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"A World Stage - The History of the Royal Opera House"
by Paul Mcindoe
The Royal Opera House is the third theatre on the Covent Garden site. In 1728 an actor/manager
by the name of John Rich commissioned "The Beggars Opera" from John Gay, a poet and
dramatist. The success of this production helped provide the capital for the first Theatre Royal to be
built and on the 7th December 1732, it had its opening night.
The theatre was primarily a playhouse for the first hundred years or so, with King Charles II
granting John Rich and the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden, as well as the Drury Lane theatre,
almost exclusive rights to present drama in London. Rich also began developing pantomime as an
art form which led to the tradition of pantomimes being performed every Christmas - a tradition that
lasted until the 1930's at Covent Garden and still continues today at theatres across the country.
The first serious musical works to be performed at Covent Garden were the operas of Handel, who
gave regular seasons there from 1735 until his death in 1759. Unfortunately his organ, which he
had bequeathed to John Rich, was burned, along with most of the theatre, in a fire in 1808.
The rebuilding of the theatre began at once and, in September 1809, the second Theatre Royal
opened in Convent Garden with a performance of Macbeth. To attempt to recoup the costs of
rebuilding the theatre, ticket prices were raised. However, after two months of disgruntled theatre
goers disrupting performances with booing and hissing, prices were forced back down.
In 1846, a dispute with the management at Her Majesty's Theatre (the exclusive home to ballet and
opera in London at the time), conductor Michael Costa aligned himself with Covent Garden, taking
most of his company of singers with him. The auditorium at Convent Garden was completely
remodelled and the theatre re-opened in April 1847 as the Royal Italian Opera.
Fire struck again in 1856, completely destroying the theatre, and work on the third and present
theatre began in 1857, before re-opening in 1858. Just over thirty years later, in 1892, the theatre
officially became the Royal Opera House, with summer and winter seasons of ballet and opera
produced regularly. This carried on until the First and Second World Wars, when the Royal Opera
House became a furniture repository and a dance hall, respectively.
Several renovations took place in the 1960s including improvements to the amphitheater, but it was
clear that the theatre needed a complete overhaul. Despite being given land adjacent to the theatre
to make room for the renovations in 1975, it wasn't until twenty years later before work began when
the newly created National Lottery granted the Opera House £58.5 million towards the rebuilding
costs. The new Royal Opera House was opened in December 1999, with two new, smaller
performance areas added to the theatre as well as the now historic main auditorium.
Now open all day and not just for evening performances, visitors come from all over the world to the
theatre, packing the nearby hotels in London, and enjoying not only the wonderful shows, but also
the beautiful interior of a historic building. The views that the Royal Opera House commands across
London from the Amphitheatre Terrace have delighted tourists and guests since it's re-opening,
almost as much as the productions performed.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_Mcindoe
by Paul Mcindoe
The Royal Opera House is the third theatre on the Covent Garden site. In 1728 an actor/manager
by the name of John Rich commissioned "The Beggars Opera" from John Gay, a poet and
dramatist. The success of this production helped provide the capital for the first Theatre Royal to be
built and on the 7th December 1732, it had its opening night.
The theatre was primarily a playhouse for the first hundred years or so, with King Charles II
granting John Rich and the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden, as well as the Drury Lane theatre,
almost exclusive rights to present drama in London. Rich also began developing pantomime as an
art form which led to the tradition of pantomimes being performed every Christmas - a tradition that
lasted until the 1930's at Covent Garden and still continues today at theatres across the country.
The first serious musical works to be performed at Covent Garden were the operas of Handel, who
gave regular seasons there from 1735 until his death in 1759. Unfortunately his organ, which he
had bequeathed to John Rich, was burned, along with most of the theatre, in a fire in 1808.
The rebuilding of the theatre began at once and, in September 1809, the second Theatre Royal
opened in Convent Garden with a performance of Macbeth. To attempt to recoup the costs of
rebuilding the theatre, ticket prices were raised. However, after two months of disgruntled theatre
goers disrupting performances with booing and hissing, prices were forced back down.
In 1846, a dispute with the management at Her Majesty's Theatre (the exclusive home to ballet and
opera in London at the time), conductor Michael Costa aligned himself with Covent Garden, taking
most of his company of singers with him. The auditorium at Convent Garden was completely
remodelled and the theatre re-opened in April 1847 as the Royal Italian Opera.
Fire struck again in 1856, completely destroying the theatre, and work on the third and present
theatre began in 1857, before re-opening in 1858. Just over thirty years later, in 1892, the theatre
officially became the Royal Opera House, with summer and winter seasons of ballet and opera
produced regularly. This carried on until the First and Second World Wars, when the Royal Opera
House became a furniture repository and a dance hall, respectively.
Several renovations took place in the 1960s including improvements to the amphitheater, but it was
clear that the theatre needed a complete overhaul. Despite being given land adjacent to the theatre
to make room for the renovations in 1975, it wasn't until twenty years later before work began when
the newly created National Lottery granted the Opera House £58.5 million towards the rebuilding
costs. The new Royal Opera House was opened in December 1999, with two new, smaller
performance areas added to the theatre as well as the now historic main auditorium.
Now open all day and not just for evening performances, visitors come from all over the world to the
theatre, packing the nearby hotels in London, and enjoying not only the wonderful shows, but also
the beautiful interior of a historic building. The views that the Royal Opera House commands across
London from the Amphitheatre Terrace have delighted tourists and guests since it's re-opening,
almost as much as the productions performed.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_Mcindoe
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| To the Londoner, Covent Garden is three things. First it was the wholesale fruit and vegetable market, now relocated to Nine Elms and called the New Covent Garden Market. Second, it's the area of the Old Market, now redeveloped into shops and restaurants, with street entertainers etc, and very popular with tourists. And third, it's the Royal Opera House. |
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| A postcard from 1906. |
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