Everything about The Royal Opera House totally explained
The
Royal Opera House is an
opera house and major performing arts venue in the
London district of
Covent Garden, one of the foremost opera houses in the world. The large building, often referred to as simply "
Covent Garden", is the home of the
Royal Opera, the
Royal Ballet and the
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House.
The current building is the third
theatre on the site. The
façade,
foyer and
auditorium date from 1858, but almost every other element of the present complex dates from an extensive reconstruction in the 1990s. The Royal Opera House seats 2,268 people and consists of four tiers of
boxes and
balconies and the
amphitheatre gallery. The
proscenium is 12.20 m wide and 14.80 m high.
The main auditorium is a Grade 1
listed building.
History
The Davenant Patent
The foundation of the
Theatre Royal, Covent Garden lies in the
letters patent awarded by
Charles II to Sir
William Davenant in
1660, allowing Davenant to operate one of only two
patent theatre companies (
The Duke's Company) in London. The letters patent remained in the possession of the Opera House until shortly after the
First World War, when the document was sold to an American university library.
The first theatre
In
1728,
John Rich, actor-manager of the Duke's Company at Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre, commissioned
The Beggar's Opera from
John Gay. The success of this venture provided him with the capital to build the Theatre Royal (designed by
Edward Shepherd) at the site of an ancient convent garden, part of which had been developed by
Inigo Jones in the 1630s with a piazza and church. In addition, a Royal Charter had created a fruit and vegetable market in the area, a market which survived in that location until 1974. At its opening on
December 7 1732, Rich was carried by his actors in processional triumph into the theatre for its opening production of
William Congreve's
The Way of the World.
During the first hundred years or so of its history, the theatre was primarily a playhouse, with the
Letters Patent granted by Charles II giving Covent Garden and
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane exclusive rights to present spoken drama in London. Despite the frequent interchangeability between the Covent Garden and Drury Lane companies, competition was intense, often presenting the same plays at the same time. Rich introduced
pantomime to the repertoire, himself performing (under the stage name
John Lun, as
Harlequin) and a tradition of seasonal pantomime continued at the modern theatre, until
1939.
In
1734 Covent Garden presented its first ballet,
Pygmalion.
Marie Sallé discarded tradition and her corset and danced in diaphanous robes.
George Frideric Handel was named musical director of the company, at Lincoln's Inn Fields, in
1719, but his first season of opera, at Covent garden, wasn't presented until
1735. His first opera was
Il pastor fido followed by
Ariodante (
1735), the premiere of
Alcina, and
Atalanta the following year. There was a royal performance of the
Messiah in
1743 which was a success and began a tradition of
Lenten oratorio performances. 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, but was among many valuable items lost in a fire that destroyed the theatre in
1808.
In 1775,
Richard Brinsley Sheridan's
The Duenna premiered at Covent Garden.
The second theatre
Rebuilding began in December 1808, and the second Theatre Royal, Covent Garden (designed by
Robert Smirke) opened on
September 18,
1809 with a performance of
Macbeth followed by a musical entertainment called
The Quaker. The actor-manager
John Philip Kemble, 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. The
Old Price Riots lasted over two months, and the management was finally forced to accede to the audience's demands.
During this time, entertainments were varied; opera and
ballet were presented, but not exclusively. Kemble engaged a variety of acts, including the child performer
Master Betty; the great
clown Joseph Grimaldi made his name at Covent Garden. Many famous actors of the day appeared at the theatre, including the tragedienne
Sarah Siddons, the
Shakespearean actors
William Charles Macready,
Edmund Kean and his son
Charles. On March 25,
1833 Edmund Kean collapsed on stage while playing
Othello, and died two months later.
In 1806 the
pantomime clown Joseph Grimaldi (
The Garrick of Clowns) had performed his greatest success in
Harlequin and Mother Goose; or the Golden Egg at Covent Garden, and this was subsequently revived, at the new theatre. Grimaldi was an innovator: his performance as
Joey introduced the clown to the world, building on the existing role of
Harlequin derived from the
Commedia dell'arte. His father had been
ballet-master at Drury Lane, and his physical
comedy, his ability to invent visual
tricks and
buffoonery, and his ability to poke fun at the audience were extraordinary.
Early pantomimes were performed as
mimes accompanied by music, but as
Music hall became popular, Grimaldi introduced the
pantomime dame to the theatre and was responsible for the tradition of audience singing. By 1821 dance and clowning had taken such a physical toll on Grimaldi that he could barely walk, and he retired from the theatre. By 1828, he was penniless, and Covent Garden held a benefit concert for him.
