The Royal Opera

{{short description|Opera company in London}} {{About|the opera company in London|the opera house where it is based|Royal Opera House||Royal Opera (disambiguation){{!}}Royal Opera}} {{Use British English|date=December 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}} [[File:Covent Garden Opera House.jpg|thumbnail|alt=exterior of a neo-classical theatre|The Royal Opera House, home of The Royal Opera]] '''The Royal Opera''' is a British opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Along with English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Covent Garden Opera Company, the company had that title until 1968. It brought a long annual season and consistent management to a house that had previously hosted short seasons under a series of impresarios. Since its inception, it has shared the Royal Opera House with the dance company now known as The Royal Ballet. The two companies belong to an umbrella organisation, the Royal Ballet and Opera, which was known as the Royal Opera House prior to 2024.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tilden |first=Imogen |date=2024-04-30 |title=Royal Ballet and Opera announces ambitious new season – and name change |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2024/apr/30/royal-ballet-and-opera-announces-ambitious-new-season-and-name-change-2024-25 |access-date=2025-05-16 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

When the company was formed, its policy was to perform all works in English, but since the late 1950s most operas have been performed in their original language. From the outset, performers have comprised a mixture of British and Commonwealth singers and international guest stars, but fostering the careers of singers from within the company was a consistent policy of the early years. Among the many guest performers have been Maria Callas, Plácido Domingo, Kirsten Flagstad, Hans Hotter, Birgit Nilsson, Luciano Pavarotti and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. Among those who have risen to international prominence from the ranks of the company are Geraint Evans, Joan Sutherland, Kiri Te Kanawa and Jon Vickers.

The company's growth under the management of David Webster from modest beginnings to parity with the world's greatest opera houses was recognised by the grant of the title "The Royal Opera" in 1968. Under Webster's successor, John Tooley, appointed in 1970, The Royal Opera prospered, but after his retirement in 1988, there followed a period of instability and the closure of the Royal Opera House for rebuilding and restoration between 1997 and 1999. The 21st century has seen a stable managerial regime once more in place. The company has had seven music directors since its inception: Karl Rankl, Rafael Kubelík, Georg Solti, Colin Davis, Bernard Haitink, Antonio Pappano and Jakub Hrůša.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Royal Opera House appoints Jakub Hr��ša as Music Director |url=https://www.rbo.org.uk/news/royal-opera-house-appoints-jakub-hrusa-as-music-director |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=www.rbo.org.uk |language=en}}</ref>

==History==

===Background=== {{Quote box |quoted=true |bgcolor=#FDF0F0 |salign=right| quote = Between the two World Wars the provision of opera in Great Britain was variable in quality and quantity. At Covent Garden annual international seasons were organised ''ad hoc''. English seasons were even less regular, and poorly supported by the public. ... The Grand Season was largely a social occasion and in practice tended not to include British artists. Artistic achievement was always limited by the paucity of rehearsals that could be called for visiting stars.| source = Lords Goodman and Harewood ''Report on Opera and Ballet in the United Kingdom'', 1969<ref>Goodman and Harewood, p. 9</ref>|align=right| width=33%}} 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.<ref>[http://www.roh.org.uk/about/royal-opera-house/history "History"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407064033/http://www.roh.org.uk/about/royal-opera-house/history |date=7 April 2014 }}, Royal Opera House. Retrieved 17 December 2012</ref> After a fire, the new building opened in 1858 with The Royal English Opera company, which moved there from the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.<ref>"Drury-Lane Theatre", ''The Times'', 13 December 1858, p. 10</ref> 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".<ref>Haltrecht, p.18</ref> 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.<ref>Haltrecht, p. 51</ref> 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.<ref>Haltrecht, pp. 52 and 58</ref> The chairman of the trust was Lord Keynes.{{refn|The other members were Sir Kenneth Clark, Sir Stanley Marchant, William Walton and, from Boosey and Hawkes, Leslie Boosey and Ralph Hawkes. Keynes died in 1946 and was succeeded as chairman by the retired cabinet minister Lord Waverley, who served until his death in 1958.<ref>"Covent Garden Opera and Ballet", ''The Times'', 20 July 1944, p. 6</ref><ref>Haltrecht, p. 57</ref>|group= n}}

