Never Mind the Moon [Paperback]

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 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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.

In the autum of 1988, Jeremy Isaacs, the founder of Channel Four, took over the job of running the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. He had ultimate responsibility for one of the great opera and ballet houses of the world, the showplace and the workshop of two unique art forms that were demanding, glamorous - and expensive.

Over the next decade he encountered some of the most famous singers, dancers and conductors in the world. Night after night he saw the miracle of a living work of art take shape, knowing from the inside the skill, labour and sheer physical endurance needed to make it happen. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, he struggled to keep the whole enterprise afloat. For behind the glittering façade, the constant heart-breaking endeavour of making ends meet became his daily battle in a political environment that was largely indifferent, often hostile.

Jeremy Isaacs inherited a plan - the Victorian building was to be closed for a massive and controversial redevelopment - and he brought that plan to fruition. The closure of the House and its consequences - the struggle with bureaucracy, the public attacks on Covent Garden's management, the dramatic resignations - form the climax of a story that is packed with drama, has moments of tragedy and is never far from farce. It is a story of artistic triumph against formidable financial constraints, a compelling account of one of the world's greatest institutions at the end of an era and the beginning of another.

Jeremy Isaacs
Jeremy Isaacs was educated at Glasgow Academy and Merton College, Oxford, where he read Classics, was Chairman of the Labour Club, and was elected President of the Oxford Union Society. His education continued in the Highland Light Infantry and the Royal Scots Fusiliers. In 1958 he joined Granada Television. He was Director of Programmes, Thames Television (1974-9) and Founding Chief Executive of Channel Four (1981-7). In 1988 he became General Director of the Royal Opera House, a position he held for nine years. He was made Knight Bachelor in 1996.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.