Jeremy Isaacs - Royal Opera House

Royal Opera House

After leaving Channel 4, and failing to be appointed Director General of the BBC in 1987, Isaacs became General Director of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, a role he fulfilled until 1996. This was a difficult period for the ROH, which was not helped by the broadcast of the revealing The House (1996) documentary series on BBC2.

Ted Turner sought out Isaacs (confusing him with the actor Jeremy Irons) for the role of executive producer for his 1998 24-episode Cold War series.

Between 1997 and 2000 Isaacs was president of the Royal Television Society. He is currently chairman of Sky Arts.

From 1990 to 1998 Isaacs acted as interviewer in a revival of the BBC series Face to Face; John Freeman had filled this role in the original 1959-62 run.

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