The former director of English National Opera (ENO) has hit out at Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab for describing Angela Rayner as a “champagne socialist” for attending the opera during the rail strikes.
John Berry told the Observer he was “shocked” the deputy Labor leader had been mocked for attending a performance of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro in Glyndebourne near Lewes. “It’s incredibly sad and embarrassing. To be attacked for going to the opera is ridiculous,” he said.
Standing in for Boris Johnson at PMQs last week, Raab poked fun at Rainer’s absence from the RMT queue: “She was at the Glyndebourne Music Festival, sipping champagne, listening to opera. Champagne socialism is back in the Labor Party.
Rayner then hit back: “My advice to the deputy prime minister is to stop being snobbish and freshen up his opera. ‘The Marriage of Figaro’ is the story of a working-class woman who prevails over a privileged but dim-witted villain.”
Berry was Artistic Director of ENO from 2005 to 2015, staging award-winning productions including Anthony Minghella’s Madame Butterfly and Mike Leigh’s The Pirates of Penzance. He is now working on a production for Luciano Pavarotti through his new company, Scenario Two.
Angela Rayner addresses Dominic Raab during Prime Minister’s Questions on June 29, 2022. Picture: UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/Pennsylvania
He spoke of his frustration that elitist attacks on the arts have revived as opera houses do their best to reach new and diverse audiences: “We produce high-quality, world-renowned works in this country and we should not be embarrassed by that and politicians should not take cheap shots,” he said.
“I feel embarrassed that Mrs. Rayner should be criticized for going to see an opera by one of the greatest composers, performed by incredible performers. Without relying on public subsidy, Glyndebourne Festival Opera employs hundreds of freelance artists and has an outstanding outreach programme. It is extremely unfortunate that the word elitism is starting to creep back into the arts in this way.
“We don’t have that reaction when an MP goes to Wimbledon or a pop event. Why would we have this when a minister goes to an arts event?’
He made comparisons with European countries, where “it is a sign of honor to occupy an important cultural post in the government”. “Politicians in Europe want to be seen at cultural events,” he said.
“When European colleagues watch the talk in the UK about elitism in the arts, they are shocked.”
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