Opera For All: The Biography Of Sir Peter Jonas

If ever there was a biography that was a touchstone for what is happening in 2023 in the UK arts scene and specifically opera, then Julia Glesner’s informative and enlightening life of Sir Peter Jonas is it.

Edward Maltby’s translation from German to English is to be welcomed as it enables us to explore the fascinating life of an impresario who dominated the opera world.

Peter Jonas’s extensive cultural contribution to the twentieth-century arts scene should not be underestimated. As Glesner notes, Jonas’s faith in artistic institutions, in the argument for their existence, and in their powers, was unshakeable: “The institutions make the artists, empower them, shape their talent, and give them a space of freedom." The title of the biography comes from Jonas’ maxim - ‘Opera for all’.

By all accounts, Jonas was quite remarkable, charming, charismatic, with a striking appearance, a gift of the gab, full of boundless energy, a rare artistic eye, well-connected and a close friend of Daniel Barenboim. He was director of the English National Opera (ENO) from 1985 to 1993, which coincided with Mrs. Thatcher’s radical cultural assault on the arts. It was while working at The Coliseum that he formed a powerful triumvirate with conductor Mark Elder and director of productions David Pountney.



Surprisingly, he managed three big jobs in his life and was proud never to have been fired, although he always thought himself lucky, or, as he used to say, ‘Glückspilz’.

We get to understand, here, how the landscape of UK arts funding was shaped during the 1980s, leading to where we are now. Over the years of his directorship, the rate of the Arts Council subsidy fell from 74% to 49%. He battled with Council, which at the time was led by William Rees-Mogg, who acted without ‘any concept of cultural policy for opera in Britain'.

The insights are significant and extraordinary, and thank goodness that Julia Glenser was able to “write quickly," as advised by Jonas. Glesner enjoyed remarkable access in the two years before Jonas' death from cancer in April 2020. This means we are privileged to hear his view on Brexit, “collective suicide,” and lots more, such as being responsible for the first example of crowdfunding in England in 1990/91. He was even the subject of the BBC programme This is Your Life.

Glenser has captured Jonas’ life in fascinating detail, and it is easy to understand how Jonas had such a profound effect on opera the world over. She delves into a life ‘dredging its depths and shallows’ and, along the way, we are moved by happenings in his family as Jonas recites beautiful, inspiring tales, not all positive, some painful.

Donna Leon’s forward is a lovely tribute: ‘My God, the man could charm a statue from its plinth’. She also observes that he was the best storyteller she ever knew.

The son of immigrant parents, Jonas' mother came from a 'renowned but poor Lebanese family who had emigrated to Jamaica’, and his father was the son of 'secularized Jews from Hamburg’. His early life was traumatic: boarding school, his parent’s divorce, the death of his father, and later the accidental death of his sister, Kathryn, with whom he had a close relationship.

One of the most magical moments in all of opera is the opening of Busoni’s Faust, a work that fascinated this producer, who was convinced he had made a Faustian pact with the devil - playing chess for his own life. Faust, as Glenser writes, touched on Jonas' German heritage. The reference to chess comes from Ingmar Bergman’s 1957 film, The Seventh Seal. In fact, on December 21, he was annoyed during an ENO board meeting as he missed his flight to America because of a pointless and tedious discussion. He missed the ill-fated Pan AM Flight 103.

Jonas described himself as quite lazy, a man who needed a daily deadline and an injection of adrenaline. At one point during Glenser’s meetings, he banged his knuckle on the table. “Ich bin ziemlich proletarisch ('I am rather proletarian'). I am a journeyman opera director." He depicted himself as a ‘gutter rat’ of the opera business.

For Jonas, the past was not another country but the north of England. He studied in Manchester between 1968 and 1971, and until he started, Jonas had never been north of London, not untypically of the time.

He was a man for all seasons with eclectic tastes, enjoying cars, cricket, and football, and was a Crystal Palace supporter.

However, the incidents we infer throughout his working life make up the core of this biography. His ten-year tenure in Chicago saw him work with George Solti and his second wife, Valerie. He was taken aback when he attended his first rehearsal. The sound and experience of listening to Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony were something he would never forget. It was here that he first came across the old-fashioned values and attitudes of the 1950s. It seems he suffered from imposter syndrome. He was naïve, but what he learned and acted upon was to set him on his course to two great jobs. His friendship with Claudio Abbado and his intense friendship with Daniel Barenboim began in Chicago.

