The House (television documentary)
Encyclopedia
The House is an award-winning
fly on the wall
documentary television series in six episodes which showed various behind-the-scenes events at the Royal Opera House
, Covent Garden
. It was filmed by the BBC
in 1995, and first broadcast on BBC2 in early 1996 to an audience of four million viewers.
." The production team was "directly involved in illustrating and manufacturing the confrontations and issues raised by its content, most concretely through Jancis Robinson
's arch and critical voice-over
".
commented "A six-part BBC documentary revealed the establishment to be as rife with power struggles and diva
fits offstage as on." Michael Kaiser
, who became general director of the Opera House in 1998, remarked that "The House only confirmed the general belief that the Royal Opera House was, at best, incompetent, and, at worst, completely devoted to the needs of the rich."
However, while Peter Popham in The Independent
mentioned the "six-week display of dirty laundry courtesy of the BBC's documentary cameras", he later pointed out that "for all the moaning about unfairness that preceded the showing of The House, the documentary series has done Covent Garden enormous good in terms of public interest; requests to join the mailing list have poured in, and ticket sales are up. Whatever the backstage controversies the programme exposed, it also revealed the true glamour and excitement of an opera house's work, which has nothing to do with tedious arguments about elitism."
Keith Cooper, the Opera House's public-relations director, seen dismissing staff in The House, reappeared on TV for a seventh episode in July 1998. The Royal Opera House refused to co-operate. "The cameras were denied entry to the building, and the new chairman, Sir Colin Southgate, forbade staff from participating."
The House débâcle
is still remembered. In 2010, Laura Battle, in an article in The Financial Times about an outreach initiative by Glyndebourne Festival Opera
, remarked
"Ever since The House – the notorious BBC documentary series on the Royal Opera House in the mid-1990s that revealed embittered staff and shocking mismanagement of finances, and had disastrous consequences for the company – arts institutions have been very guarded about television exposure."
In 1997, it won the award for Best Factual Series in the British Academy Television Awards 1997
and the Royal Television Society
's Broadcasting Press Guild
Award for Best Documentary Series, and was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award for Best Editing (Factual).
Award
An award is something given to a person or a group of people to recognize excellence in a certain field; a certificate of excellence. Awards are often signifiedby trophies, titles, certificates, commemorative plaques, medals, badges, pins, or ribbons...
fly on the wall
Fly on the wall
Fly on the wall is a style of documentary-making used in filmmaking and television production. The name derived from the idea that events are seen candidly, as a fly on a wall might see them...
documentary television series in six episodes which showed various behind-the-scenes events at the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
, Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
. It was filmed by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in 1995, and first broadcast on BBC2 in early 1996 to an audience of four million viewers.
A docusoap precursor
Stella Bruzzi, in New documentary, describes the series as having been "the immediate precursor to docusoaps (which the BBC produced) and factual entertainmentFactual television
Factual television is a genre of non-fiction television programming that documents actual events and people. These type of programs are also described as documentary, observational documentary, fly on the wall, docudrama, and reality television...
." The production team was "directly involved in illustrating and manufacturing the confrontations and issues raised by its content, most concretely through Jancis Robinson
Jancis Robinson
Jancis Mary Robinson OBE, MW is a British wine critic, journalist and editor of wine literature. She currently writes a weekly column for the Financial Times, and writes for her website jancisrobinson.com...
's arch and critical voice-over
Voice-over
Voice-over is a production technique where a voice which is not part of the narrative is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations...
".
Episodes
- (16 January) Star Struck: Denyce GravesDenyce GravesDenyce Graves is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer.-Early life:Graves was born on March 7, 1964, to Charles Graves and Dorothy Graves-Kenner. She is the middle of three children and was raised by her mother on Galveston Street, S.W., in the Bellevue section of Washington...
makes her debut as CarmenCarmenCarmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
; the Box officeBox officeA box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
manager is sacked. - (23 January) Horse Trading: The budgets for Káťa KabanováKáta KabanováKáťa Kabanová is an opera in three acts, with music by Leoš Janáček to a libretto by Vincenc Červinka, based on The Storm, a play by Alexander Ostrovsky. The opera was also largely inspired by Janáček's love for Kamila Stösslová...
and The Sleeping Beauty have been overspent by more than £240,000; slippery floors and rival ballerinaBallerinaA ballerina is a title used to describe a principal female professional ballet dancer in a large company; the male equivalent to this title is danseur or ballerino...
