New stage for BBC high flier

Hall manages 2,000 journalists and 57 news bureaux

Tony Hall, the new head of the Royal Opera House, has spent virtually all his working life with the BBC.

He began his career as a trainee in the newsroom in Belfast in the 1970s and worked his way up to chief executive of BBC News.

As such Hall was one of the most powerful men in the corporation, in charge of 2,000 journalists across television, radio and new media.

The media skills he has to offer will prove useful in bolstering the image of the Royal Opera House (ROH), whose mixed fortunes have hit headlines in recent years.

He studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Keeble College, Oxford and went on to write two books: King Coal, a history of the miners, in 1981 and Nuclear Power in 1984.

Under new management: Royal Opera House

His early career saw him working on virtually every BBC News programme. He became the editor of news and current affairs in television in 1987.

It was under his direction that specialist units launched covering foreign affairs, social affairs, politics, business and economics.

He became director of news and current affairs in 1990 under John Birt, then director-general.

It was Hall who managed the merging of the television and radio newsgathering operations.

When he joined the BBC's board of management as managing director of news in 1993, he continued to modernise the news directorate.

He established Britain's first 24-hour news and sport radio station, Radio 5Live.

Hall will manage ballet as well as opera

Appointed as chief executive of BBC News in 1996, Hall oversaw the launch of BBC News 24 and BBC News Online in 1997.

Three years later he was promoted to director of news, but lost the battle for the job of director general to Greg Dyke.

Hall left the BBC following a critical set of changes - the moving of BBC News from 9pm to 10pm, and Panorama from Monday to Sunday.

He had also been given the job of being BBC "race champion", charged with doubling the numbers of staff from ethnic minorities.

Despite news having dominated his working life, Hall is known to be an opera lover, and his move to pastures new is no doubt welcome.