BBC Director-General Tony Hall has announced #OperaPassion Day, which will take place on Thursday, 19 October 2017. English National Opera, along with seven other UK opera companies, in collaboration with the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Manchester’s Museum of Science and Industry and the BBC, supported by the British Council, will collaborate on the project. Each organisation will contribute to #OperaPassion Day and an unprecedented day of live streaming offering never-before-seen access to the UK opera scene. The day will look to break down often perceived barriers in the opera world by showing the immense breadth of work that goes into every production. #OperaPassion is establishing a UK-wide opera network encouraging new partnerships between companies and a collaborative way of working to help opera flourish.

Join ENO backstage in the run up to the evening’s performance of Verdi’s grandest of operas, Aida. The hour of footage (5-6pm) will include live interviews and discussions with Aida’s cast and creative team as well as members of ENO’s own backstage and technical departments. Presenters will include ENO Harewood Artists Eleanor Dennis and David Webb who will take you on a journey around London’s largest theatre and ENO’s home, the London Coliseum. Meet the breadth of artistic talent at ENO and discover how they work together to put on an opera performance.

BBC Arts Digital has brought together eight leading UK opera companies and major cultural institutions to work together on an unprecedented day of live streaming. Partners include the Royal Opera House, English National Opera, English Touring Opera, Opera North, Glyndebourne, Welsh National Opera, Scottish Opera and Northern Ireland Opera working with the V&A, BBC Radio 3, Tomorrow’s World and Manchester’s Museum of Science and Industry, supported by the British Council.

The online live streams will transport audiences to every corner of the UK with insights from inside the company’s theatres and tour. Through interview, archive, innovative technology and exclusive performances, the companies will take you behind the scenes to explore and demystify opera in a celebration of its raw emotive power and engaging an ever-wider audience for opera.

#OperaPassion day will conclude on BBC Radio 3, where there will be the chance for listeners to vote for the opera of their choice to be broadcast in full that evening from four Royal Opera House production recordings.