{"id":3411,"date":"2026-05-21T13:42:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T12:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/birmingham-trend.com\/?p=3411"},"modified":"2026-05-21T13:42:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T12:42:11","slug":"birmingham-ballet-and-opera-art-without-pretence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/birmingham-trend.com\/en\/eternal-3411-birmingham-ballet-and-opera-art-without-pretence","title":{"rendered":"Birmingham Ballet and Opera: art without pretence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the classic Eastern European sense, \u2018academic theatre, opera, and ballet\u2019 effectively do not exist in Birmingham.  And this is somewhat surprising, as the city is so large and ambitious that it should long since have built one with columns, velvet armchairs, stern old ladies at the cloakroom, and ardent admirers of Modest Mussorgsky. But Birmingham rarely follows the classical path anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here, it was decided\u2014and this is common practice in England\u2014that ballet is one thing, opera<\/a> another, and the building where they perform is a matter entirely of its own.  Thus, the world-famous Birmingham Royal Ballet and its permanent home\u2014the Birmingham Hippodrome\u2014came to be in the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An even more interesting twist has emerged with opera. Instead of waiting for visiting touring companies, the local Birmingham Opera Company decided: if there is no traditional opera house, then the whole city will become the opera house. So don\u2019t be surprised if, in Birmingham, you find yourself listening to Verdi or Wagner not in a velvet-upholstered auditorium but in a derelict factory, a shopping center, or a railway station. You can read more about this unusual theatrical history at birmingham-trend.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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