Turbulent saga of Scottish Opera goes on as chairman quits

The search for a new chairman for the crisis-ridden Scottish Opera was under way yesterday after the incumbent, Duncan McGhie, announced he was to quit the company, which has massive debts and is in the middle of negotiations over redundancies.

The search for a new chairman for the crisis-ridden Scottish Opera was under way yesterday after the incumbent, Duncan McGhie, announced he was to quit the company, which has massive debts and is in the middle of negotiations over redundancies.

Mr McGhie, a retired management consultant, has chaired both Scottish Opera and the Scottish Ballet for the past five years. But board directors have decided the job should be split.

Mr McGhie said that he had made the decision to go some time ago and informed his board, the Scottish Arts Council and the Scottish Executive that he intended to stand down from both positions no later than the end of March next year.

"It's time to get fresh eyes and fresh brains in place. I am keen to let others develop new ideas for Scottish Ballet and Scottish Opera," he said.

"All of the present directors believe that the opportunity for both companies to have a separate chair and separate directors is in their best interests."

He will step down when his successors are ready to take up their posts, he said, although he insisted that his departure was "not imminent".

But sources close to the turbulent saga of Scottish Opera believe that directors were keen for a fresh approach to its problems and that some of them wanted their chairman to go.

Outside critics, too, have blamed the company's management for agreeing a draconian cost-cutting exercise to clear a £4m deficit.

Eighty-eight out of about 200 members of staff - including the entire chorus of 34 - are to be made redundant as part of a plan designed to get the company back on a sound financial footing.

The Scottish Executive refused to provide any extra revenue funding but has agreed to fund a £7m redundancy package.

Sandy Orr, a vice-president, resigned from the board last month, saying that the Scottish Executive had made a "serious mistake in not providing the necessary additional funding".

"In these dark times, the only light is the near unanimous voice in Scotland against the Executive's actions," he said.

The union Equity has also previously expressed amazement that "the very management team which got Scottish Opera into such an appalling mess is now being given a further £7m of public funds to wind down the company".

Mr McGhie insisted that the future of the company, which won critical acclaim for its productions of Wagner's Ring cycle, now looked more secure. "I believe that we have at least achieved something that had been sought after for years - a route forward to financial stability for Scottish Opera," he said.