The Royal Opera House

The Royal Opera House is one of the worlds leading opera houses and is home of the Royal Opera, the Royal Ballet and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. It is the third theatre on the Covent Garden site. Its history began in 1728 when John Rich established the first Theatre Royal and on the opening night, Rich's actors carried him inside in triumph, for a performance of “The Way of the World”. The first serious musical works were the operas of Handel from 1735 until his death in 1759 and many of his operas were written for Covent Garden or had their first London performances here. 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 theatre in 1808.

Rebuilding began at once and the second Theatre Royal, Covent Garden opened on 18th September 1809 with a performance of “Macbeth”. The tastes of the audience were extremely varied, and so were the entertainments offered. Opera and ballet did appear on the bill, but not exclusively. An evening of excerpts from Shakespeare might well be followed by a performance on the high wire by Madame Sacchi, the Italian acrobat.

In 1852, Louis Antoine Jullien, the French eccentric composer of light music and conductor, presented an opera of his own composition, “Pietro il Grande”. Five performances were given of the 'spectacular', including live horses on the stage and very loud music. However, when critics considered it a complete failure, Jullien was ruined and fled to America.

In 1856 disaster struck again. For the second time the theatre was completely destroyed by fire. Financial constraints delayed work on the third and present theatre, but it was eventually opened on 15th May 1858 with a performance of Meyerbeer's “Les Huguenots”. During the First World War the theatre was requisitioned by the Ministry of Works for use as a furniture repository and during Second World War it became a Mecca Dance Hall. The Opera House was reopened on 20th February 1946 with a performance of “Sleeping Beauty” in a sumptuous new production which did much to dispel the post-war gloom. In 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.

Photo © Sylvain Deleu

Photo © Sylvain Deleu

The Royal Opera House has an unusual twisted bridge called the Bridge of Aspirations which connects the Opera House to the Royal Ballet School.