English Touring Opera started as Opera 80 - a touring company founded in 1979 to bring high quality opera to areas of England that normally would not have access to opera productions.

In 1992 the company changed its name to English Touring Opera.

For the past 25 years English Touring Opera has travelled the length and breadth of England forming important relationships with communities through touring productions, education and outreach projects and local community involvement.

In its first 25 years, English Touring Opera has presented some of the country's leading principal singers including: Sarah Connolly, Mary Plazas, Paul Nilon Alison Hagley, Susan Gritton and Jonathan Veira. ETO has also shown the work of such groundbreaking directors as Richard Jones, Robert Carsen and Stephen Pimlott. The ETO orchestra has been lead by such guest conductors as Ivor Bolton and David Parry.

In 2005 ETO was nominated for a South Bank Award for James Conway's Spring 2005 production of Donizetti's Mary Queen of Scots.  

In Autumn 2006 - English Touring Opera mounted an acclaimed baroque opera festival which brought 5 baroque operas and over 40 different community and outreach events to 15 different locations.