Royal Opera House

The Royal Opera House is a major venue for performing arts in London that is also rich in history

The Royal Opera House, a prominent venue for opera and performing arts in London is located in the district of Covent Garden the building is often referred to by the same name.

The theatre is home to The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet and to the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House.

The original building called the Theatre Royal was built in 1732 and functioned primarily as a playhouse for it's first 100 years. The theatre was destroyed by a fire in 1808 and rebuilt by 1809. It was later destroyed in yet another fire in 1856 and replaced by a new building in 1858, which still forms much of the present building. In 1892 the theatre was named the Royal Opera House or ROH for short. It served as a dance hall during the Second World War. From 1996 through 2000 major reconstruction and enhancement took place which included the old Covent Garden Market creating an extensive new gathering place.

The Royal Opera House has collections of several hundred thousand items that highlight the history of the ROH. You can visit exhibitions of some of these collections on Monday to Friday from 10am to 3:30pm.

For more information about the Royal Opera House as well as performances and schedules visit their official website: Royal Opera House

Bow Street entrance to the Royal Opera House cc licensed flickr photo shared by markhillary

Ornate interior of the Royal Opera House cc licensed flickr photo shared by Cebete