Opening night was December, 1732, with a performance of Congreve’s The Way of the World. Since King Charles II had granted the rights for Covent Garden and Drury Lane to be the only places in London where theatre (or "the spoken word") was allowed, The Royal Opera House, né Covent Garden, operated as a playhouse almost excusively until the mid-1800s when it was reborn as The Italian Opera House.
A fire in 1808 destroyed the original theatre, which was rebuilt and reopened in 1809. Prices were raised to help recoup the cost of rebuilding. This caused riots that lasted almost three months until the theatre owners finally lowered the prices to what they had been before the fire. The "O.P. Riots" (Old Price) were carried out in a spirit of fun, with no damage to the theatre and --despite the constables being called to "read the Riot Act" to the protesters from the stage-- no one was even arrested. The theatre's owner, John Kemble, made a public apology from the stage to great applause, but at the beginning of the following season he attempted to keep some of the private box seats for higher-priced tickets. Rioting began again and put an end to his attempt at maximizing his investment.
In 1843, the patent on Drury Lane and Covent Garden was broken, allowing theatre to flourish in the capital. Covent Garden was remodeled and reopened as The Royal Italian Opera under the direction of Michael Costa in 1847. In 1856 another fire destroyed the theatre; the third (and current) building was completed in 1858.
In 1892 the name was changed to The Royal Opera House as "Italian" no longer represented the bulk of its works. Closed during both World War I and World War II, it was reopened in 1946 and has remained open ever since, with both the Royal Ballet and the Royal Opera sharing its stage.
The establishment of the National Lottery in 1995 provided much needed funds for its upkeep and refurbishment. Those monies, along with endowmnets and trusts --not public taxes-- keep the Royal Opera House going.
SEE ALSO:
The Royal Opera
The Royal Ballet
Calendar of Performances
