For the first decade of our festival, we rolled along happily against a global background of comparative security and stability. The world was a mostly friendly place where you could know what to expect and get on.
As we approach our nineteenth festival, we are preparing against a foreground, really, of instability, political and societal breakdown, climate change we can actually now feel, unresolved pandemic legacy, putrefaction of the internet, radical changes in funding and global anxiety around how to ensure AI takes hold in a safe and acceptable way. All of these things are interlinked but, whatever the causes, our heads are really full and our hearts in tumult.
All the more amazing, then, that against all the odds, a bold assemblage of artists feel able to group under our umbrella to make new works that respond to and help us process this volatile world. Each year since the pandemic, I’ve thought our community of freelance artists would exhaust their practical and emotional wherewithal to make new work, yet this year, we’re not only able to deliver a festival as full and good as any before in London, but also expand the operation to include a residency in Newcastle.
Another piece of wonderful news is the announcement of our new Patron, Errollyn Wallen CBE, Master of the King’s Music. Errollyn remains the most featured festival artist ever, but is of course so much more as well. We are thrilled and delighted to have her support in this way. In her own words, “I am really delighted to take on the rôle of Patron of Tête à Tête, which has played a vital part in my own development as an artist, alongside many many others. Long may it continue!”
Huge thanks are due to our many supporters, particularly the Scops Trust for backing our presence in Newcastle, and the phenomenal Cockayne Foundation for seriously funding our London Festival for the next three years. More thanks, of course, to our cherished partners The Cockpit and the Royal Northern Sinfonia, as well as our newest partner, Alphabetti in Newcastle. We’d never have got here, of course, without the inspired commitment of our biggest supporter of all, Arts Council England. We can’t thank you all enough.
In response to the splintering of the opera sector last year, we trialled a playful event with serious intent, The Joy of Opera. Artists and companies from across the sector celebrated the sparks that ignited our commitment to our art form. We all left both re-energised and with fresh new networks. We’re bringing it back and extending it over two days this year. I very much hope you will be able to join us. All are welcome!
Finally, having set out a world picture of such gloom, thank goodness that we will all be able to come together to confront all this in theatres, and to let the mighty powers of words, music voice and visuals combine to refresh and strengthen us in confronting it all. I very much hope to see you at many of our performances and events, you will be very welcome!
Bill Bankes-Jones
21st May 2025