London · Covent Garden
Royal Opera House
The third theatre on this site, home to two of the world's leading companies
The Royal Ballet, which has developed its own repertoire here for ninety years
Two previous theatres on this site burnt down, the current one dates from 1858 and the auditorium is a four-tier horseshoe with famously unforgiving sightlines and famously good sound. It houses both the Royal Opera and the Royal Ballet, which share a stage, a pit and an argument about scheduling that has run since 1946.
The building was opened up in the 1990s with a glass arcade and a terrace over the piazza, and the daytime foyer is now free to walk into, which most visitors do not realise.
The detail
Good to know
- Opened
- 1858, third theatre on the site
- Seats
- 2 256
- Companies
- Royal Opera and Royal Ballet
- Cheapest seats
- Upper slips, from about 12 pounds
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