a way of helping'. Because it 's society that needs the arts to flourish, to build something for th e future and sustain the heritage of the past. BH: In my view one worrying aspect-and yo u must correct me if I am wrong, Jeremy-is that private sponsorship is fine, but it could endanger your long-term planning , because while you know what yo u can get next yea r , yo u don 't know what you wi ll get in four years time. JI: There is nothing to do expect make the best assumptions you can about what will be the le ve l of different sorts of fu nding, put together a repertory th a t does the house credit , that creates some ripple of excitement-and cross in g our fingers we hope for much more than that-and then say 'thi s is the financia l basis on which we put this plan forward: it seems to work, and let's now hope that our assumptions a re made good'. But of course, as Bernard says, th e assumption as to what pri vate funding may be in three yea rs time can only be an assumption: there's no guarantee that the money will be there. RM: Do yo u go a long with the general fee li ng that a p ri vate sponsor prefers to fund something that is safe? BH: Yes, we're ti ll trying to ge t money for Rheingold next season, let alon e for Walkiire or Golterddmmerung-we do n't know , we s till have to find it. And of course there was the Parsifal c ri si : last yea r there was no money for Parsifal. I have learned the le so n that if yo u fight, yo u get something. JI: We have different ources of funding-for in stance the Friends of Covent Garden, a body of some 19,000 people who through their sub scriptions provide a surplu s. They are hugely helpful when we need to do omething that we can't find a corporate spo nsor for. Let me ju t say that-and I don 't want to go on about thi s for ever, because I promise yo u money is the least of our problem -the house would be infinitel y better off if there were suffici ent private funding to operate some so rt of endowment. If a magic wand were waved and a vas t sum were made available to us th at pro vided an inco me of millions a year, then life would be much easier. But until that happens, we go on fighting. RM: If money isn 't your greatest problem , what is? JI: To be the best house in th e wor ld! BH: Opera is so acc ident prone, as we a ll know , and especially at the so rt of leve l at which we try to operate. It 's always a hi ghl y risky enterprise.
RM: Do yo u think that international opera is getting more risky al l the time?
BH: Yes , but I get a bit upset at the word 'international'. I think we shou ld call it 'quality' opera. So many British si ngers are now of the highest rank art istica ll y that 'international ' is not a matter of passport but of standard . What I hope , and I know Jerem y and Paul hope too, is that if we can't create a company as such , we can create a family of performers who want to be here, want to come back here, and want to play their part a t Covent Garden. One good example is Tom A llen , who was so bowled over by last year's Figaro that he said he wanted to come back more and please cou ld we work at it. Correct, Paul?
PF: Yes. Although singers of hi s stature wi ll be in demand throughout the wor ld , it ought to be possible to persuade Tom (who doesn't need persuading) to spend more
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