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Dateline: 21st December, 2005
Last week a open letter called on English National Opera chairman Martin Smith to resign and signed by, among others, former ENO head David Pountney, broadcaster Libby Purves, Scottish Ballet's artistic director Ashley Page, writer Jeanette Winterson and composer Jonathan Dove. It alleged that Smith had lost the confidence "not only of the world of opera, but of stakeholders at large" and that his chairmanship "has been most damaging to this important institution and has brought about a crisis point." On 30th November the company's chief executive and artistic director Sean Doran announced he was to step down, the second time an artistic director has left under Smith's leadership. He sacked Nicholas Payne in 2002, described as "shafting" him by some andn then apppointed Doran. According to reports, Doran did not leave voluntarily, in spite of the fulsome praised heaped upon him by Smith (see our news story of 4th December). Smith has also been criticised for appointing executive director Loretta Tomasi as chief executive and director of opera programming John Berry as artistic director in succession to Doran without advertising the posts. Smith responded to the latter criticism in an open letter on 5th December: "As far as the appointment last week of Loretta Tomasi as CEO and John Berry as Artistic Director is concerned the position is clear. At a time when the Company is doing very well, the Board faced a choice. It could either enter into an extended period of uncertainty and speculation surrounding these jobs, or confirm in post two individuals with proven artistic and managerial records who were already carrying out many of these responsibilities with full Board confidence. It concluded that the latter course was in the best interests of the Company." Ironically he followed that paragraph with the following comment: "With regard to the Company, it is certainly not in crisis." Then on 7th December it was announced that staff had voted unanimously for strike action in a dispute over pay and pensions. BECTU national official Willy Donaghy described ENO's offer as "totally inadequate". Now the chairman has resigned. "It is clear my ability to continue helping ENO has been damaged by a campaign against me," he said. He added that it is no longer in the best interests of ENO for him to continue in office and that there had been "persistent hostility" from the media towards both the Board and him. "The company is in the best shape it has been in for many years, yet the media together with certain members of the arts community are campaigning with relentless vigour to force me to step down," he wrote in his letter to the Board. His deputy Vernon Ellis becomes acting chairman. The ENO Board said that it accepted Mr Smith's resignation "with great regret" and that the period under Smith's chairmanship had been "one of extraordinary achievement for the Company both artistically and in the rebuilding of the organisation." Martin Smith is non-executive deputy chairman of New Star Asset Management. He was a founder of Phoenix Securities, a private investment banking firm. Following the acquisition of Phoenix in 1997 by Donaldson Lufkin and Jenrette, he chaired DLJ's European Investment Banking Group. He previously worked at Citicorp and Bankers Trust. Please note that all three Archive indices are very long and will therefore take some time to download.
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