Royal Opera House

The Royal Opera House in Covent Garden is London's leading opera venue and home to the Royal Opera, the Royal Ballet and the house orchestra. The current building is actually the third on the site: the first, from 1732, burned down in 1808, the second in 1856; the present house with its Corinthian portico was built in just seven months in 1858 to designs by Edward Middleton Barry and is Grade I listed. Verdi was introduced to English audiences here, Maria Callas and Joan Sutherland sang career-defining roles, and the Royal Ballet made stars of Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev. A major refurbishment from 1997 to 1999 opened the building to Bow Street and added a glazed foyer. Today around 800,000 people attend performances each season; during the day the bars and the terrace overlooking Covent Garden are open even without a ticket.