It's cat among the pigeons time at the ROH as Raymond Gubbay submits an application for Michael Kaiser's job. Gubbay has been very critical of the ROH in the past, so this is a fascinating departure:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR> Mr Gubbay said yesterday that he made the application on<BR>behalf of his company, Raymond Gubbay Limited, after seeing an advertisement for the job in the Guardian a few weeks ago. <BR>“I’m absolutely serious and ready to face the challenge to run one of the greatest opera houses of the world,” he said. <BR>Mr Gubbay said that he would change the house’s image if he were appointed. “The house is still perceived to be a rich person’s play-thing, a vaunt of corporate hospitality,” he said. <BR>“It needs to made more accountable, more accessible with better scheduling and a greater number of performances. The seat prices should be at a level that the public can afford,” he said. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR> <A HREF="Http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4078082,00.html" TARGET=_blank>Http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/Archive/<BR>Article/0,4273,4078082,00.html</A> <BR><p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited October 18, 2000).]

<A HREF="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=000148269364269&rtmo=QwmHz90R&atmo=rrrrrrrq&pg=/et/00/11/2/nroh02.html" TARGET=_blank><B> Nigel Reynolds of the Telegraph</B></A> tells us that the 'Royal Opera rejects music impresario' (Raymond Gubbay)<P>And the <A HREF="http://www.independent.co.uk/enjoyment/Theatre/Opera/2000-11/opera021100.shtml" TARGET=_blank><B>Independent </B></A>on the same story.<p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited November 02, 2000).]

Time to put the House on the market. In the race for the top job at Covent Garden, would a little populist flair hurt? Rodney Milnes certainly doesn’t think so. Interestingly, Milnes suggests that the subsidy can no longer be justified and that the ROH should be privitised. <BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,31038,00.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,31038,00.html</A> <P>Who could take on the Royal Opera House? By KATHLEEN WYATT. An attempt to review the field. Just one teensy problemette as far as we're concerned - there are lots and lots of mentions of opera houses here, there and everywhere and not a single mention of ballet. Wyatt's favoured candidate John Tusa was once given a fantasy interview on the radio for the job of ROH Boss, and actually managed to go for 30 minutes without mentioning ballet once. <P>I an really worried, as Kaiser was an exception in his implementation of equal status for ballet and his love of the art form.<BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,31192,00.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,31192,00.html</A> <p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited November 07, 2000).]