Same old story

It's the same old English story. Appoint a bright spark to run a performing ensemble, to bring together the best ideas and artists in a scintillating season of drama, music and dance. Then shackle this paragon with the headache of managing a building on inadequate funds. Finally, burden him with a massive reconstruction project involving public and private funds and no end of architects and planning permissions - and what do you get? Surprise, surprise, another national theatre chief has resigned.

It happened five times in as many years at Covent Garden before they got rid of the builders. It happened a couple of months ago at the Royal Shakespeare Company where building worries did for Adrian Noble. Now it has befallen English National Opera, where Nicholas Payne, one of the cleverest opera administrators, cracked yesterday under the burden of bricks and mortar.

Payne, I gather, was warned by his board that the twin strains of putting on performances and managing the reconstruction were getting him down.

The chairman, Martin Smith, suggested quite sensibly that the roles should be split between one director who looked after the art and another who took care of the business. Payne interpreted this as a demotion and resigned on the spot.

He will be replaced on the business side by Caroline Felton, the kind of ex Coopers & Lybrand consultant favoured by the Arts Council. Paul Daniel, the music director, has announced his intention to remain.

The main task for ENO now is to drive ahead the £41 million rebuilding of the Coliseum. The main problem for British arts is thornier than ever. The only way to assure stability is to set the arts free from managing bricks and mortar.