The Royal Opera House

Welcome a major arts performing venue in London the Royal Opera House .The Royal Opera House is the third theatre on the Covent Garden site. Millions of tourist every year enjoys the famous London attractions and sightseeing. Its history began in 1728 when John Rich, actor/manager at Lincoln's Inn Fields, commissioned The Beggar's Opera from John Gay. The success of the venture provided the capital for the first Theatre Royal at Covent Garden, designed by Edward Shepherd. On the opening night, 7 December 1732, Rich's actors carried him there in triumph for a performance of Congreve's The Way of the World.

For the first hundred years or so of its history the theatre was primarily a playhouse; Letters Patent granted by Charles II had given Covent Garden and Drury Lane almost sole rights to present spoken drama in the capital. London open top bus tours enable you to jump on and off the buses and visit London attractions at your leisure.

The theatre becomes an opera house:

The audience's taste was extremely varied, and so were the entertainments offered. Opera and ballet did appear on the bill of fare, but not exclusively. An evening of excerpts from Shakespeare might well be followed by a performance on the high wire by Madame Sacchi, the Italian acrobat. Then, in 1843, the Theatres Act 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 his company of singers with him. The auditorium was completely remodelled to designs by Benedetto Albano, and the theatre reopened as the Royal Italian Opera on 6 April 1847 with a performance of Rossini's Semiramide.
 
The Royal Opera House reopened with a series of Gala performances celebrating the work of The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera, followed by a new production of Falstaff for The Royal Opera, and a series of performances by The Royal Ballet that celebrated new work and the existing repertory.  Deborah Bull was appointed Artistic Director of ROH2, to programme events in spaces other than the main auditorium and an vibrant and varied body of work has built up throughout the building, some provided by the Royal Opera House Education Department.  The front of House spaces are open Monday to Saturday, from 10.00 to 15.30, and the Amphitheatre Café and Restaurant are open during those times.  Free exhibitions around the building, and lunchtime events in the Paul Hamlyn Hall and Linbury Studio Theatre make the Royal Opera House an interesting and exciting place to visit.  Hop on and Hop off London Bus Tours is the best way to see the sights and sounds of the city with all freedom to hop on and hop off at your favourite destinations and travel London at your leisure.
 
ROH Collections contain hundreds of thousands of items, which will take many years to catalogue. These interactive Highlights offer the opportunity to learn more about selected items in the Collections, and about aspects of the history and work of the Royal Opera House. Each Highlight will enable you to get close to items - see them in detail, hear recordings of staff explaining the objects or reminiscing about the items in use. Highlights may be treasures from the Collections, recent acquisitions, or interesting items from a newly catalogued collection.