There was some pressure for a return to the pre-war regime of starry international seasons.<ref>Haltrecht, p. 52</ref> Sir Thomas Beecham, who had presented many Covent Garden seasons between 1910 and 1939 confidently expected to do so again after the war.<ref>Jefferson, 190–192</ref> However, Boosey and Hawkes, and David Webster, whom they appointed as chief executive of the Covent Garden company,{{refn|Webster used the job title "general administrator" throughout his tenure at Covent Garden.<ref>Haltrecht, p. 307</ref>|group= n}} were committed to presenting opera all year round, in English with a resident company.<ref name=t46>"Opera in English – A New Policy for Covent Garden – Mr. Rankl Appointed Musical Director", ''The Times'', 17 June 1946, p. 8</ref><ref name=h54>Haltrecht, pp. 54–56</ref> It was widely assumed that this aim would be met by inviting the existing Sadler's Wells Opera Company to become resident at the Royal Opera House.<ref name=h54/> Webster successfully extended just such an invitation to the Sadler's Wells Ballet Company, but he regarded the sister opera company as "parochial".<ref>Haltrecht, p. 58</ref> He was determined to set up a new opera company of his own.<ref name=h54/> The British government had recently begun to give funds to subsidise the arts, and Webster negotiated an ''ad hoc'' grant of £60,000 and an annual subsidy of £25,000, enabling him to proceed.<ref>Haltrecht, p. 64</ref>

===Beginnings: 1946–1949=== Webster's first priority was to appoint a musical director to build the company from scratch. He negotiated with Bruno Walter and Eugene Goossens, but neither of those conductors was willing to consider an opera company with no leading international stars.<ref>Haltrecht, p. 78</ref> Webster appointed a little-known Austrian, Karl Rankl, to the post.<ref>Haltrecht, p. 79</ref> Before the war, Rankl had acquired considerable experience in charge of opera companies in Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia.<ref>Howes, Frank. [http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/22889 "Rankl, Karl"], ''Grove Music Online'' Oxford Music Online. Retrieved 26 August 2011 {{subscription required}}</ref> He accepted Webster's invitation to assemble and train the principals and chorus of a new opera company, alongside a permanent orchestra that would play in both operas and ballets.<ref name=t46/>

The new company made its debut in a joint presentation, together with the Sadler's Wells Ballet Company, of Purcell's ''The Fairy-Queen'' on 12 December 1946.<ref>"Music this Week", ''The Times'', 9 December 1946, p. 6</ref> The first production by the opera company alone was ''Carmen'', on 14 January 1947. Reviews were favourable.<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/942892 "Opera at Covent Garden"], ''Tempo'', Summer 1947, pp. 19–21 {{subscription required}}, and Stuart, Charles. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/934851 "The English Season at Covent Garden"], ''The Musical Times'', 1 May 1947, pp. 168–169 {{subscription required}}</ref> ''The Times'' said: {{quote|It revealed in Mr. Karl Rankl a musical director who knew how to conduct opera. It conceded the claims of theatrical production without sacrificing the music. It proved that contrary to expectation English can even now be sung so that the words are intelligible. It confirmed what we knew already about the quality of the chorus.<ref name=carmen>"The Royal Opera – Carmen", ''The Times'', 15 January 1947, p. 6</ref>|}} thumb|right|alt=head and shoulders image of a bald, clean-shaven man of middle age|upright|Erich Kleiber All the members of the cast for the production were from Britain or the Commonwealth.{{refn|The principals were Edith Coates as Carmen, with Kenneth Neate, Dennis Noble, Muriel Rae, David Franklin, Grahame Clifford, Audrey Bowman and Constance Shacklock.<ref name=carmen />|group= n}} Later in the season, one of England's few pre-war international opera stars, Eva Turner, appeared as Turandot.<ref>"The Royal Opera – ''Turandot''", ''The Times'', 30 May 1947, p. 6</ref> For the company's second season, eminent singers from continental Europe were recruited, including Ljuba Welitsch, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Paolo Silveri, Rudolf Schock and Set Svanholm.<ref>"Covent Garden Opera", ''The Times'', 7 September 1948, p. 6</ref> Other international stars who were willing to re-learn their roles in English for the company in its early years included Kirsten Flagstad and Hans Hotter for ''The Valkyrie''.<ref>"''The Valkyrie'' in English", ''The Times'', 3 March 1948, p. 8</ref> Nevertheless, even as early as 1948, the opera in English policy was weakening; the company was obliged to present some Wagner performances in German to recruit leading exponents of the main roles.<ref>"Opera in English – Long-Term Policy", ''The Times'', 3 December 1948, p. 7</ref> At first Rankl conducted all the productions; he was dismayed when eminent guest conductors including Beecham, Clemens Krauss and Erich Kleiber were later invited for prestige productions.{{refn|Rankl was resistant to allowing any outsiders to conduct his company, although he allocated performances of works he did not like to his staff conductors, Peter Gellhorn and Reginald Goodall.<ref>Gilbert and Shir, p. 74</ref>|group=n}} By 1951 Rankl felt that he was no longer valued, and announced his resignation.<ref>Haltrecht, p. 150</ref> In Haltrecht's view, the company that Rankl built up from nothing had outgrown him.<ref>Haltrecht, p. 152</ref>

