As the doors open on a new Royal Opera House the struggles of its recent history slowly begin to emerge. Late last year Mary Allen published diaries covering her short tenure as Chief Executive. John Tooley and Jeremy Isaacs have now published their own thoughts, on ‘The House’ and their directorships, which bring the details more clearly to light.

If you have the time and the inclination then the books work best when read together. They provide a wealth of fascinating information - especially in their retelling of the events that led to the virtual disbandment of the Royal Opera company and the suspension of performances in the later stages of the closure period.

A HOUSE DIVIDED
By Mary Allen
The first to hit the bookshelves were the diaries of Mary Allen kept during her short tenure (she was only in the position for six months, from September 1997 to March 1998) as chief executive. They give an account of bitter rivalries, a succession of management problems and unchecked financial procedures. Due to the shortness of her residence, the book is more interested in scandal than unravelling the problems. Hugh Canning, music critic of The Sunday Times, calls her diaries ‘inconsequential, dully written and self-justifying.’

Published by Simon & Schuster at £17.99

IN HOUSE: Covent Garden, 50 years of Opera and Ballet
By John Tooley
Nobody could have been better placed for charting the tumultuous ups and downs of the Royal Opera House since the World War II than Sir John Tooley. The years under his management are generally viewed as a golden era and a stark contrast to the unhappy times, for management and staff, which ensued. Between 1970 and 1988 he was the general director although he first joined `The House` in 1955, his previous employer rather surprisingly being the Ford motor company! During that time he witnessed many triumphs, but also saw the decline one of the greatest houses in the world. In its heyday Callas, Domingo and Nureyev all performed on its stage but by the late eighties it stood on the brink of bankruptcy.
It isn’t all doom and gloom, as Tooley peppers the text with some wonderful anecdotes and then, in the final chapter, presents his own passionate vision of how Covent Garden can survive in the next century.
This is a fascinating and quietly impassioned history of one of our greatest cultural institutions.

Published by Faber at £25

NEVER MIND THE MOON: My time at the Royal Opera House
By Jeremy Isaacs
Isaacs` book is a long, but highly readable, exercise in passing the blame. He continually points out that he was left with a crumbling theatre and a hostile and ignorant press and yet was still able to provide a series of artistic highs. This all very interesting, and certainly he was right to increase the number of new productions the Royal Opera mounted in a season which, under Tooley’s management, had grown stale and predictable. When he talks of the redevelopment plans the book becomes riveting. His underestimation of the cost for closing `The House` very nearly resulted in the company’s permanent disbandment.
Not surprisingly the under funding of Covent Garden is a recurring theme and he makes a passionate plea for adequate funding of the arts in Britain. His analysis of the post-Isaacs era, and the bizarre appointment of Mary Allen, are fascinating.
For all its attempts to deflect the blame for the near-disaster of the closure period, Isaac’s book is gripping and surprisingly witty.

Published by Bantam Press at £20