The majestic Palais Garnier in Paris, the impressive La Scala in Milan, as well as the celebrated Sydney Opera House, all hold important positions in their cities’ fabric. The Royal Opera House of London has been hidden down a Convent Garden back street. Hidden in the corner of an old marketplace, the back entrance of the historic building is squeezed next to a retail arcade. It was a building of exclusivity; the interiors have been off-limits to people who didn’t have a ticket.
Photography: Hufton + Crow
History of Royal Opera House
Although it was established as the Covent Garden Opera Company in 1946, the Royal Opera has a rich 260-year history of operatic performances at the Covent Garden. The opera has played a significant role in each of the three theatres that were on the site.
The theatre was built in 1858 and during World War II, it was used as a dance hall. After the war, the decision was made to establish the Royal Opera House as the permanent year-round home of The Royal Opera and The Royal Ballet. The ballet company reopened the building in 1946 with The Sleeping Beauty. The companies collaborated for various performances, and Bizet’s Carmen was the first complete performance by the Covent Garden Opera.
Photography: Luke Hayes
The Renovation Project
Leaving it in its current awkward state, the Royal Opera House (ROH) has been long hidden from the eyes of the public. But with the “Open Up” project, the ROH might have a more visible presence in London. This, three-year, £50.7 million-project aspires to improve the crowd flow within the corridors, shed its exclusive reputation, bring in daytime activities, and transform Linbury—the secondary studio, into a world-class theatre. It is expected to introduce wider audiences to the world of ballet and opera.
While work has been going on inside the ROH—excavation, bulldozing, and extensions, the companies have, miraculously, continued putting on programmes. The main auditorium has seen 900 performances with a packed audience during the course of the renovation.
Photography: Hufton + Crow
Stanton Williams worked on redesigning the entrance, reconfiguring the ground-floor lobby and the addition of the 400-seat lobby. The British architectural firm has been vital in rejuvenating the ROH to ensure that the experience of UK’s most important venue for Opera and Ballet will be transformative for visitors.
Co-founder of Stanton Willians, Alan Stanton said, “The Royal Opera House’s Open Up project does just that, by opening up what had previously been a fairly constrained set of spaces to the world outside.”
Alex Beard, chief executive of the Royal Opera House since 2013, added, “It has been akin to open-heart surgery while running a marathon.” He described this revamp project to have been complicated in comparison to other renovation projects of venues, like the Tate Britain and Tate Modern.
Photography: Luke Hayes
Infrequent visitors to the ROH might not be able to tell the exact changes in the building or why it has been as difficult as Alex Beard says. The entire city block had a radical makeover in the 1990s under Dixon Jones and BDP which gave accommodation for the Royal Ballet and gave access to the cheaper seats with a new escalator. It also allowed for the reconstruction of the great vaulted glass house. Without spoiling all this and leaving much of the original 19th Century building intact, Stanton Williams has carved out and expanded the building without extending the footprint.
Photography: Luke Hayes
The Renovation Scheme
The scheme to rejuvenate the ROH creates a new open foyer area connecting the main auditorium to the new Linbury Studio-Theatre. This foyer area comprises a cafe, interval bars, and a shop, designed by Drinkall Dean. That is in addition to informal event spaces and cloakroom facilities. The design also includes a wide landing and a set of steps leading to the Linbury Foyer. The steps can double as an informal stage and host performances and events for the public, which can be visible from the cafe and from the street.
Photography: Hufton + Crow
By reconfiguring the ground floor, Stanton Williams has created a larger foyer and provided access from the redesigned entrances on Covent Garden to encourage more people into the building.
The main entrance on Bow Street has a projecting glazed pavilion, added below the existing Floral Hall. The entrance in Covent Garden has been enlarged with a transparent and LED revolving door. The curved LED screen displays abstract dancers swirling around. The entrance also has a staircase with illuminated treads. This creates a sense of theatricality while entering the building.
Stanton Williams has respected the spirit of the historic building by using beige marble flooring, walnut paneling, patinated brass fittings, and creamy plaster walls.
Photography: Hufton + Crow
The Linbury theatre is reborn under the creative eye of Stanton Williams, as a fully equipped performance space. The sweeping timber-lined balconies give are reminiscent of Jacobean interiors. The seating can be configured in various modes configuration for ballet and Opera, or they can disappear altogether by pressing a button. With 400 seats and extra legroom, the cozy theater makes for a valuable addition to the Royal Opera House.
The other major intervention done is on the upper floor—a bar and a restaurant designed by Studio Linse. The restaurant will be open to the public.
Photography: Hufton + Crow
With all the jumbled and intricate layers of the Royal Opera House, it is not a surprise that Stanton Williams didn’t resolve all the issues of the ROH, but it has given it an open and inviting vibe. As the project’s title suggested, the interventions have resulted in the building losing its rarified reputation.
Photography: James Bellorini
“You can now look in from the street and see that the opera-goers aren’t all wearing tuxedos,” said project director Rawden Pettitt.
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