In the early years, the company sought to be innovative and widely accessible. Ticket prices were kept down: in the 1949 season 530 seats were available for each performance at two shillings and sixpence.{{refn|This sum is equivalent to 12½ pence in decimal terms; about £3.50 in terms of 2010 retail prices.<ref name=mw>Williamson, Samuel H. [http://www.measuringworth.com/ukcompare "Five Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a UK Pound Amount, 1830 to Present"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171218073541/https://www.measuringworth.com/ukcompare/ |date=18 December 2017 }}, MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 17 September 2011</ref>|group= n}} In addition to the standard operatic repertory, the company presented operas by living composers such as Britten, Vaughan Williams, Bliss, and, later, Walton.<ref>[http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/performanceindex.aspx?genre=Opera&letter=P Royal Opera House Archive Performance Database: P] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518171822/http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/performanceindex.aspx?genre=Opera&letter=P |date=18 May 2014 }} (Britten and Vaughan Williams); [http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/performanceindex.aspx?genre=Opera&letter=O Royal Opera House Archive Performance Database: O] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518134559/http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/performanceindex.aspx?genre=Opera&letter=O |date=18 May 2014 }} (Bliss); and [http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/performanceindex.aspx?genre=Opera&letter=T Royal Opera House Archive Performance Database: T] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518134556/http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/performanceindex.aspx?genre=Opera&letter=T |date=18 May 2014 }} (Walton); all. Retrieved 9 February 2012</ref> The young stage director Peter Brook was put in charge of productions, bringing a fresh and sometimes controversial approach to stagings.<ref name=sutcliffe>Sutcliffe, Tom. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1003054 "Elders and Betters"], ''The Musical Times'', 1 June 1993, pp. 324–327 {{subscription required}}</ref>

===1950s=== After Rankl's departure the company engaged a series of guest conductors while Webster sought a new musical director. His preferred candidates, Erich Kleiber, John Barbirolli, Josef Krips, Britten and Rudolf Kempe, were among the guests but none would take the permanent post.<ref>Haltrecht, pp. 185–190</ref> It was not until 1954 that Webster found a replacement for Rankl in Rafael Kubelík.<ref>Haltrecht, p. 191</ref> Kubelík announced immediately that he was in favour of continuing the policy of singing in the vernacular: "Everything that the composer has written should be understood by the audience; and that is not possible if the opera is sung in a language with which they are not familiar".{{refn|Kubelik added that some operas are untranslatable, notably those of Wagner.<ref>"Mr. Kubelik on Opera at Covent Garden", ''The Times'', 30 September 1955, p. 3</ref>|group= n}} This provoked a public onslaught by Beecham, who continued to maintain that it was impossible to produce more than a handful of English-speaking opera stars, and that importing singers from continental Europe was the only way to achieve first-rate results.<ref>Beecham, Sir Thomas. "Opera at Covent Garden", ''The Times'', 27 June 1956, p. 11</ref>

