Aug. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Aside from the occasional death threat or whack on the head, Peter Jonas says he's having a great time running the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, which just celebrated its 350th birthday.

Not everyone likes what the dapper Englishman -- the opera's ``intendant,'' or general manager -- puts on the stage. One incensed Wagnerite actually tried to beat him up in the stalls during the first intermission of a new production of ``Parsifal'' several years ago. Jonas has been at the state opera for 11 years, and plans to stay another two years until he retires in 2006.

His longevity bespeaks success. It's not easy running an opera company: You must be diplomat, producer, programmer, marketer, fundraiser, hell-raiser with an artistic vision, and still fill the house. You must have the courage to constantly renew an art form derided in some corners as elitist and obsolete. (And you must have what the German's call ``Sitzfleisch,'' required to sit through long works by Wagner, again and again.)

The Bavarian State Opera -- with a longer season than New York's Metropolitan Opera -- is an even bigger challenge.

Juggling Act

In 10 months and two weeks, Jonas, 58, must juggle 370 performances of 48 opera productions and 25 ballet productions --10 of them new. Somehow, he keeps the house at least 90 percent full. His experience at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, where he was named director of artistic administration in 1976, and the English National Opera, where he was appointed general director in 1984, prepared him well for the job.

Bloomberg's Robert Hilferty recently caught up with Sir Peter for an Italian meal at Via Veneto near the National Theater, the opera's home. Jonas, a tall, striking presence (jeans, chiffon shirt, cerulean eyes, white hair), once considered being an actor (think Peter O'Toole crossed with Boris Karloff). Then he fell in love with opera.

Hate Letters? Ja, Bitte!

Bloomberg: You have encouraged non-traditional productions right here in Munich, where especially Wagner is sacred to many: four of his operas premiered here. And then there's the association with Hitler, who carried on about Wagner as if he was his personal composer.

Jonas: There's no question there's a core of Wagner fundamentalism here very much tied to what is perceived as the tradition of Wagner interpretation. But actually there is no one tradition of anything, and there is no consensus of how Wagner should be done.

Basically, in this country if you don't get hate letters after a new production of ``Meistersinger,'' then you've done something wrong. If you don't get fan letters after a new production of ``Meistersinger,'' you've done something wrong. There must be a polarization of opinions.

Bloomberg: You wasted no time courting controversy when you first got here by hiring the American David Alden to direct ``Tannhauser.''

Jonas: The production is 10 years old, but still gets under people's skin here. The costumes are half-medieval and half- Goebbels chic, circa 1936. In the second act, you see the words ``Germania Nostra'' on a wall. It is this longing for a pan-German ideal that Alden investigates so subtly. There's no hitting you on the head with jackboots, swastikas and barbed wire.

Bloomberg: But in the last act, there are those creepy train tracks breaking through the crumbling wall with ``Germania Nostra'' in tatters.

Jonas: I remember the first night there were riots in the wing. But the critics loved it, and it won a lot of prizes. It was a real introduction to me how important it is for these events to be confrontational.

Hitler Salute

Bloomberg: Although the new production of ``Meistersinger'' is an updating and a startling departure from the prior traditional production that's been status quo for 25 years, it doesn't seem all that confrontational.

In this very house in 1933, after a performance of ``Meistersinger,'' the audience stood up, made the Hitler salute and sang the ``Deutschland'' song.

Jonas: Some Wagnerian fundamentalists are shocked because the pomp and circumstance has been sucked out of this production. But it doesn't directly confront the piece's performance history, which would be too obvious. And I think it's the right solution because nothing you can say or do is right with ``Meistersinger'' in this house.

Myth and `The Ring'

Bloomberg: What about the recent ``Ring'' cycle, which divorces the story from its mythic context and places it in the banality of everyday contemporary life?

Jonas: It triggered a ferocious argument between those who say, `enough is enough' and those who say, `Let's explore this further.' Our ``Ring'' won a lot of new admirers for Wagner -- people who really hated it before. At the same time, there was an elderly journalist, an embittered man, who wrote a leading article in a major paper denouncing this production as practically a crime against humanity. That's how serious things are taken here.

Bloomberg: What's the hardest thing to learn over your career as artistic administrator?

Jonas: When I went to the Chicago Symphony it took me a couple of years to realize that there were just as many child molesters, rapists, criminals and thieves among the greatest musical artists as in other sector of society. It's terrible to think that a violinist who can play a Bach partita brilliantly or a conductor who gives you great insight into Beethoven can be the biggest monster you ever met. It's a very difficult lesson to learn.

Fundraising and Subsidies

Bloomberg: How has financing opera changed over your tenure?

Jonas: When I first arrived here, the average self-generated income of opera companies was running at about 9 percent or 10 percent. The rest was subsidy. The Bavarian State Opera was an exception in that it was earning more for itself, about 20 percent.

Now we are hitting nearly 40 percent. That's a radical difference in 10 years. The whole funding structure has changed, and we now have to fund raise as hard as any American organization -- and remember, there are no tax breaks here.

Bloomberg: How to bring in younger audiences, thereby ensuring opera's future?

Jonas: We've tried to project a young, vibrant company with our graphic image -- and nine of our posters are in the permanent collection of New York's Museum of Modern Art. We have very expensive seats, but there are also very cheap seats -- cheaper than anything at the Met.

BMW Support

There is also a quota of student tickets, so while we lose the quick buck, we insure our future base. And then there's our ``Opera for All'' campaign, subsidized by BMW, which brings free transmissions on the square, adding about 40,000 extra viewers.

Bloomberg: How would you sum up your contribution here over the years?

Jonas: I helped reintroduce the Baroque repertory to this town. Our 1993 ``Julius Caesar'' (by Handel) triggered a huge Baroque revival in Europe, so that now, a new production of ``Alcina'' sells out faster than ``La Boheme.'' I've renovated the Wagner repertory with productions I'm very proud of, even though they've upset some.

But I think the greatest achievement is that I've survived here for 13 years, assassination attempts and slander notwithstanding. That means there's been a tremendous stability in the company, which is a place where directors, designers, conductors and singers love to work.

Taking a Hike

Bloomberg: What will you do after you leave here in 2006?

Jonas: I am not going to take over any opera company or festival. Salzburg and the Metropolitan Opera asked me if I was `approachable,' but my heart lies elsewhere. I've been doing this sort of thing for 34 years.

Think about the fact that I've given up my weekends, the endless performances to attend. I would like to quote my friend Joe Volpe, general manager of the Met, who put it very well: `Would you excuse me if I try and find my life?'

Bloomberg: So what will you do?

Jonas: I have two great walking plans. One is to walk from Inverness in the north of Scotland to Palermo, which will take about five months. Then, after a rest -- and if my legs are still functioning -- I will try to walk from Warsaw to Lisbon.

Last Updated: August 16, 2004 19:15 EDT