The Royal's `Mr. Fix-It' Goes To Washington - Michael Kaiser becomes president of the Kennedy Centre - Brief Article

Dance Magazine, Oct, 2000 by Margaret Willis

After eighteen months as executive director of Britain's Royal Opera House, Michael Kaiser has announced his resignation. In February 2001, he will take up his new post as president of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

Kaiser, a New Yorker whose previous job was executive director of American Ballet Theatre, arrived in London in November 1998 to assume administration of the troubled Royal Opera House, where his two immediate predecessors had lasted only a few months. The task ahead of him was daunting. The historic building was a year into a controversial redevelopment plan costing 214 million [pounds sterling]; it had been under constant, fiery attack from both the media and a select committee hearing of Parliament. Then there was an overdraft of 17 million [pounds sterling], and morale among the artists was at an all-time low.

Fearing a shutdown and loss of jobs, the ballet and opera staff were threatening to strike; the dancers' despondency was intensified by their gypsy-like travels among theaters during reconstruction, since the Royal was closed and original plans to house them temporarily in an alternative theater had failed. Five top male dancers had joined another company, and there was little public support for the National Lottery and Arts Council's generous funding of the Opera House refurbishment.

Enter Kaiser, not exactly on a white charger, but equipped with excellent credentials as a successful management consultant. Today he admits that "I love problems. I love solving problems," and during his short tenure in London, he has succeeded. His first mammoth test, despite dire predictions of impossibility, was to reopen the Opera House on time in December for its glittering royal gala. Since then, he has placed the house on much firmer footing both artistically and financially. He erased the company's deficit of 19 million [pounds sterling], cut ticket prices by as much as half, oversaw a 40 percent increase of first-timers to performances of ballet and opera, opened the house to the public during the day for snacks and tours, developed an endowment fund of 20 million [pounds sterling] and demonstrated unrelenting energy and skill in handling the day-to-day problems. So why is he leaving?

"The decision to leave was the most profoundly difficult one of my career," Kaiser announced, "and was taken only after a great deal of thought. But for personal reasons, it is time for me to return to my home." It has been widely reported that the shy, mild-mannered Kaiser has been homesick for America during his stay here and regretted leaving behind his little dog, an aged dachshund, who has since died. He holds a reputation for not staying in a job longer than four years--when he leaves next summer, he will have been in London nearly three years--and his talent for coming into a situation, correcting problems and then moving on when everything is running smoothly has earned him the nicknames "Mr. Fix-It" and "The Turnaround King."

However, it has been widely reported that he has been unhappy with the elitist atmosphere in the House and among its board members. He appeared to be staggered, too, by the fierce scrutiny of the British press, which laid every problem in the reopening's early days at Kaiser's feet, including the cancellation of productions when technical elements failed and complaints about overpriced tickets, both of which he addressed. He has had to deal with the way British arts operate; unlike America, where funding for the arts comes through taxdeductible private and corporate gifts, British arts operate with money from the public purse, supplemented by sponsorship and revenue from the box office.

But Kaiser has performed wonders and will be sorely missed, said Royal Ballet principal dancer Deborah Bull. She praised Kaiser for deflecting the spotlight from himself to the Opera House, and for giving credit to the whole team. She also lauded his ability to "look forward and not dwell on past problems or mistakes and his support in setting up the Artists Development Initiative, which gives independent choreographers from both inside and outside the House the opportunity to experiment with new works in the Clore Studio backstage, away from the glaring spotlight. Without Kaiser's support, such a scheme would never have made it off the drawing board." Another principal, Bruce Sansom, whose departure from The Royal Ballet was announced in July, credits Kaiser for helping him to learn the basics of administration. Sansom is undertaking a yearlong training program at San Francisco Ballet that covers aspects of running a ballet company.

The as yet unannounced new chief executive will be starting fresh with new directors of the ballet and opera. Australian Ross Stretton takes over the ballet from Sir Anthony Dowell at the end of next season and American Antonio Pappano will take up the baton as music and artistic director from Sir Bernard Haitink in 2002.