Income at the Royal Opera House rose by £42m last year as it returned to normal operations after Covid-19 pandemic restrictions were lifted.
The charity’s latest accounts, for the year to the end of August 2023, show its income reached £170.7m over the course of the year, up from £128.9m in the previous 12 months.
The charity’s income from the operations of the Royal Opera House, including its box office, rose by almost £30m year on year to £80.3m in 2022/23, accounts show.
Commercial trading income also rose, from £14.8m to £20.9m last year.
Spending rose from £133.1m in 2021/22 to £154.8m, but the charity made a surplus of almost £16m over the course of the year.
The figures mean the charity’s annual income has more than surpassed its pre-pandemic level of £132.7m in 2018/19.
Writing in the accounts, Sir Lloyd Dorfman, chair of the Royal Opera House, says that although the charity had put its “catastrophic” closure during the pandemic behind it in 2022/23, “the repercussions of that period were still being felt and were exacerbated by broader economic and other challenges”.
He wrote: “The costs of running our theatres have surged in the wake of the cost-of-living crisis that has impacted our entire industry, as it has the whole economy.
“This has come alongside a significant real-term cut to our Arts Council England grant and the ever-more pressing need for capital investment in our ageing back-of-house infrastructure.”
Dorfman said it was a “significant achievement” for the charity to negotiate these challenges in the short term and that “the determination, resilience and creativity demonstrated by this institution will stand us in good stead as we work to secure longer-term stability”.
He said the charity had “embarked on a series of initiatives to ensure the financial security of the ROH in the longer term”, which included a focus on growing fundraising revenues, maximising box-office income and cultivating new commercial partnerships.
“The progress we have made so far in these areas has been encouraging, but we are well aware this is not a single season project and we are making sure we are braced for a testing future,” he said.
The accounts show that Sir Antonio Pappano, the ROH’s long-serving music director, received a salary package worth almost £940,000 over the course of the year, up from £657,000 in the previous year, including salary, fees, pension and National Insurance costs.
This was mainly because his pay package is largely comprised of fees for conducting, which rose by almost £250,000 year on year to £690,000, as more performances were possible.
Alex Beard, chief executive of the ROH, was paid a salary of £300,000 over the course of the year, the accounts show.