Royal Opera House
Venue Information
- How to book (Phone)
- 020 7304 4000
- Guide dogs
- Guide dogs are allowed in to the auditorium and staff are available to dog-sit if required.
- Wheelchairs
- Spaces for wheelchair users at Stalls Circle (6 spaces), Grand Tier (4 spaces), Balcony (6 spaces), Upper Amphitheatre (3 spaces). Express lift too small for motorised wheelchairs/scooters, but other lifts are fine. Wheelchair and scooter transfer seating available, wheelchairs/scooters stored in cloakroom.
- Sound amplification
- Infrared system with 20 headsets. Collect headsets from FOH Duty Manager’s Desk in main foyer. Surtitles for all opera productions.
- Audio description
- Fixed ramps at Bow Street (push button to open doors) and Piazza entrances. Box Office and Information point (with lowered service counters) to right of Bow Street entrance. 5 lifts (Braille buttons and voice announcements) to all levels, beyond the Box Office and cloakroom. There are 27 steps down to the Linbury Studio reachable via a slight ramp. In main auditorium, 15 steps up from ground level to the Stalls Circle. Then 15 steps up to Grand Tier, 21 to Balcony, further 15 to Lower Slips, 30 to Amphitheatre and 56 to Upper Amphitheatre. 1 step between each row in Stalls Circle and Grand Tier and Balcony, 3 in Amphitheatre (fairly steep). All staircases have handrails and some steps are highlighted. Escalator from Floral Hall to Amphitheatre.
- Bars
- Lift to Amphitheatre bar and restaurant, and Floral Hall and Terrace cafes (low counters, moveable seats and tables).
- Toilets
- Adapted toilets by lifts at all levels. Non-adapted toilets have some cubicles with wider doors and hand rails (marked on door).
- Air conditioning
- Yes
- Accepts Theatre Tokens
- Yes
The Royal Opera House is home to both The Royal Opera and The Royal Ballet, performing with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House.
The current Royal Opera House, with its grand classical portico fronting Bow Street, is actually the third theatre built on the Covent Garden site; the previous 2 buildings were both destroyed by fire. The first important musical works to be heard at the theatre were by Handel, who, from 1735 until his death in 1759, had close links with Covent Garden both as composer and organist.
Work on the third and present theatre started in 1857 with designs by E.M. Barry, and the new building opened in May 1858 with a performance of Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots. Barry also designed the striking glass and iron Floral Hall, intended as a flower market but also hosting the occasional ball.
Alongside the main performance space, there are other large spaces that are part of the Royal Opera House. There is the Paul Hamlyn Hall, which acts as the main atrium for the venue, as well as being used for private functions and exhibitions.
Opened in 1999 and reopened in September 2018 following an extensive three-year construction project, the Royal Opera House also possesses a smaller studio theatre, the Linbury Theatre, that is used as a second performance space. It is also used for the educational events that the venue runs.
In 1892, with the repertoire broadening, the overall building was renamed the Royal Opera House.