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Story summary
- From 2022 to 2025, funding for opera totals over £226 million, compared with £31.5 million for brass bands.
- Critics, including MP Esther McVey, say this shows snobbishness and southern and metropolitan bias in funding.
- Ms. Baumann urged more investment in brass bands, saying they nurture talent for opera.
- The Arts Council acknowledges brass bands' importance but says funding trails opera.
- The debate highlights class and representation in the arts.
