The Royal Opera House is built on the site of a London garden which, before the Reformation in England, was attached to a Roman Catholic Convent. This is the origin of the name Covent Garden, often used to refer both to the area in which the theatre is situated and the building itself.
Three previous theatres had stood on the same site before the present building opened in 1856. All presented opera, though the Theatre Royal, opened in 1732 was not primarily intended to do so. Several of Handel's operas and oratorios were premièred there before it burned down in 1808.
When the house reopened a year later, the seat prices were higher. Audiences promptly rioted, protesting against the phenomenal fees paid to singers brought over from Italy to perform.
The nineteenth century saw productions of VerdiΓÇÖs Rigoletto, (1853), Il Trovatore (1855) and, in 1876, Aida with Adelina Patti.
In 1856 another fire destroyed the building. It reopened, two tears later, with performances still being given in Italian, as had always been the case. Original language productions became the norm after 1888.
In 1922, the conductor Thomas Beecham brought his own British National Opera Company, where it remained for two years. Subsequently Bruno Walter conducted a largely German repertory with singers such as Lotte Lehmann. Beecham returned as artistic director in 1932.
During the Second World War the theatre was used as a dance hall. A newly-formed company was then set up with the intention of developing its own style, both in opera and ballet. Initially there was a bias towards English composers and English-language productions. This changed in the sixties, under Maestro Georg Solti, who also encouraged most international casting.
The company has premièred the works of contemporary composers Michael Tippett, Peter Maxwell Davies and, most recently, Harrison Birtwistle.
