Page "The Royal Opera" Paragraph 4

From the mid-19th century, opera had been presented on the site of Covent Garden's Royal Opera House, at first by Michael Costa's Royal Italian Opera company.

After a fire, the new building opened in 1858 with The Royal English Opera company, which moved there from the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

From the 1860s until the Second World War, various syndicates or individual impresarios presented short seasons of opera at the Royal Opera House ( so named in 1892 ), sung in the original language, with star singers and conductors.

Pre-war opera was described by the historian Montague Haltrecht as " international, dressy and exclusive ".

During the war, the Royal Opera House was leased by its owners, Covent Garden Properties Ltd, to Mecca Ballrooms who used it profitably as a dance hall.

Towards the end of the war, the owners approached the music publishers Boosey and Hawkes to see if they were interested in taking a lease of the building and staging opera ( and ballet ) once more.

Boosey and Hawkes took a lease, and granted a sub-lease at generous terms to a not-for-profit charitable trust established to run the operation.

The chairman of the trust was Lord Keynes.