Arts Council chief: to survive funding slash, opera should move to car parks and pubs

Darren Henley said decision to push ENO to leave London will force it to embrace positive changes

• Darren Henley: We don't want to bring down the curtain on ENO, but opera has to change

The future of opera is in car parks, pubs and on tablets rather than in lavish productions in grand venues, the chief executive of Arts Council England has said, amid a growing row over its removal of funding for the English National Opera.

Darren Henley acknowledged that the decision to slash ENO's funding to zero and insist it find a new home out of London seems stark" and nothing can take away the pain of artists, performers, technical teams and audiences who love the company".