Va' pensiero sull'ali danese

A most fascinating exchange took place on Radio 4's Today programme this morning.

Kasper Holten was there to pimp the Royal Opera House's imminent live-ish streaming day. But he perhaps hadn't reckoned with the bloodhound instincts of one of the few proper journalists left at the BBC, Today presenter James Naughtie.

The full interview, which you can listen to here, begins at about 16:00. Zip forward to 22:15 for the following:

JN - And I suppose you'll then get down to writing your application for Tony Hall's job as chief executive of the Royal Opera House, will you?
KH - Well, I think.....I'm very sad that you've taken Tony Hall away from us and I'm very curious to see who will be the boss.
JN - That's avoiding the question.
KH - [laughs] No, listen, I just feel so privileged being able to work at Covent Garden.

Now of course it could just be that Danish ears met a Scottish accent and Kasper misheard the question, in which case everything below is mere speculation.

If that's not the case, surely he would have been quick to confirm that he hadn't applied for the job? The ever-professional Naughtie gave him two opportunities to do so.

None of the speculation about contenders for the vacant CEO position has so far mentioned Holten's name.

But isn't he an excellent candidate?

He knows the organisation and understands more about the role than any outsider.  He's already demonstrated a willingness to tackle problems and has signficantly reduced the distance between the Royal Opera House and its customers in his so-far brief tenure.  Importantly, he already has directly relevant experience, from his previous job as Artistic Director of the Royal Danish Opera, an organisation that operates without a CEO as such. There he learned the hard way about unglamorous but important matters like controlling costs.

If Kasper Holten took over from Tony Hall, then Covent Garden would function more like the typical continental house, where an Intendant or similar oversees both artistic and administrative matters. Would that be such a bad thing?

Comments

[Hugh Kerr]

great idea Kasper did a great job in Copenhagen and I am sure he could delegate the boring bits to an assistant
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Intermezzo replies - I think he already does......in fact the whole restructuring last year (the appointment of John Fulljames and a commercial director) looks increasingly like succession planning.

[Siggy]

But as CEO I presume he would he have to give up producing opera himself? Would he want to do that? I suppose ROH could always restructure/retitle the job to include artistic elements as well. Watch this space as they say.

[JohnVecchio]

let's see how the new Eugene Onegin looks on his CV first.
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Intermezzo replies - A win either way I think. Good - he could combine careers. Bad -a move upstairs would be justified.

[Rannaldini]

HE can't do both. It's like being Prime Minister and Chancellor - it's just not humanly possible. But a move upstairs might be interesting.

I sometimes feel that people on this blog (inlcuding myself sometimes!) are too critical. Its easy sitting at our keynoards to forget how INSANELY complex it is to produce and mount any opera, let alone at a consistenly high standard in a global capital city. Its lighting, make-up, costume, direction, props, scrore, libretto, singers, acting, voices, orchestra, conductor, unions, contracts, publicity, house, ticketing, hospitality etc etc. The list just goes on and on.

At at the end of it all, when the applause fades and the curtain comes down, what is left. NOTHING! It is completely ephemeral.

Makes hollywood film production look like part timers!
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Intermezzo replies - He did both at DKT, which admittedly is a smaller organisation. Other Intendants from a directorial background often manage to keep an occasional hand in too. And what about Hytner at the National Theatre? Not the same job of course, but he fits in directing around his other responsibilities.

With his other jobs in the House of Lords, at the Olympics, Channel 4, etc, Tony Hall has already proved that the role of CEO is a part-time one.

[Andres]

I agree, so far he can't really get credit for the productions we have been enjoying since he has arrived. Maybe a bit too early for the promotion.

But I guess having the two positions could be feasible. Look at Andreas Homoki, who has just replaced Alexander Pereira in Zurich as general manager (an opera house with an annual number of productions way larger than Covent Garden) and who I'm quite certain won't slow down his McVicarian pace as an opera director.

[Desdemona]

very interesting...i had imagined that the Board would want someone with 'connections' to help with the politics of it all...but maybe I'm wrong. Certainly, though, the headhunters the ROH has engaged to find TH's successor have a track record of finding big-hitters...

[Nik]

May I suggest... Danish wings would be (le) ali danesi. Or one of them would be (l') ala danese.

It's a fiendish coincidence of irregular feminine endings :-)

[Don Alfonso]

If Holten did that great a job in Copenhagen how come Keith Warner found the place impossible to work in and resigned within months of taking up his new post there...
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Intermezzo replies - They weren't working there at the same time. Warner took over Holten's job.

[Don Alfonso]

Yes that's my point Intermezzo, Warner took over what Holten left him.
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Intermezzo replies - That's simply nonsense. Keith Warner wrote a public letter explaining in minute detail why he left. Not once does he say or even hint that his predecessor was responsible for the problems he faced.

You can read the full letter here: http://intermezzo.typepad.com/intermezzo/2012/01/keith-warner-danish-jumper.html