Threadneedles Hotel at Discount Rates

Threadneedles Hotel at Discount Rates

Find out what to expect on a backstage tour of London's Royal Opera House!

The Royal Opera House in Convent Garden is Britain's leading opera house. It is home to The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera. The iconic building covers an area of 2.5 acres.The Royal Opera House Backstage Tour gives an insight into the behind-the-scenes areas as well as the Front of House and the elegant Paul Hamlyn Hall (see more below).Your Guide will explain about the history of the building and how much has changed during the major refurbishment between 1997 and 1999.As this is a working theater every tour varies. You will hopefully get to see inside the auditorium and possibly see The Royal Ballet in class or rehearsing.

Important Notes
There is quite a bit walking on the tour but the tour route is fully accessible to wheelchair users.
Photography is not permitted.
Tours are not suitable for children under 8 years old.
Tours available Monday to Saturday.
Tour duration: 1 hour 15 minutes maximum.

Backstage Tour Review

Tours start from by the Cloakroom area for a good reason. It can be very hot backstage as the ballet dancers cannot let their muscles cool down so do put your coat in the free cloakroom.Your Tour Guide leads the group through the Front of House areas and explains the history of the theater. This is actually the third theater on this site. The first was a playhouse, not an opera house, in 1732. Sadly, it burned down and took two years to rebuild. The second opened as an Italian opera house but that too burned down during a masque ball in 1808. The theater was rebuilt, on time and under budget and opened in 1858. By 1892 the theater gained royal status.

The 1997-99 refurbishment kept many of the Victorian features but also introduced up-to-date technology to allow the theater to function more efficiently. Previously each set had to be dismantled and carried to storage across the road for a different show but now three sets can all be ready to use on a stage that can rotate them into place.

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