Difference between revisions of "Royal Opera House" - New World Encyclopedia

From New World Encyclopedia
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=== The third theatre ===
 
=== 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 [[Giacomo Meyerbeer|Meyerbeer's]] ''[[Les Huguenots]]''.  
+
On [[March 5]] [[1856]], the theater was again destroyed by fire. Work on the third theater, designed by [[Edward Middleton Barry]], started in 1857, and the new building, which still remains as the nucleus of the present theater, opened on May 15, 1858, with a performance of [[Giacomo Meyerbeer|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'' <ref>''Reviews'', "Drury-Lane Theatre", [[The Times]]'', [[December 13]], [[1858]], pg. 10</ref> and continued at the theatre until 1864.
+
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 theater on December 20, 1858, with a performance of [[Michael Balfe]]'s ''Satanella.''
  
−
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.
+
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 [[World War I|First World War]] the theatre was requisitioned by the Ministry of Works for use as a furniture repository.
+
During the [[World War I|First World War]], the theater 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, [[Thomas Beecham|Sir Thomas Beecham]]. Despite early successes Toye and Beecham eventually fell out, and Toye resigned.<ref>Jefferson, Alan, ''Sir Thomas Beecham: a Centenary Tribute'', London: Macdonald and Jane’s, 1979 ISBN 0-354-04205-x</ref>
+
From 1934 to 1936, [[Geoffrey Toye]] was Managing Director, working alongside the Artistic Director, [[Thomas Beecham|Sir Thomas Beecham]]. Despite early successes, Toye and Beecham eventually had a falling out and Toye resigned.<ref>Alan Jefferson, ''Sir Thomas Beecham: A Centenary Tribute'' (London: Macdonald and Jane’s, 1979, ISBN 0-354-04205-x).</ref>
  
−
During the [[World War II|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 (opera manager)|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 is consistent with the maintenance of the best possible standards&hellip;"<ref>Rosenthal, see below</ref>
+
During the [[World War II|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 (opera manager)|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 center of opera and ballet, employing British artists in all departments, wherever that is consistent with the maintenance of the best possible standards."<ref>Rosenthal.</ref>
  
−
The Royal Opera House reopened on [[February 20]] [[1946]] with a performance of ''[[The Sleeping Beauty (ballet)|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, [[Henry Purcell|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]]''.
+
The Royal Opera House reopened on February 20, 1946, with a performance of ''[[The Sleeping Beauty (ballet)|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, [[Henry Purcell|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 ===
 
=== Reconstruction in the 1990s ===

Revision as of 17:50, 27 August 2008

This is an article about the Royal Opera House in London. For details of the post-1945 opera and ballet companies, see Royal Opera, London and Royal Ballet, London. For details of the Royal Opera House in Valletta, Malta, see Royal Opera House, Valletta. For details of the Royal Opera House in Mumbai, India, see Royal Opera House (Mumbai)
The Royal Opera House, Bow Street frontage, with the statue of Dame Ninette de Valois in the foreground

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.

File:Rich-Covent-Garden.jpg
"Rich's Glory": John Rich takes over (seemingly invades) his new Covent Garden Theatre. (A caricature by William Hogarth)

Overview

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 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 theater

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. At its opening on December 7, 1732, Rich was carried by his actors in processional triumph into the theater for its opening production of William Congreve's The Way of the World.

During the first hundred years or so of its history, the theater 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).[1]

In 1734, Covent Garden presented its first ballet, Pygmalion. Marie Sallé discarded tradition and her corset and danced in diaphanous robes.[2] 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, was not presented until 1735. His first opera was Il pastor fido followed by Ariodante (1735), the première 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 theater in 1808.

The auditorium of the second theater shortly after opening.

In 1775, Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The Duenna premièred at Covent Garden.

The second theater

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.[3]

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.[4]

File:JosephGrimaldiClown.jpg
Joseph Grimaldi, as clown (contemporary print)

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 theater. 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.[5]

Early pantomimes were performed as mimes accompanied by music, but as Music hall became popular, Grimaldi introduced the pantomime dame to the theater 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.[6] 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 theater 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.[7]

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 remodeled and the theater reopened as the Royal Italian Opera on April 6, 1847, with a performance of Rossini's Semiramide.[8]

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.[9]

The third theatre

On March 5 1856, the theater was again destroyed by fire. Work on the third theater, designed by Edward Middleton Barry, started in 1857, and the new building, which still remains as the nucleus of the present theater, 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 theater on December 20, 1858, with a performance of Michael Balfe's Satanella.

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 theater 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 had a falling out and Toye resigned.[10]

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 center of opera and ballet, employing British artists in all departments, wherever that is consistent with the maintenance of the best possible standards."[11]

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[12], 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.

Present

Opera at the Royal Opera House after 1945

Ballet at the Royal Opera House After 1945

For events in the history of ballet at Covent Garden after 1945, see Royal Ballet, London.

Notes

  1. ↑ PeoplePlayUK, John Rich as Harlequin. Retrieved July 22, 2008.
  2. ↑ North Eastern University, Early ballet history. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
  3. ↑ PeoplePlayUK, The Old Price Riots. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
  4. ↑ NNDB, Edmund Kean (1789–1833). Retrieved August 27, 2008.
  5. ↑ PeoplePlayUK, Early Pantomime. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
  6. ↑ Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
  7. ↑ Martin Banham, The Cambridge Guide to Theatre (Cambridge University Press, 1995, ISBN 0521434378).
  8. ↑ Royal Opera House, Discover the History of the Royal Opera House. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
  9. ↑ Encyclopedia Britannica, Louis Antoine Jullien. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
  10. ↑ Alan Jefferson, Sir Thomas Beecham: A Centenary Tribute (London: Macdonald and Jane’s, 1979, ISBN 0-354-04205-x).
  11. ↑ Rosenthal.
  12. ↑ Royal Opera House case study

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Allen, Mary, A House Divided, Simon & Schuster, 1998
  • Beauvert, Thierry, Opera Houses of the World, The Vendome Press, New York, 1995.
  • Donaldson, Frances, The Royal Opera House in the Twentieth Century, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1988.
  • Earl, John and Sell, Michael Guide to British Theatres 1750-1950, pp. 136-8 (Theatres Trust, 2000) ISBN 0-7136-5688-3
  • Haltrecht, Montague,The Quiet Showman: Sir David Webster and the Royal Opera House, Collins, London, 1975.
  • Lebrecht, Norman, Covent Garden: The Untold Story: Dispatches from the English Culture War, 1945-2000, Northeastern University Press, 2001.
  • Lord Drogheda, et al., The Covent Garden Album, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1981
  • Moss, Kate, The House: Inside the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, BBC Books, London, 1995.
  • Rosenthal, Harold, Opera at Covent Garden, A Short History, Victor Gollancz, London, 1967.
  • Tooley, John, In House: Covent Garden, Fifty Years of Opera and Ballet, Faber and Faber, London, 1999.
  • Thubron, Colin (text) and Boursnell, Clive (photos), The Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Hamish Hamilton, London, 1982.

External links

Coordinates: {{#invoke:Coordinates|coord}}{{#coordinates:51|30|46.41|N|00|07|21.96|W|type:landmark_scale:3000 | |name= }}

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