I call on ENO management to reach an agreement with Equity to keep a full-time, world-class Chorus and to reverse the decision to reduce their salary to 75% and cut jobs.

English National Opera, the only opera company in the UK to sing all its repertoire in English, is in trouble.

Its performances are critically acclaimed but its management is in free fall — recently losing its artistic director, chairman, executive director and a third of its public funding.

Now the ENO chorus, who many see as the heart of the company, are threatened with job cuts and having their pay reduced to 75%.

Humphrey Burton, formerly BBC head of music, called this “cultural vandalism”. Sir Antonio Pappano of the Royal Opera House added: “Plans to reduce its chorus members’ contracts and limit its productions to eight a season threaten to destroy ENO.”

They are not alone — last year 14 other leaders of classical music wrote a public letter condemning the changes at ENO and calling for the chorus to be saved.

When they perform the chorus gives audiences 100%, but in the future ENO management want to pay them just 75% of their wages.

If you agree that whatever the recent mistakes at ENO, the chorus should not be expected to carry the cost — if you want to save ENO from a spiral of decline — Please sign our petition