The English National Opera was given a £4.1m grant to survive

The 60 singers forced the cancellation of Berlioz's The Trojans - The Capture Of Troy, at London's Coliseum on Tuesday evening by pulling out.

The strike was agreed unanimously and prompted by cost-cutting plans to cut the choir by one third.

Instead, they staged a free performance of Verdi's Requiem for supporters at nearby St Paul's Church in Covent Garden.

The church was filled to capacity, with 300 sitting and a further 100 standing.

Queues began forming at 1645, almost four hours before the performance was scheduled to begin.

The overspill spread outside to the church courtyard where some listened in the open air.

The importance of these people to the artistic quality of this country is immense Ian McGarry Equity

The general secretary of Equity, Ian McGarry, speaking before the performance, said the aim was to "have their work recognised by those people who appear to hold their destiny in their hands".

They were striking, he added, "rather than see their artistic qualities sacrificed to the accountant".

Mr McGarry said the chorus felt "bewildered, angry and betrayed".

He said "We are not just talking about numbers.

"The importance of these people to the artistic quality of this country is immense."

'Bean-counting'

David Parish, a member of the chorus, told the audience the plan amounted to an act of "cultural vandalism that would rip the heart out of a great company".

Among the audience, Maggie Willis, 47, a marketing manager from north London, said: "We were due to go to the opera tonight but we are not feeling deprived in any way.

"We fully support the chorus. The ENO's bean-counting has gone mad."

Tourist Mark Mbogo, 34, from Chicago, said: "I heard about this on the TV this morning and I thought what the ENO is doing is wrong."

The other performances due to be hit by strike action include The Handmaid's Tale on 3 April, Alcina on 16 April and The Trojans of Carthage on 8 May.

Bail-out

The choristers will also strike on 24 May, missing a performance of Tristan and Isolde.

An Equity spokesman said the redundancies were "unnecessary" and only amounted to £120,000 out of an annual budget of £30m.

He said bosses at ENO had not responded to requests to discuss alternative methods of achieving savings.

The ENO was bailed out of its financial difficulties with a £4.1m grant from the Arts Council of England to prevent it going into receivership.

But a spokeswoman for ENO said this money depended on new working practices which could only be achieved though redundancies.

The recent crisis was blamed on too high expectations of box office receipts and the effects of the terror attacks on the US on 11 September on tourism.