English National Opera

About

The English National Opera is a London-based opera company that is considered to be the populist counterpart to London's Royal Opera. Renowned for its productions sung exclusively in English, including classic operas such as Wagner's Ring Cylce, as well as its use of modernized settings and low ticket prices, the company is praised for making operas accessible to the general public. Founded in 1898, the opera has been a major driving force in the establishment of English-language opera as artistically viable in modern times, with Benjamin Britten--the first internationally-acclaimed English opera composer in nearly 300 years--premiering his first major opera Peter Grimes with the company in 1945 when the opera was known as the Sadler's Wells Opera Company.