s cause further problems. - (30 January) Foot Fault: Thomas Allen receives an urgent call-up to appear in The Marriage of FigaroThe Marriage of FigaroLe nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
, as fellow baritoneBaritoneBaritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
Jeffrey BlackJeffrey BlackJeffrey Black , is an internationally acclaimed opera singer. He studied singing at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, and appeared in many of the operas staged by the Conservatorium students and post-graduate students, including appearing in the role of "Figaro", as a First year Opera...
has lost his voice. Allen has not previously appeared in this production. - (6 February) High Hopes: Protracted discussions about pay take place between management and trade unionTrade unionA trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s; traditionalists and modernists battle over a revival of Harrison BirtwistleHarrison BirtwistleSir Harrison Paul Birtwistle CH is a British contemporary composer.-Life:Birtwistle was born in Accrington, a mill town in Lancashire some 20 miles north of Manchester. His interest in music was encouraged by his mother, who bought him a clarinet when he was seven, and arranged for him to have...
's GawainGawain (opera)Gawain is an opera with music by Harrison Birtwistle to a libretto by David Harsent. The story is based on the Middle English romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The opera was a commission from the Royal Opera House, London, where it was first performed on 30 May 1991. Rhian Samuel has...
. - (13 February) Settling Scores: Nicholas Payne, Director of Opera, tries to balance business and art.
- (20 February) Winning Ticket: Established older dancers of The Royal Ballet have to be laid off in order to save money."
Reception and aftermath
The series received a lot of publicity. Reactions in the press and elsewhere perhaps came as a surprise to the staff of the Opera House, who had co-operated with the film-makers. The BBC's website noted that the documentary "disclosed the rifts and acrimony behind the scenes"; New York magazineNew York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
commented "A six-part BBC documentary revealed the establishment to be as rife with power struggles and diva
Diva
A diva is a celebrated female singer. The term is used to describe a woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, and, by extension, in theatre, cinema and popular music. The meaning of diva is closely related to that of "prima donna"....
fits offstage as on." Michael Kaiser
Michael Kaiser
Michael M. Kaiser is president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.Dubbed "the turnaround king" for his work at such arts institutions as the Kansas City Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre and the Royal Opera House, Kaiser has...
, who became general director of the Opera House in 1998, remarked that "The House only confirmed the general belief that the Royal Opera House was, at best, incompetent, and, at worst, completely devoted to the needs of the rich."
However, while Peter Popham in The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
mentioned the "six-week display of dirty laundry courtesy of the BBC's documentary cameras", he later pointed out that "for all the moaning about unfairness that preceded the showing of The House, the documentary series has done Covent Garden enormous good in terms of public interest; requests to join the mailing list have poured in, and ticket sales are up. Whatever the backstage controversies the programme exposed, it also revealed the true glamour and excitement of an opera house's work, which has nothing to do with tedious arguments about elitism."
Keith Cooper, the Opera House's public-relations director, seen dismissing staff in The House, reappeared on TV for a seventh episode in July 1998. The Royal Opera House refused to co-operate. "The cameras were denied entry to the building, and the new chairman, Sir Colin Southgate, forbade staff from participating."
The House débâcle
Debacle
A débâcle is an event that turns out as a disaster. It is also the name of:*Debacle: The First Decade an album by the Violent Femmes*La Débâcle a novel by Emile Zola* A 2009 Nike SB skateboarding video...
is still remembered. In 2010, Laura Battle, in an article in The Financial Times about an outreach initiative by Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an English opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.-History:...
, remarked
"Ever since The House – the notorious BBC documentary series on the Royal Opera House in the mid-1990s that revealed embittered staff and shocking mismanagement of finances, and had disastrous consequences for the company – arts institutions have been very guarded about television exposure."
Awards
In 1996, the series won the Emmy Arts Documentary award at the International Emmys, and was nominated for a RTS Television Award for Best Tape & Film Editing - Documentary & Factual.In 1997, it won the award for Best Factual Series in the British Academy Television Awards 1997
British Academy Television Awards 1997
The 1997 British Academy Television Awards were held on April 29 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, as a joint ceremony with the British Academy Film Awards...
and the Royal Television Society
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
's Broadcasting Press Guild
Broadcasting Press Guild
The Broadcasting Press Guild is a British association of journalists who specialise in writing and broadcasting about television, radio and the media generally....
Award for Best Documentary Series, and was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award for Best Editing (Factual).
Sources
- Bruzzi, Stella. (2006) New documentary, 2nd ed. London: Routledge. ISBN 0 415 38525-3
- Kaiser, Michael M. (2008) The art of the turnaround: creating and maintaining healthy arts organizations. Lebanon, N.H: Brandeis University Press. ISBN 978-1-58465-735-4