§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list the reasons for(a) cancelled and (b) halted performances at The Royal Opera House indicating the action taken by the board of management in relation to faulty construction work in each case; and if he will make a statement. [107064]
§ Mr. Alan HowarthIn December 1999, the Royal Opera House cancelled six performances of a Ligeti production scheduled for December and a further five performances of other productions scheduled to take place between January and April. Technical rehearsal time for these productions, which had been planned for Autumn 1999, was spent commissioning the new stage equipment. The cancellation freed time in November and December to enable the Opening Celebration, Falstaff, A Celebration of International Choreography and The Nutcracker to open on schedule and be performed as planned.
The matinee performance of Gawain on 19 January was cancelled as the Royal Opera House management felt it was inappropriate to risk having to make last minute changes to the performance schedule because of unforeseen problems with the stage machinery that could have resulted in delays to the beginning of the performance, and therefore to the schools' return journeys.
The final ballet in a mixed programme of ballets was cancelled on 20 January because problems with the scene shifting equipment had been encountered earlier during the day which delayed the starting time of the performance, threatening the possibility of completing the full programme for the evening within a reasonable time.
The manufacturers of the stage equipment and the Royal Opera House's technical staff are working with the new equipment to debug the system, and all possible measures have been taken to ensure performances take place as planned. To date there have been approximately 40 performances in the main auditorium, and a full programme of performances in the Linbury Studio Theatre and Clore Studio Upstairs, as well as free concerts in the Vilar Floral Hall.