- Hardcover: 384 pages
- Publisher: Bantam Press; 1st ed edition (4 Nov 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0593043553
- ISBN-13: 978-0593043554
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16.6 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
302,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #36 in Books > Biography > Theatre & Performance Art > Ballet
- #57 in Books > Biography > Film, Television & Music > Music > Opera
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
After a brilliant career in broadcasting, including time as first chief executive at Channel 4 when he transformed the whole look of British television, Jeremy Isaacs took on the brave task of doing the same for the Royal Opera House, where he served as General Director for nine years. And that proved a rather trickier nut to crack. Opera has always riled the populists and when Covent Garden received £78 million from the National Lottery, everyone in the country seemed to think it was a waste of money. Isaacs did his best but one would have to say his spell there was only a partial success. Nevertheless, for those genuinely fascinated by the ins and outs, the bickerings and back-stabbings of a great opera company, this is a fascinating and ebullient read. There are also some good anecdotes, including one in which Mrs Thatcher stabs him in the chest with her forefinger and says, "This man is the devil." Jeremy has certainly had to suffer for the sake of art. --Christopher Hart
Product Description
In 1988 Jeremy Isaacs took over the job of running the Royal Opera House, and with it he inherited a plan. The Victorian building was to be closed for a massive and controversial redevelopment. Amid the struggle with bureaucracy, the public attack on Covent Garden management and dramatic resignations he brought that plan to fruition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It is a truth universally acknowledged that there is more to an opera production than just good singing and acting: playing, staging and lots of other artistic aspects are as important. However, among the unseen activities necessary to set up a production is the daily managing work. The author tells in profuse detail about the hardships of directing the Royal Opera House (Covent Garden), a reference in the opera world with very high standards to meet. Any idealist who still believed in opera as the purest form of music, so heavenly that it ought to be completely alien to human strife, will find that politics, intrigue and jealousy play a prominent role. Jeremy Isaacs' tale of nine years at Covent gives us opera lovers a lot to think about... and to thank for. It is a pity music should be a slave to such baseness, though. An enjoyable read.
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