[[File:Sutherland-delosAngeles-Gobbi-Evans.jpg|thumb|left|alt=four head and shoulders shots of opera stars out of make-up and as themselves|1950s stars, clockwise from top left, Joan Sutherland, Victoria de los Ángeles, Geraint Evans, Tito Gobbi]] Despite Beecham's views, by the mid-1950s the Covent Garden company included many British and Commonwealth singers who were already or were soon to be much sought after by overseas opera houses.<ref name=temp>Temperley. Nicholas, et al. [http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/16904pg7 "London (i)"], ''Grove Music Online'', Oxford Music Online. Retrieved 28 August 2011 {{subscription required}} (Evans), and Haltrecht, pp. 131–132 (Sutherland), 229 (Carlyle, Shuard and Vickers), 287 (Langdon), 215 (Morison), 287 (Veasey) and 288 (Collier)</ref> Among them were Joan Carlyle, Marie Collier, Geraint Evans, Michael Langdon, Elsie Morison, Amy Shuard, Joan Sutherland, Josephine Veasey and Jon Vickers.<ref name=temp /> Nevertheless, as Lords Goodman and Harewood put it in a 1969 report for the Arts Council, "[A]s time went on the operatic centre of British life began to take on an international character. This meant that, while continuing to develop the British artists, it was felt impossible to reach the highest international level by using only British artists or singing only in English".<ref>Goodman and Harewood, p. 10</ref> Guest singers from abroad in the 1950s included Maria Callas, Boris Christoff, Victoria de los Ángeles, Tito Gobbi and Birgit Nilsson.<ref>Drogheda et al, p. 143 (Callas), Haltrecht, pp. 134–135 (Christoff), "The Royal Opera – 'Manon'", ''The Times'', 6 December 1950, p. 8 (de los Ángeles), Haltrecht, pp. 281–282 (Gobbi) and p. 227 (Nilsson)</ref> Kubelík introduced Janáček's ''Jenůfa'' to British audiences, sung in English by a mostly British cast.<ref>Haltrecht, p. 219; and [http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/performance.aspx?performance=12038&row=0 "Jenůfa – 10 December 1956 Evening"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214082614/http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/performance.aspx?performance=12038&row=0 |date=14 December 2014 }}, Royal Opera House Archive, Performance Database. Retrieved 8 February 2011</ref>

The verdict of the public on whether operas should be given in translation or the original was clear. In 1959, the opera house stated in its annual report, "[T]he percentage attendance at all opera in English was 72 per cent; attendance at the special productions marked by higher prices was 91 per cent … it is 'international' productions with highly priced seats that reduce our losses".<ref>"Covent Garden States the Case for its Present Operatic Policy", ''The Times'', 9 December 1959, p. 4</ref> The opera in English policy was never formally renounced. On this subject, Peter Heyworth wrote in ''The Observer'' in 1960 that Covent Garden had "quickly learned the secret that underlies the genius of British institutions for undisturbed change: it continued to pay lip service to a policy that it increasingly ignored".<ref>Heyworth, Peter. "The State of Covent Garden", ''The Observer'', 24 July 1960, p. 25</ref>{{refn|After the general practice had changed to using the original language, there were still occasional productions presented in translation, such as Poulenc's ''The Carmelites'', starring Régine Crespin, Valerie Masterson and Felicity Lott in 1983,<ref>"Opera", ''The Times'', 16 April 1983, p. 7</ref> and Janáček's ''The Cunning Little Vixen'' under Sir Charles Mackerras in 2010.<ref>[http://www.operatoday.com/content/2010/03/the_cunning_lit.php "Review: ''The Cunning Little Vixen'', London"], by Mark Berry, ''Opera Today'', 21 March 2010</ref>|group= n}}

By the end of the 1950s, Covent Garden was generally regarded as approaching the excellence of the world's greatest opera companies.<ref name=h237>Haltrecht, p. 237</ref> Its sister ballet company had achieved international recognition and was granted a royal charter in 1956, changing its title to "The Royal Ballet"; the opera company was close to reaching similar eminence.<ref name=h237/> Two landmark productions greatly enhanced its reputation. In 1957, Covent Garden presented the first substantially complete professional staging at any opera house of Berlioz's vast opera ''The Trojans'', directed by John Gielgud and conducted by Kubelík.<ref>Rosenthal, p. 669</ref> ''The Times'' commented, "It has never been a success; but it is now".<ref>"'The Trojans' at Covent Garden", ''The Times'', 7 June 1957, p. 3</ref> In 1958 the present theatre's centenary was marked by Luchino Visconti's production of Verdi's ''Don Carlos'', with Vickers, Gobbi, Christoff, Gré Brouwenstijn and Fedora Barbieri, conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini.<ref>Haltrecht, p. 235</ref> The work was then a rarity,{{refn|The last Covent Garden performances had been given by Beecham in 1933.<ref name=iln>"An Outstanding International Cast in a Special Production: Verdi's 'Don Carlos' at Covent Garden", ''The Illustrated London News'', 17 May 1958, p. 838</ref>|group= n}} and had hitherto been widely regarded as impossible to stage satisfactorily, but Visconti's production was a triumph.<ref name=iln/><ref>Haltrecht, p. 236</ref>