In 1976, everything changed for Jonas. While the CSO was rehearsing for a concert performance of The Flying Dutchman, he had to attend an appointment with the company doctor, Bernard Levin. He was called back for a second X-ray, which highlighted a very large shadow in the middle of his chest. He needed more tests, which meant he had to take time out. He had a successful operation, which revealed he had Hodgkin’s disease. He went through treatment and resumed his work.

It was at this time, at his physically worst, that he met his first and greatest love, the soprano Lucia Popp, whom he would eventually marry.

He built a reputation for innovative programming and dramatic ideas. This did have consequences, such as being snubbed by Chicago audiences, as well as legal challenges.

Interestingly, Solti, who had his own inner struggles and existential insecurity as an emigrant Jew in post-war Germany, told a story about how a man would knock on the door of his own office. This act became a metaphor for Jonas: ‘I always knock. When I hear someone say, “Come in," I’ll know I’ve been sacked.’

Like many of us, the decision as to when was the right time for a career change also affected Jonas. His next role is captivating in detailing the antics of the establishment and Lord Goodman, who was Chairman of the Board of ENO. Eventually, Jonas, aided by the Earl of Harewood, makes it to the Coliseum via a classic job interview setup with stupid questions that made Jonas indignant; one can sympathise with his irritation and exasperation. It is during this era that we learn much about the British arts scene and the influence of the famous economist Keynes, who is reported as saying, ‘The arts own no vow of obedience'.

'Cuts, cuts, cuts!' is how one section is titled, and it is a cognizant survey of the times that reflect some of today’s problems. Jonas was beginning to become a rebel.

His time in London is captivating and engrossing, as we recognise the key players in the arts during this period. Jonas’s analysis of the Thatcher government is that it betrayed the arts. His assessments are noteworthy, and here’s something that will resonate. While grants to the Arts Council from the government had increased by 8%, the Council increased the grants to Eno by only 2.5%. When Peter Palumbo took over from William Rees-Mogg, Jonas was delighted. Jonas’ apprenticeship with Solti led to him working with the ENO press and marketing team on innovative musical theatre marketing. It is an interesting section detailing ENO's advertising campaign, which prompted The Times to ask if it was hard sell or soft-porn. A never-acknowledged mistake by Mrs. Thatcher leads to the first foreign opera company tour to the Soviet Union.

Having established his London legacy, it was time to say farewell to ‘a really remarkable time at ENO’. His time from 1993 to 2006 in charge at Munich was as engrossing as his other two major posts - dealing mostly with technology, critics, and letters of complaint. The situation is acutely symbolised by a dinosaur in a production of Giulio Cesare in Egitto.

When Jonas took up his post as State Director of the Bavarian Staatsoper in Munich, he assumed responsibility for ‘a theatre that represented a pinnacle of tradition in a city acutely aware of its traditions', as Anne Midgette put it.

Everyday life at the opera highlights Jonas’ skill at speaking German under pressure, which is important for an Englishman who was not trusted. His maxim ‘Opera for all’ came to fruition in 1997 with a performance of Carmen with Don José sung by Placido Domingo.

At the end of the performance, Jonas led the singers on to the steps of the National Theatre and cracked jokes that got a few laughs. “How many Brits can do that?” observed Tom Sutcliffe.

In 2006, he left Munich, and when Zubin Mehta asked what he would be up to now, Jonas responded, "I am free as a bird and can do what I want". The chapter ends with Shakespeare’s Sonnet 146, a poem Jonas often recited as it recalled Faust, taking the form of a dialogue between soul and body.

Peter Jonas died on April 22, 2022. Sitting upright at a table in his room at the clinic he was at, Sir Peter Jonas died of a sudden cardiac arrest.

There is a moving tribute to Jonas from Daniel Barenboim; they spoke every day on the phone in the last weeks of Jonas’ life, and he played him a piano piece on the phone.

There is so much in this enjoyable biography to appreciate; it would make excellent reading over Christmas for anyone interested in the machinations of the opera world. In Jonas' own words, society is less healthy if it is not aware of the arts.