Sir John Tooley (1 June 1924 – 18 March 2020)[1] was an English musical administrator who served as the general director of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Central London.
[4] In 1952 he was appointed secretary to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, remaining in the post until 1955, when he began his career at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
In the late 1960s, Webster's health became uncertain, and much of the day-to-day business of running the opera house fell to Tooley.
He promoted regular meetings of the heads of these houses, with the aim of resisting excessive fees for star singers and also of sharing costs by staging co-productions.
[5] Tooley held a large number of other appointments in the musical world, serving as a trustee or board member of the Walton Trust, the Britten Estate, the Southbank Centre and the Welsh National Opera among others.