===1960s=== thumb|alt=head and shoulders shot of a bald man of middle years|upright|Georg Solti, musical director 1961–71 Kubelík did not renew his contract when it expired, and from 1958 there was an interregnum until 1961, covered by guest conductors including Giulini, Kempe, Tullio Serafin, Georg Solti and Kubelík himself.<ref>Haltrecht, pp. 243 (Giulini), 230 (Kempe), 244 (Serafin), and 257 (Solti), and [http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/performance.aspx?performance=14726&row=5&person=Kubelik&searchtype=performance&page=1 Boris Godunov] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102252/http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/performance.aspx?performance=14726&row=5&person=Kubelik&searchtype=performance&page=1 |date=20 March 2021 }}, Royal Opera House Collections Online. Retrieved 17 September 2011 (Kubelík)</ref> In June 1960 Solti was appointed musical director from the 1961 season onwards.<ref>"Covent Garden Post for Mr. Solti", ''The Times'', 2 July 1960, p. 8</ref> With his previous experience in charge of the Munich and Frankfurt opera houses, he was at first uncertain that Covent Garden, not yet consistently reaching the top international level, was a post he wanted. Bruno Walter persuaded him otherwise, and he took up the musical directorship in August 1961.<ref>Haltrecht, p. 264</ref> The press gave him a cautious welcome, but there was some concern about a drift away from the company's original policies: {{quote|[A] recent shift in policy towards engaging eminent singers and conductors from abroad, which is a reversion to what has been at once traditional and fatal to the establishment of a permanent organization, a kind of diffused grand season, has endangered the good work of the past fifteen years. ... The purpose of a subsidy from the Exchequer was to lay foundations for an English opera, such as is a feature of the culture of every other country in Europe.<ref>"Covent Garden Reinforced", ''The Times'', 2 July 1960, p. 9</ref>|}}

{{Quote box |quoted=true |bgcolor=#F3F0FD |salign=right| quote = [Solti] announced his intention of making Covent Garden 'quite simply, the best opera house in the world', and in the opinion of many he succeeded.| source = ''Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians''<ref>{{cite Grove |title=Solti, Sir Georg|date=20 January 2001|first1=Arthur|last1=Jacobs|first2=José A. |last2=Bowen|url=http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/26170}}</ref>|align=right| width=170px}} Solti, however, was an advocate of opera in the vernacular,<ref name=what>"What Sort of Opera for Covent Garden?", ''The Times'', 9 December 1960, p. 18</ref>{{refn|The music journalist Norman Lebrecht asserts that Solti was opposed to opera in English, but cites no evidence in support of the statement.<ref>Lebrecht, pp. 228–229</ref>|group= n}} and promoted the development of British and Commonwealth singers in the company, frequently casting them in his recordings and important productions in preference to overseas artists.<ref>Haltrecht, p. 295</ref> Among those who came to prominence during the decade were Gwyneth Jones and Peter Glossop.<ref name=gramobit>Blyth, Alan. [http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/July%201971/31/751921/ "Obituaries"], ''The Gramophone'', July 1971, p. 31</ref> Solti demonstrated his belief in vernacular opera with a triple bill in English of ''L'heure espagnole'', ''Erwartung'' and ''Gianni Schicchi''.<ref>"Solti's Success with Opera in English", ''The Times'', 18 June 1962, p. 5</ref> Nevertheless, Solti and Webster had to take into account the complete opposition on the part of such stars as Callas to opera in translation.<ref name=what/> Moreover, as Webster recognised, the English-speaking singers wanted to learn their roles in the original so that they could sing them in other countries and on record.<ref name=w21>"Sir David Webster's 21 Years at Covent Garden", ''The Times'', 12 April 1965, p. 14</ref> Increasingly, productions were in the original language.<ref name=w21/> In the interests of musical and dramatic excellence, Solti was a strong proponent of the ''stagione'' system of scheduling performances, rather than the traditional repertory system.<ref name=what/>{{refn|Under the old repertory system, a company would have a certain number of operas in its repertoire, and they would be played throughout the season in a succession of one or two night performances, with little or no rehearsal each time. Under the ''stagione'' system, works would be revived in blocks of perhaps ten or more performances, fully rehearsed for each revival.|group= n}} By 1967, ''The Times'' said, "Patrons of Covent Garden today automatically expect any new production, and indeed any revival, to be as strongly cast as anything at the Met in New York, and as carefully presented as anything in Milan or Vienna".<ref>"Twenty marvellous years at Covent Garden", ''The Times'', 13 January 1967, p. 14</ref>

