The Royal Opera House: Covent Garden, London

The Royal Opera House, located in Covent Garden, London, is one of the world's most respected opera companies. In existence since 1728, the current Royal Opera House is the third Royal Opera House built on the same location.

The Royal Opera House's story begins in 1660, when King Charles II awarded Sir William Davenport official permissionto operate a theatre company (the Duke's Company) in London.

In 1728, John Rich, an actor and manager in the Duke's Company, began building the first Theatre Royal in Covent Garden with profits made from a successful run of John Gay's "The Beggar's Opera."

The first Royal Opera House opened on Dec. 7, 1732, with William Congreve's "The Way of the World."For the first 100 years of its existence, the Theatre Royal was a playhouse, locked in competition with Drury Lane, the only other company to receive official permission to perform drama in London.

In 1719, composer George Frideric Handel was named musical director for the Covent Garden Theater Royal, and the Theatre Royal began its long transformation from playhouse to the Royal Opera House. Handel launched the first Royal Opera season in 1735 with a production of "Il pastor fido."

Handel managed a number of opera seasons between 1735 and 1759. Many of his operas and operettas were first performed at the Royal Opera House. He also gave a royal performance of "The Messiah" in 1743 that inspired a long tradition of oratorio performances at Covent Garden for Lent.

Fire destroyed the first Royal Opera House in 1808, taking with it Handel's organ, which had a place of honor on the stage since his death.

 

The second Theatre Royal, as the Royal Opera House was called in its early days, opened on Sept. 18, 1809. Performances were varied and included ballet, opera and pantomime. In one particularly extravagant pantomime, a real elephant was brought on stage.

The Theatre Act of 1843 broke the monopoly Drury Lane and the Theatre Royal held in London, and competition increased. Her Majesty's Theatre in Haymarket began to dominate ballet and opera in London.

In 1846, however, the Theatre Royal scored a coup when Her Majesty's Theatre fell out with conductor Michael Costa. Costa relocated to Covent Garden, and most of Her Majesty's Theatre's company moved with him.

In 1856, the Theatre Royal burned a second time, only to reopen in 1858. The Theatre Royal became the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden in 1892.

London has seen the Royal Opera House close twice since 1892. During World War I, the Ministry of Works used the opera house as a furniture warehouse.

During World War II, the Royal Opera House became a dancehall, and it seemed likely to remain so after the war. Music publishers Boosey and Hawkes, however, were able to acquire the building lease, and Covent Garden saw the reopening of the Royal Opera House in 1946 with "Sleeping Beauty."

By the 1990s, the existing building was badly in need of renovations. To completely refurbish the opera house, £220 million was required. Only the façade, auditorium and foyer remain from the 1858 building.

Resources

Covent-garden.co.uk (n.d.). The Royal Opera House. Retrieved December 15, 2007, from the covent-garden Web site: www.covent-garden.co.uk/historieso/operahouse.html.

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (n.d.). Royal Opera House, Covent Garden: History and Heritage. Retrieved December 15, 2007, from the fsz.bme.hu Web site: www.fsz.bme.hu/opera/roh_history.html.

Royaloperahouse.edu (n.d.). Royal Opera House. Retrieved December 15, 2007, from the royaloperahouse.edu Web site: www.royaloperahouse.eu/.

Street Sensation (n.d.). The Royal Opera House in Covent Graden. Retrieved December 15, 2007, from the Street Sensation Web site: www.streetsensation.co.uk/sights/royal_opera_house.htm.