is no upside seen by anyone. For British singers living here who work abroad regularly, it will become an issue of visas every time they are contracted, just as is the case for American singers working abroad. That extra layer of bureaucracy will bring added expenses to singers and companies, costs that may discourage their hiring. Opera companies who can hire locals without going through a visa process usually do. For British singers based and living abroad in the EU, their status is now in total question, as are their benefits. Orchestras in the UK are filled with EU musicians and orchestras in EU countries filled with Brits. Their status is now a huge question mark. And UK orchestras that easily tour or work in the EU, such as the London Symphony Orchestra which has worked as the pit orchestra at the Aix festival, will find that much more difficult because of the increased bureaucracy.”
According to Brian Taylor Goldstein, a partner in New York–based Goldstein Guilliams, a law firm that specializes in arts and immigration issues for performers, “Now, European artists could face additional costs merely traveling between the UK and Europe. For new and developing artists in particular such costs could result in having to exclude an entire country or abandon a tour altogether.”
Deborah Kelleher, director of the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin, observed, “one can see opportunities but they are small in comparison with the biggest concerns,” such as the ones outlined above. She added that Brexit would require the establishment of a border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland if the UK is no longer part of the EU “and destabilize what remains a somewhat fragile co-existence on this island. It is a step back to a time that no one wishes to revisit — the Troubles.”
If the British conservatories are forced to charge non-EU rates to Europeans, as they do to students from the USA and China, Kelleher believes it represents opportunities for Ireland. “The non-EU rate is double the EU rate, so one can expect very few Europeans to study in the UK, when France, Germany and Ireland are so cheap (France is a few hundred euros per year and German hochschulen are now free. Ireland is €3,000 per year for undergrad and €8,000 per year for postgraduate). Currently the UK charges £11,000 per year to EU students and more than double that in some cases for non-EU.”
Kelleher concluded that “the UK has long been the destination of choice for many Irish music students who wish to study at post-graduate level and they would possibly be faced with those crippling fees; it’s another opportunity for us to keep our students at home, though I think an international education is important in a musician's arsenal.”
Most members of the arts community in the UK wanted to remain part of the European Union. Brexit will likely bring an end to precious EU subsidies that supported culture in Britain, including ones in less populated areas of the country, such as Yorkshire, which were aiming to use the arts to attract corporations and small businesses to set up there rather than in more expensive London. The impact of Brexit on opera and the arts (as in just about everything) will be full of unexpected shocks and surprises.
How do you think Brexit will affect the performing arts in Great Britain and elsewhere? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.