The company's repertory in the 1960s combined the standard operatic works and less familiar pieces. The five composers whose works were given most frequently were Verdi, Puccini, Wagner, Mozart and Richard Strauss; the next most performed composer was Britten.<ref name=goodman57>Goodman and Harewood, p. 57</ref> Rarities performed in the 1960s included operas by Handel and Janáček (neither composer's works being as common in the opera house then as now), and works by Gluck (''Iphigénie en Tauride''), Poulenc (''The Carmelites''), Ravel (''L'heure espagnole'') and Tippett (''King Priam'').<ref>Haltrecht, pp. 264 (Gluck), 229 (Poulenc), 267 (Ravel) and 269 (Tippett)</ref> There was also a celebrated production of Schoenberg's ''Moses and Aaron'' in the 1965–66 and 1966–67 seasons.<ref>Goodman and Harewood, pp. 57–59</ref> In the mainstream repertoire, a highlight of the decade was Franco Zeffirelli's production of ''Tosca'' in 1964 with Callas, Renato Cioni and Gobbi.<ref>Haltrecht, p. 281</ref> Among the guest conductors who appeared at Covent Garden during the 1960s were Otto Klemperer, Pierre Boulez, Claudio Abbado and Colin Davis.<ref>Drogheda et al, p. 151 (Klemperer), "Boulez at Covent Garden", ''The Times'', 15 October 1969 (Boulez), "Strong cast for Garden Carlos", ''The Times'', 20 June 1968, p. 9 (Abbado), and Haltrecht, p. 301 (Davis)</ref> Guest singers included Jussi Björling, Mirella Freni, Sena Jurinac, Irmgard Seefried and Astrid Varnay.<ref>"Björling in Bohème", ''The Times'' 11 March 1960, p. 15 (Björling), "Gemlike Freni Against a Shabby Setting", ''The Times'' 9 June 1965, p. 16 (Freni), "Miss Jurinac as Mimi", ''The Times'' 29 April 1963 (Jurinac), "Outstanding Octavian", ''The Times'' 3 October 1962, p. 12 (Seefried), and "Covent Garden's new opera plan", ''The Times'', 20 June 1967, p. 6 (Varnay)</ref>

The company made occasional appearances away from the Royal Opera House. Touring within Britain was limited to centres with large enough theatres to accommodate the company's productions,<ref>Haltrecht, p. 198</ref> but in 1964 the company gave a concert performance of ''Otello'' at the Proms in London.<ref>"Covent Garden Otello at the Proms", ''The Times'', 7 August 1964, p. 14</ref> Thereafter an annual appearance at the Proms was a regular feature of the company's schedule throughout the 1960s.<ref>Goodman and Harewood, p. 11</ref> In 1970, Solti led the company to Germany, where they gave ''Don Carlos'', ''Falstaff'' and a new work by Richard Rodney Bennett. All but two of the principals were British. The public in Munich and Berlin were, according to the ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'', "beside themselves with enthusiasm".<ref>Quoted in Lebrecht, p. 281</ref>{{refn|Within the UK, the company's last season away from London was in Manchester in 1983.<ref>Morris, Michael. "Manchester opera season to go ahead", ''The Guardian'', 30 December 1982, p. 2</ref>|group= n}}

In 1968, on the recommendation of the home secretary, James Callaghan, the queen conferred the title "The Royal Opera" on the company. It was the third stage company in the UK to be so honoured, following the Royal Ballet and the Royal Shakespeare Company.<ref>"The Royal Opera", ''The Times'', 24 October 1968, p. 3</ref>

===1970 to 1986=== thumb|left|upright|alt=head shot of a man in early middle age, with a full head of dark hair|Colin Davis, musical director, 1971–86, photographed in 1967 Webster retired in June 1970. The music critic Charles Osborne wrote, "When he retired, he handed over to his successor an organization of which any opera house in the world might be proud. No memorial could be more appropriate".<ref>Osborne, Charles. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/957050 "David Webster"], ''The Musical Times'', 1 July 1971, p. 694 {{subscription required}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102241/https://www.jstor.org/stable/957050 |date=20 March 2021 }}</ref> The successor was Webster's former assistant, John Tooley.<ref>Donaldson, p. 148</ref> One of Webster's last important decisions had been to recommend to the board that Colin Davis should be invited to take over as musical director when Solti left in 1971. It was announced in advance that Davis would work in tandem with Peter Hall, appointed director of productions. Peter Brook had briefly held that title in the company's early days,<ref>Gilbert and Shir, pp. 83–89</ref> but in general the managerial structure of the opera company differed markedly from that of the ballet. The latter had always had its own director, subordinate to the chief executive of the opera house but with, in practice, a great degree of autonomy.<ref name=knight>"The Knight at the Opera", ''The Times'', 24 November 1980, p. 16</ref> The chief executive of the opera house and the musical director exercised considerably more day-to-day control over the opera company.<ref name=knight />{{sfn|Boursnell|Thubron|1982|p=54}} Appointing a substantial theatrical figure such as Hall was an important departure.<ref>Haltrecht, p. 301</ref> Hall, however, changed his mind, and did not take up the appointment, going instead to run the National Theatre.<ref>Waymark, Peter. "Peter Hall will not take Royal Opera job", ''The Times'', 8 July 1971, p. 1, and Haltrecht, p. 301</ref> His defection, and the departure to Australian Opera of the staff conductor Edward Downes, a noted Verdi expert, left the company weakened on both production and musical sides.<ref name=g460/>

