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The Royal Opera House is the third theater on the Covent Garden site. |
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The Royal Opera House is the third theater on the Covent Garden site. Its history began in 1728 when John Rich, actor/manager at Lincoln's Inn Fields, commissioned The Beggar's Opera from John Gay. The success of the venture provided the capital for the first Theaterhttp://www.semperoper.de/ Royal at Covent Garden, designed by Edward Shepherd. On the opening night, 7 December 1732, Rich's actors carried him there in triumph for a performance of Congreve's The Way of the World.
For the first hundred years or so of its history the theater was primarily a playhouse; Letters Patent granted by Charles II had given Covent Garden and Drury Lane almost sole rights to present spoken drama in the capital.
Rich himself was a famous Harlequin, appearing under the stage name of Lun. During his management he developed pantomime as an art form in its own right, and the tradition of Christmas pantomimes at Covent Garden survived until the 1930s. The last pantomime performed there was Francis La idler's Little Red Riding Hood in December/January 1938/39.
The first serious musical works to be heard at Covent Garden were the operas of Handel. From 1735 until his death in 1759 he gave regular seasons there, and many of his operas and oratorios were written for Covent Garden or had their first London performances there. He bequeathed his organ to John Rich, and it was placed in a prominent position on the stage. Unfortunately it was among many valuable items lost in a fire that destroyed the theater in 1808.
Rebuilding began at once. The foundation stone, later incorporated in the present structure, was laid by the Prince of Wales, later George IV, on 31 December 1808 and the second Theater Royal, Covent Garden opened on 18 September 1809 with a performance of Macbeth followed by a musical entertainment called The Quaker.
The management, among them the actor John Philip Kemble and his sister Sarah Sid dons, raised seat prices to help recoup the cost of rebuilding, but the move was so unpopular that audiences disrupted performances by beating sticks, hissing, booing and dancing.An illustration of magistrates reading The Price Riots in 1809The O.P. (Old Prices) riots lasted over two months, and the management was finally forced to accede to the audience's demands.
The theater becomes an opera house
The audience's taste was extremely varied, and so were the entertainments offered. Opera and ballet did appear on the bill of fare, but not exclusively. An evening of excerpts from Shakespeare might well be followed by a performance on the high wire by Madame Sac chi, the Italian acrobat. Then, in 1843, the Theaters Act broke the patent theaters' monopoly of drama. At that time Her Majesty's Theater in the Hay market was the main center of ballet and opera, but after a dispute with the management in 1846 Michael Costa, conductor at Her Majesty's, transferred his allegiance to Covent Garden, bringing most of his company of singers with him. The auditorium was completely remodeled to designs by Benedetto Albano, and the theater reopened as the Royal Italian Opera on 6 April 1847 with a performance of Rossini's Semiramis.
The Royal Opera House
The fire of 1856On 5 March 1856 disaster struck again. For the second time the theater was completely destroyed by fire. Although rebuilding was felt to be imperative, financial considerations delayed matters. Work on the third and present theater eventually started in 1857 and the new building opened on 15 May 1858 with a performance of Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots.
The theater became the Royal Opera House in 1892 as the number of French and German works in the repertory increased. Winter and summer seasons of opera and ballet were given. In between seasons the theater was either closed or offered such diverse fare as film shows, cabarets, lectures or dancing.During the First World War the theater was requisitioned by the Ministry of Works for use as a furniture repository. During the Second World War it became a Mecca Dance Hall. There was a possibility that it would remain a dance hall after the war but, following lengthy negotiations, the music publishers Boosey and Hawkes acquired the lease of the building. David Webster was appointed General Administrator and Ninette de Valois's Sadler's Wells Ballet was invited to become the resident ballet company.
They reopened the Opera House on 20 February 1946 with a performance of The Sleeping Beauty in a sumptuous new production designed by Oliver Messel which did much to dispel the post-war gloom. There was no opera company suitable for transfer to the Royal Opera House, but David Webster, with his music director Karl Rankl, immediately began to build a comparable resident company. In December 1946 they shared their first production, The Fairy Queen, with the ballet company. On 14 January 1947 the Covent Garden Opera Company gave its first performance of Carmen. The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera were granted their Royal Charters in 1956 and 1968 respectively.
The Redevelopment
The completion of one of the roof finials The Royal Opera House, as you see it today, opened on 4 December 1999. Its reconstruction actually began on site in 1996 with the last performance in the 'old' house in July 1997. In three years the most inadequate of the great opera houses of the world was transformed, not only for audiences, but equally for performers and the hundreds of other people who work here. By remaining on its historic site the Royal Opera House has enriched Covent Garden and reinforced its status as part of London's cultural heartland.
The provenance of the new Royal Opera House began as far back as 1984 when, following the announcement of a competition to find an architect to design a new theater for the site, Jeremy Dixon with Bill Jack of Building Design Partnership (BDP) won it. However, it was not until 1995 following the creation of the National Lottery, that the Opera House was granted £58.5m towards re-building costs. The new building was finally realized in December 1999 when the new architectural team of Jeremy Dixon and Edward Jones with BDP (Dixon.Jones.BDP) revealed the £178m Royal Opera House to the public.
The exterior of the Floral Hall after the redevelopment today, we can offer daytime opening to the visiting public and this has been a liberating experience. It's hard to recall that before 1999, this great theater only opened its doors just before performances and then exclusively to ticket holders. Now, thousands of visitors from all over the world are welcomed here each year. Peering over the Piazza, they marvel at the views from the Amphitheater Terrace, with great landmarks of our capital city such as the London Eye and Nelson's Column beyond. Our guests are now able to enjoy lunch here, pop into the Shop and wander around looking at exhibitions and appreciate the 'wow' factor on entering the Paul Hamlyn Hall: still the most beautiful bar in London. Everyone now moves around with a fluency and ease that did not exist before. Lifts and escalators make us one of the most accessible theaters in Britain today.
In addition the Royal Opera House now has two performing spaces in addition to the historic main auditorium. The 400 seat Lin bury Studio Theater is a major mid-scale public theater, ideal for chamber opera, experimental dance, education activities and provides an energetic source of new creative ideas for the resident companies. The Clore Studio Upstairs is a Royal Ballet studio that can hold an audience of around 180 for more intimate events and performances and offers the luxury of laboratory-style experimentation.
Membership Programmer
The Friends of Covent Garden
Support the work of The Royal Opera and The Royal Ballet and enjoy priority booking for all performances at the Royal Opera House
Trust Membership
Personal service from dedicated Box Office staff, high level priority booking and a program me of special events for individual and corporate supporters
More Ways to Support ROH
Individual Support
Make a gift to the Royal Opera House Foundation in support of ROH Education, a production, artistic project or behind the scenes work.
Corporate Support
A dynamic range of involvement opportunities, tailored to meet your business objectives. Extend your brand, engage with clients, team build with your staff; we have a proven track record of creating memorable experiences both main stage and behind the curtain. Contact Ilona Harris on +44 (0)20 7212 9510 or email ilona.harris@roh.org.uk.
We like getting your feedback! If you have any comments or questions about the website, or your experience of the Royal Opera House in general, please e-mail the Webmaster.
You can also contact us on our main switchboard number:
020 7240 1200 or write to us at:
Royal Opera House
Bow Street
Covent Garden
London WC2E 9DD
For all ticket enquiries please contact the Box Office on
020 7304 4000 or email onlinebooking@roh.org.uk
Thank you. |
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