The woman who rescued the Royal Ballet

Three times she was passed over for the top job, never considered, not even asked to apply.

On the fourth occasion, they turned to Monica Mason in desperation. She pulled the company out of a downward spiral and, over ten years, restored it to the creative heights last attained when Fonteyn and Nyreyev were in residence.

How did she do that? On the Lebrecht Interview, tomorrow, on the eve of her final season, Dame Monica tells all.

Expect the truth, whole and unvarnished. In the 1990s when I was writing Covent Garden: The Untold Story, Monica was the one person I could rely on for plain facts, free of self-advertisement. She is a genuine heroine of the arts. Listen for yourselves and see if you don’t agree.

Mon & Me.