Like his predecessors, Davis experienced hostility from sections of the audience in his early days in charge.<ref name=levin/> His first production after taking over was a well-received ''Le nozze di Figaro'', in which Kiri Te Kanawa achieved immediate stardom,<ref>Donaldson, p. 156</ref> but booing was heard at a "disastrous" ''Nabucco'' in 1971,<ref name=canning/> and his conducting of Wagner's ''Ring'' was at first compared unfavourably with that of his predecessor.<ref name=canning/> The Covent Garden board briefly considered replacing him, but was dissuaded by its chairman, Lord Drogheda.<ref name=g460>Gilbert and Shir, p. 460</ref> Davis's Mozart was generally admired; he received much praise for reviving the little-known ''La clemenza di Tito'' in 1974.<ref name=g460/> Among his other successes were ''The Trojans'' and ''Benvenuto Cellini''.<ref name=canning/>

Under Davis, the opera house introduced promenade performances, giving, as Bernard Levin wrote, "an opportunity for those (particularly the young, of course) who could not normally afford the price of stalls tickets to sample the view from the posher quarters at the trifling cost of £3 and a willingness to sit on the floor".<ref name=levin/>{{refn|In current terms, £3 in 1973 was worth a little under £30 (in 2010), compared with a typical regular stalls ticket price between £100 and £200 (2011), depending on the opera and location within the stalls.<ref name=mw/><ref>[http://www.roh.org.uk/booknow/seatingplans.aspx "Seating Plans and Ticket Prices"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120105035313/http://www.roh.org.uk/booknow/seatingplans.aspx |date=5 January 2012 }}, Royal Opera House. Retrieved 17 September 2011</ref>|group= n}} Davis conducted more than 30 operas during his 15-year tenure,<ref name=cdgrove>{{cite Grove |title=Davis, Sir Colin|first1=Andrew|last1=Porter|author1-link=Andrew Porter (music critic)|first2=Alan|last2=Blyth|author2-link=Alan Blyth|date=28 February 2002|url=https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.07305}}</ref> but, he said, "people like [Lorin] Maazel, Abbado and [Riccardo] Muti would only come for new productions". Unlike Rankl, and like Solti,<ref>Mr. Georg Solti's First Two Years at Covent Garden", ''The Times'', 26 July 1963, p. 16</ref> Davis wanted the world's best conductors to come to Covent Garden.<ref name=canning/> He ceded the baton to guests for new productions including ''Der Rosenkavalier'', ''Rigoletto'' and ''Aida''.<ref name=canning>Canning, Hugh. "Forget the booing, remember the triumph", ''The Guardian'', 19 July 1986, p. 11</ref> In ''The Times'', John Higgins wrote, "One of the hallmarks of the Davis regime was the flood of international conductors who suddenly arrived at Covent Garden. While Davis has been in control perhaps only three big names have been missing from the roster: Karajan, Bernstein and Barenboim".<ref>Higgins, John. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:LTIB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0F90B0AB71763233&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "A chance to pursue freedom afresh – Profile of Sir Colin Davis"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102239/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/user/login?destination=document-view%3Fp%3DAWNB%26docref%3Dnews/0F90B0AB71763233%26f%3Dbasic |date=20 March 2021 }}, ''The Times'', 16 July 1986</ref> Among the high-profile guests conducting Davis's company were Carlos Kleiber for performances of ''Der Rosenkavalier'' (1974), ''Elektra'' (1977), ''La bohème'' (1979) and ''Otello'' (1980),<ref>[http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/SearchResults.aspx?person=Carlos%20Kleiber&searchtype=workprodperf "Carlos Kleiber"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213134603/http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/SearchResults.aspx?person=Carlos%20Kleiber&searchtype=workprodperf |date=13 December 2013 }}, Royal Opera House Collections Online. Retrieved 31 August 2011</ref> and Abbado conducting ''Un ballo in maschera'' (1975), starring Plácido Domingo and Katia Ricciarelli.<ref>[http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/performance.aspx?performance=11815&row=1&person=Abbado&searchtype=workprodperf "Un ballo in maschera – 30 January 1975"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330060158/http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/performance.aspx?performance=11815&row=1&person=Abbado&searchtype=workprodperf |date=30 March 2012 }}, Royal Opera House Collections Online. Retrieved 31 August 2011</ref> In addition to the standard repertoire, Davis conducted such operas as Berg's ''Lulu'' and ''Wozzeck'', Tippett's ''The Knot Garden'' and ''The Ice Break'', and Alexander Zemlinsky's ''Der Zwerg'' and ''Eine florentinische Tragödie''.<ref name=cdgrove />

