Sir John Tooley (1 June 1924 – 18 March 2020)Tooley profile
announcements.telegraph.co.uk; accessed 20 March 2020. was an English musical administrator who served as the general director of the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

, London. He held a range of appointments in the musical world, serving as a trustee or board member for many organisations. After serving for 15 years as assistant and later deputy to Sir David Webster, the founder of the Royal Opera, Tooley succeeded him as general administrator in 1970 and served in the post (later retitled general director) until retiring in 1988.

Life and career

Tooley was born in

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

and educated at

Repton School Repton School is a 13–18 Mixed-sex education, co-educational, Independent school (United Kingdom), independent, Day school, day and boarding school in the English Public school (United Kingdom), public school tradition, in Repton, Derbyshire, ...

and

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

."Tooley, Sir John"
''Who's Who'' 2011, A & C Black, 2011; online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2010, accessed 27 August 2011 He had ambitions to become a professional singer, but later decided on a career as a musical administrator."The Knight at the Opera", ''The Times'' (London), 24 November 1980, p. 16 As an assistant

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

in the

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he learned much about administration. After that, his friends advised him to prepare himself for his planned career by working in industry for a few years to learn more about management. He joined the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

, where he worked, he said, "with some enlightened people", gaining experience. In 1952 he was appointed secretary to the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

, remaining in the post until 1955, when he began his career at the

. In 1955 the Royal Opera House underwent an internal reorganisation. The deputy general administrator, Sir Steuart Wilson, left and Tooley was appointed assistant to the general administrator, David Webster. He was promoted to assistant general administrator in 1960, and served in that post until Webster's retirement in 1970. In the late 1960s, Webster's health became uncertain, and much of the day-to-day business of running the opera house fell to Tooley. He was appointed to succeed Webster, and held the post of general administrator until 1980, when it was renamed general director. He retired from the post in 1988. The opera commentator

Harold Rosenthal Harold David Rosenthal OBE (30 September 1917 – 19 March 1987) was an English music critic, writer, lecturer, and broadcaster about opera. Originally a schoolmaster, he became drawn to music, particularly opera, and began working on musical ...

wrote of Tooley's important role in coordinating the workings of the major European and American opera houses. He promoted regular meetings of the heads of these houses, with the aim of resisting excessive fees for star singers and also of sharing costs by staging co-productions. To attract a new and younger audience to the Royal Opera House, Tooley set up a series of "promenade" performances of operas, with low-priced admission to the stalls area, from which the seats were temporarily removed.Rosenthal, Harold
"Tooley, Sir John"
''Grove Music Online'', Oxford Music Online, accessed 27 August 2011 Tooley held a large number of other appointments in the musical world, serving as a trustee or board member of the

Walton Walton may refer to: People * Walton (given name) * Walton (surname) * Susana, Lady Walton (1926–2010), Argentine writer Places Canada * Walton, Nova Scotia, a community ** Walton River (Nova Scotia) *Walton, Ontario, a hamlet United Kingdo ...

Trust, the

Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

Estate, the

Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, England, on the South Bank of the River Thames (between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge). It comprises three main performance venues (the Royal Festival Hall including the Nat ...

and the

Welsh National Opera Welsh National Opera (WNO) ( cy, Opera Cenedlaethol Cymru) is an opera company based in Cardiff, Wales; it gave its first performances in 1946. It began as a mainly amateur body and transformed into an all-professional ensemble by 1973. In its ...

among others. He was

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in the

1979 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1979 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate ...

. He married, and divorced, three times: from 1951 to 1965 he was married to Judith Craig (''née'' Morris); from 1968 to 1990 to Patricia Janet Norah (''née'' Bagshawe); and from 1995 to 2003 to Jennifer-Anne (''née'' Shannon). He published his memoirs, ''In House'' (1999); ''

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'' said of it, "His regime is now regarded as a golden era when the opera house could still attract stars such as

Maria Callas Maria Callas . (born Sophie Cecilia Kalos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her ''bel cant ...

Placido Domingo Placido may refer to: People Surname * José Plácido de Castro (1873–1908), Brazilian soldier and politician * Michele Placido, (born 1946) Italian actor and director *Plácido Vega y Daza, (1830-1878) 19th century Mexican general and politicia ...

and

Rudolph Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev ( ; Tatar/ Bashkir: Рудольф Хәмит улы Нуриев; rus, Рудо́льф Хаме́тович Нуре́ев, p=rʊˈdolʲf xɐˈmʲetəvʲɪtɕ nʊˈrʲejɪf; 17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet ...

. His book … gives an insider's account of the sometimes tempestuous times at Covent Garden since the war." Tooley died on 18 March 2020, aged 95. His family indicated the funeral would be private.

Notes

References

*Allison, John, "Ninety Not Out", ''

Opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

'' (London), June 2014, Vol. 65, No. 6, pp. 693–698 *Haltrecht, Montague. ''The Quiet Showman: Sir David Webster and the Royal Opera House''. London: Collins, 1975. *Rosenthal, Harold, "Tooley, Sir John", ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volu ...

'', (Ed. Stanley Sadie), Vol. 4, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992

Life and career

Notes

References

Further reading