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Royal Opera House

The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a historic opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. The first theatre on the site, the Theatre Royal (1732), served primarily as a playhouse for the first hundred years of its history. In 1734, the first ballet was presented. A year later, the first season of operas, by George Frideric Handel, began. Many of his operas and oratorios were specifically written for Covent Garden and had their premieres there.

This article is about the opera house in London. For the post-1945 opera company, see The Royal Opera. For other uses, see Royal Opera (disambiguation).

Full name

The Royal Opera House

Theatre Royal, Covent Garden (until 1892)

London, WC2

London Underground Covent Garden
Bus: 6, 11, 14, 26, 59, 98, 139, 168, 176

Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation

2,256 (main auditorium)

1728–1732 (original building)

7 December 1732 (1732-12-07)

Edward Shepherd (original building)
Edward Middleton Barry (current building)

Lucas Brothers (current building)

The current building is the third theatre on the site, following disastrous fires in 1808 and 1856 to previous buildings.[2] 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 main auditorium seats 2,256 people, making it the third largest in London, and consists of four tiers of boxes and balconies and the amphitheatre gallery. The proscenium is 14.80 metres (48 ft 7 in) wide, with the stage of the same depth and 12.20 metres (40 ft 0 in) high. The main auditorium is a Grade I listed building.[3]

– 2008 to 2016

British Academy Film Awards

– 2012 to 2016

Laurence Olivier Awards

In addition to opera and ballet performances, the Royal Opera House has hosted a number of other events including:

Owners, lessees and managers of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

European Route of Historic Theatres

Banham, Martin (1995). The Cambridge Guide to Theatre. Cambridge University Press.  0-521-43437-8.

ISBN

Jefferson, Alan (1979). Sir Thomas Beecham: a Centenary Tribute. London: Macdonald and Jane's.  0-354-04205-X.

ISBN

Parker, E.D. (1900). . London: Saxon & Co.

Opera under Augustus Harris

(1967). Opera at Covent Garden, A Short History. London: Victor Gollancz. ISBN 0-575-01158-0.

Rosenthal, Harold

Sheppard, F.H.W., ed. (1972). Survey of London, Volume XXXV: The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. London: Athlone Press.  0-485-48235-5.

ISBN

Official website

Royal Opera House Collections Online (Archive Collections Catalogue and Performance Database)

Royal Opera House elevation

Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport's 1998 Report on funding and management issues at the Royal Opera House

Articles, Images, and Archive Material

Theatre History