Royal Theater Covent Garden in London: photos, history

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Theatres are very different: famous all over the world, legends of one town, one-day ones, beloved for all time and longing for their former greatness. But, you see, there are few among them that theater fans from all over the world would aspire to. We want to tell you a little interesting about such an example. About the Theater Royal, Covent Garden.

Nice to meet you, Covent Garden

The Covent Garden Theater is loved not only by our compatriots. In what country the Covent Garden theater is located, not only notorious art lovers know. The English Royal Ballet and Opera is world renowned. The theater is located in London at 7 Bow Street, WC2E 9DD.

Covent Garden is a venue for both opera and ballet performances. It is here that the Royal Ballet and the Royal Opera perform. It got its name simply - by the name of the district where it is located.

The theater cannot boast of impressive dimensions: it is designed for 2268 visitors; the width of its stage is 12.2 m, and the height above it is 14.8 m. It is famous for others - history, stars that shone here, spectators, immortal works that remain forever in memory. Patron of the Royal Opera isThe Prince of Wales, and the patron of the Royal Ballet is the Queen of Great Britain herself.

Not everyone knows that three buildings had the honor of being called the Covent Garden Theatre. Let's touch on their history.

First theater

The initiator to build the future building of the Royal Theater in Covent Garden on the site of the park was the impresario and director D. Rich. Construction was carried out at the turn of the 1720-1730s. The theater was opened on December 7, 1732 with the play "Thus they do in the world" based on the work of W. Congreve.

In 1734, the first ballet was shown - it turned out to be Pygmalion. He was remembered for the fact that the dancer Maria Salle, who performed the main part, entered the stage, contrary to tradition, without a corset.

From the end of 1734, operas began to be staged - the first was the work of G. F. Handel "The Faithful Shepherd". Then his own oratorio was presented on stage. Since then, the performance of such works during the days of Great Lent has become a tradition of the Covent Garden Theatre.

For almost a century it was one of two (the other was Drury Lane) drama theaters in London. The reason for this "diversity" is that in 1660 Charles II allowed dramatic performances in only two theaters in the capital.

The history of the building ended in 1808 - it was destroyed by fire.

Second theater

The new home of the Covent Garden Theater was built in 1809; the author of the project was R. Smerk. On September 18 of the same year, it was opened by the play "Macbeth". The cost of construction cost the administration"penny", which is why it was decided to compensate for it by increasing the cost of tickets. In response to this, the respected audience disrupted the acting of the actors with whistling, stomp, screams for 2 months! The "war" ended with the price of tickets being reduced to the previous level.

Throughout the first half of the Golden Age, the repertoire of the Covent Garden Theater in London was very diverse: operas, ballets, dramas, incl. with the participation of tragedians S. Siddons and E. Keane, pantomime and even clowning with D. Grimaldi. But in 1846, due to a conflict at the Royal Theater on the Haymarket, a large part of his opera troupe settled in Covent Garden with M. Costa. As a result, the hall was reconstructed so that in early April 1847 it opened under the sign of the Royal Italian Opera. The premiere was "Semiramide" by Rossini.

Nine years later, a second fire destroyed the Covent Garden Theatre.

Third Theater

The construction of the third theater, which has come down to our times, was carried out in 1856-1857. The architect was E. Barry. Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots opened it in 1858.

It is known that during the First World War the majestic theater was a warehouse, and during the Second World War it was a dance floor. The revival began in 1945. The troupe of Ninette de Valois was announced as the national ballet and ordered to move from Sadler's Wells here.

In the winter of 1946, The Sleeping Beauty, the famous ballet by P. I. Tchaikovsky (staged by O. Messel), opened the theater. Then there was the matter of creating an opera troupe. In January 1947, she performed the opera "Carmen" by Bizet. Since then, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, has been talked about again.

Theatre today

Thus, today we have the third building in Covent Garden in front of us. It managed to survive two reconstructions - in 1975 and 1990. Their goal is to improve the appearance, increase the number of spectator seats. Also during these renovations, the territories of the old market and the Flower Hall moved to the theater. Two differently designed entrances were also decorated, which symbolize different eras in the fate of Covent Garden.

Today the width of the theatre's proscenium is 12 m, the height is about 15 m. The hall is decorated in the form of a horseshoe with four levels. This innovation allows more than 2,200 spectators to comfortably accommodate in it. The office, rehearsal rooms, studio were also reconstructed, new acoustic equipment was installed. A scoreboard with titles is installed above the proscenium, and an LCD screen is mounted in the backs of some seats in the stalls, where the librettos of the productions are broadcast.

The average ticket price for a performance is 185 pounds. In addition to theatrical performances, another type of cultural leisure is organized here - excursions. During them, you can see Covent Garden from the highest point, get behind the scenes and find out how the preparations for the evening performance are going on, get into the Royal Lounge, still visitedroy alty.

In recent years, the theater pleases the audience with up to 150 productions in one season! The most famous are "Carmen" by Bizet, "Tosca" by Puccini, "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" by D. Shostakovich. The parts were performed by famous Italian, Russian, German, Argentinean voices - R. Fleming, P. Domingo, J. Cura, C. Bartoli, J. Kaufmann, A. Netrebko.

Modern repertoire

Today's theater repertoire is immortal works:

• "Sleeping Beauty".
• "Giselle".
• "Turandot".
• "Don Juan".
• "Manon".
• "Winter's Tale".
• "Faust".
• "La Traviata".
• "A woman without a shadow".
• "Daughter of the Regiment".

Covent Garden, the Royal Ballet and Opera House, rebuilt three times, is known throughout the world for high-profile premieres, its troupe. World-class guest artists also sparkle here. If fate takes you to London, we advise you not to deprive Covent Garden of attention: go to the immortal classic production or take a tour.