If ever a job needed diplomacy it must be as General Director of the Royal Opera House, a post John Tooley held from 1970 until 1988. He was also Assistant…

In any history of The Royal Ballet, a special place must be reserved for Lynn Seymour, as the dance actress par excellence. Here she tells Alastair Macaulay about her initial…

Violetta Elvin was one of Frederick Ashton’s favourite ballerinas. She was born Violetta Prokhorova in Russia. Here, in this interview with Patricia Linton, founder and director of Voices of British…