English National Opera (ENO) today (Tuesday 18 December) announces that anyone aged under 18 will get free tickets to ENO productions on Saturdays. The tickets will be for seats in the Balcony and be available for any or all of the 11 Saturday performances in the Spring 2019 season in the London Coliseum.

This scheme dramatically expands ENO’s audience engagement strategy and forms part of the company’s central mission to ensure the art form is accessible to everyone.

Children under the age of 16 will need to be accompanied by an adult. However, as part of the initiative, adults who pay full price for a balcony ticket can bring up to four children under 16 free of charge. Teachers bringing school groups can accompany up to 10 children under 16 and free of charge. Children aged 16 and 17 can be unaccompanied, and can book one ticket to each performance free of charge.

The applicable performances are: Akhnaten (23 Feb, 2 Mar); La bohème (2, 9 & 16 Feb); The Merry Widow (9 Mar, 13 Apr); The Magic Flute (16 & 23 Mar, 6 Apr)and Jack the Ripper: The Women of Whitechapel (30 Mar).

Bookings for free tickets can be made via the ENO Box Office phone line 020 7845 9218.

The balcony is widely regarded as having acoustically the best seats in the house. Additionally, the London Coliseum is unique in that all seats have unrestricted views of the stage.

ENO CEO Stuart Murphy said: “We were founded on the belief that opera is for everyone. We strive to continually stage opera of world class quality and bring it to as many people as possible. Removing cost as a barrier to entry for Under 18’s is a seismic leap forward for ENO and for opera as a whole, and we hope to entice as many Under 18’s as possible, from the musically obsessed, to the just plain curious. ENO is founded on passion and we want young audiences to feel alternately passionate, excited and transfixed. We can’t wait to welcome them to the London Coliseum.”