London - Royal Opera House and Royal Ballet
Also Known as Covent Garden - Britain's Finest Performing Arts Venue
Aug 29, 2009
For the first hundred years of its life the Theatre Royal was the most luxurious theatre ever built in London. It opened in London’s Covent Garden area in December 1732 with Congreve’s last play,‘The Way of the World’. The current theatre, the Covent Garden Opera House, is the third theatre on this site.
London – Original Royal Opera House Covent Garden
Handel wrote a number of operas especially for the Theatre Royal and The Beggar’s Opera was commissioned from John Gay. The best musicians, playrights and composers of the day were represented here. But, in 1808, disaster struck when the theatre was destroyed by fire. However, within months a new Theatre Royal was being built. Modelled on the Temple of Minerva at Athens, it opened in 1809.
Yet another fire claimed the theatre in 1857 and the current building was constructed and remained virtually unchanged until the early 1980s when a huge extension programme began.
Covent Garden
The Covent Garden area has long been associated with theatre. The oldest established is the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, which opened in 1663 close to the site of the Covent Garden Opera House today. The huge Covent Garden piazza has changed from being a small fruit and vegetable market in 1649 to being an enormous wholesale market which provided produce for retailers all over London. With the increase in traffic it became impossible for the delivery trucks to do their job efficiently and the fruit and vegetable market moved to another area of the city.
The Royal Opera House Covent Garden Today
Today the Royal Opera House is not only home to the Royal Opera but also the Royal Ballet and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. Productions are lavish and consequently ticket prices are generally high but still attract a great following who come to see and hear the very best names in the world of opera. The main auditorium of the Covent Garden opera house is the only remaining part of the original 1858 building.
Helpful Tips for a Visit to the Royal Opera House
- The Royal Opera House is an expensive venue to visit by anyone’s standards, but with 2,268 seats to choose from, you are sure to find one that suits. It is possible to get seats for as low as £10 to £15. The view may not be perfect but the singing (or dancing) will.
- Pick up half price standby tickets for Royal Opera House performances up to half an hour before the performance starts.
- Arrive in Covent Garden a couple of hours before your show starts to enjoy a meal in one of the Royal Opera House’s three restaurants, one of which offers al fresco dining in the summer months on a roof terrace.
- The Royal Opera House does not offer binoculars on the seats. You can either buy a paper pair from the gift shop for a few pounds or bring your own
- Take a Backstage Tour of the Royal Opera House to find out what really goes on behind the scenes at the opera. The tours cost about £10 and will give you an introduction to the history of the theatre and the development of current productions.
 |
 |
 |