In 1817, bare flame gaslight had replaced the former candles and oil lamps that lighted the Covent Garden stage. This was an improvement, but in 1837 Macready employed
limelight in the theatre for the first time, during a performance of a pantomime,
Peeping Tom of Coventry. Limelight used a block of
quicklime heated by an oxygen and hydrogen flame. This allowed the use of spotlights to highlight performers on the stage.
The
Theatres Act 1843 broke the patent theatres' monopoly of
drama. At that time
Her Majesty's Theatre in the Haymarket was the main centre 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 the company with him. The auditorium was completely remodelled and the theatre reopened as the
Royal Italian Opera on April 6, 1847 with a performance of
Rossini's
Semiramide.
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. Critics considered it a complete failure and Jullien was ruined and fled to America.
The third theatre
On
March 5 1856, the theatre was again destroyed by fire. Work on the third theatre, designed by
Edward Middleton Barry, started in 1857 and the new building, which still remains as the nucleus of the present theatre, opened on
May 15 1858 with a performance of
Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots.
The Royal English Opera company under the management of
Louisa Pyne and
William Harrison, made their last performance at
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on
December 11,
1858 and took up residence at the theatre on
December 20,
1858 with a performance of
Michael Balfe's
Satanella and continued at the theatre until 1864.
The theatre became the
Royal Opera House (ROH) in 1892, and the number of French and German works in the repertory increased. Winter and summer seasons of opera and ballet were given, and the building was also used for pantomime, recitals and political meetings.
During the
First World War the theatre was requisitioned by the Ministry of Works for use as a furniture repository.
From 1934 to 1936
Geoffrey Toye was Managing Director, working alongside the Artistic Director,
Sir Thomas Beecham. Despite early successes Toye and Beecham eventually fell out, and Toye resigned.
During the
Second World War the ROH became a dance hall. There was a possibility that it would remain so after the war but, following lengthy negotiations, the music publishers
Boosey & Hawkes acquired the lease of the building.
David Webster was appointed General Administrator, and
Sadler's Wells Ballet was invited to become the resident ballet company. The Covent Garden Opera Trust was created and laid out plans "to establish Covent Garden as the national centre of opera and ballet, employing British artists in all departments, wherever that's consistent with the maintenance of the best possible standards…"
The Royal Opera House reopened on
February 20 1946 with a performance of
The Sleeping Beauty in an extravagant new production designed by
Oliver Messel. Webster, with his music director
Karl Rankl, immediately began to build a resident company. In December, 1946 they shared their first production,
Purcell's
The Fairy-Queen, with the ballet company. On
January 14,
1947 the Covent Garden Opera Company gave its first performance of
Bizet's
Carmen.
Reconstruction in the 1990s
Several renovations had taken place to parts of the house in the 1960s, including improvements to the amphitheatre and an extension in the rear, but the theatre clearly needed a major overhaul. In 1975 the Labour government gave land adjacent to the Royal Opera House for a long-overdue modernisation, refurbishment and extension. By 1995, sufficient funds had been raised to enable the company to embark upon a major reconstruction of the building by
Carillion, which took place between 1996 and 2000, under the chairmanship of
Sir Angus Stirling. This involved the demolition of almost the whole site including several adjacent buildings to make room for a major increase in the size of the complex. The auditorium itself remained, but well over half of the complex is new.
The design team was lead by Jeremy Dixon and Ed Jones of Dixon Jones BDP as architects. The acoustic designers were Rob Harris and Jeremy Newton of Arup Acoustics. The building engineer was Arup.
The new building has the same traditional horseshoe-shaped auditorium as before, but with greatly improved technical, rehearsal, office and educational facilities, a new studio theatre called the Linbury Theatre, and much more public space. The inclusion of the adjacent old Floral Hall, long a part of the old
Covent Garden Market but in general disrepair for many years, into the actual opera house created a new and extensive public gathering place. The venue is now claimed by the ROH to be the most modern theatre facility in Europe.
Surtitles, projected onto a screen above the proscenium, are used for all opera performances. Also, the
electronic libretto system provides translations onto small video screens for some seats, and additional monitors and screens are to be introduced to other parts of the house.
Opera at the Royal Opera House after 1945
Ballet at the Royal Opera House After 1945
Further Information
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