Among the star guest singers during the Davis years were the sopranos Montserrat Caballé and Leontyne Price,<ref>Higgins, John. "Nicolai Gedda: the gift of tongues", ''The Times'' 21 June 1972, p. 9 (Caballe), and Sadie, Stanley. "Aida, Covent Garden", ''The Times'', 24 March 1973, p 9 (Price)</ref> the tenors Carlo Bergonzi, Nicolai Gedda and Luciano Pavarotti<ref>"Bergonzi returning to Covent Garden", ''The Times'', 15 February 1971, p. 10 (Bergonzi), Higgins, John. "Nicolai Gedda: the gift of tongues", ''The Times'' 21 June 1972, p. 9 (Gedda), and Higgins, John. "La Bohème, Covent Garden", ''The Times'', 16 January 1976, p. 11 (Pavarotti)</ref> and the bass Gottlob Frick.<ref>"Gottlob Frick for Parsifal", ''The Times'', 20 April 1971, p. 10</ref> British singers appearing with the company included Janet Baker, Heather Harper, John Tomlinson and Richard Van Allan.<ref>"Owen Wingrave, Royal Opera House", ''The Times'', 11 May 1973, p. 11 (Baker and Harper), Finch, Hilary. "Bartók's mystery Castle", ''The Times'', 7 April 1981, p. 15 (Tomlinson), and Mann, William. "A Sutherland jubilee", ''The Times'', 6 December 1977, p. 15 (Van Allan)</ref> Davis's tenure, at that time the longest in The Royal Opera's history, closed in July 1986 not with a gala, but, at his insistence, with a promenade performance of ''Fidelio'' with cheap admission prices.<ref name=levin>Levin, Bernard. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:LTIB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0F90B0F3E74E0CF8&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "Goodbye to the Garden – Tribute to Sir Colin Davis"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102236/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/user/login?destination=document-view%3Fp%3DAWNB%26docref%3Dnews/0F90B0F3E74E0CF8%26f%3Dbasic |date=20 March 2021 }}, ''The Times'', 19 July 1986</ref>

===1987 to 2002=== thumb|upright|right|alt=bald man in middle age, smiling in semi-profile|Bernard Haitink, music director 1985 to 2002 To succeed Davis, the Covent Garden board chose Bernard Haitink, who was then the musical director of the Glyndebourne Festival. He was highly regarded for the excellence of his performances, though his repertory was not large.<ref name=bh /> In particular, he was not known as an interpreter of the Italian opera repertoire (he conducted no Puccini and only five Verdi works during his music directorship at Covent Garden).<ref name=bh/> His tenure began well; a cycle of the Mozart Da Ponte operas directed by Johannes Schaaf was a success, and although a ''Ring'' cycle with the Russian director Yuri Lyubimov could not be completed, a substitute staging of the cycle directed by Götz Friedrich was well received.<ref name=bh>Clements, Andrew. [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2002/jun/21/classicalmusicandopera.artsfeatures?INTCMP=SRCH "A great musician – but that was not enough"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102304/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2002/jun/21/classicalmusicandopera.artsfeatures?INTCMP=SRCH |date=20 March 2021 }}, ''The Guardian'', 21 June 2002</ref> Musically and dramatically the company prospered into the 1990s. A 1993 production of ''Die Meistersinger'', conducted by Haitink and starring John Tomlinson, Thomas Allen, Gösta Winbergh and Nancy Gustafson, was widely admired,<ref>Seckerson, Edward. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:TND1&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=131FABFA8FD9D898&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "Midsummer magic in the air"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102244/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/user/login?destination=document-view%3Fp%3DAWNB%26docref%3Dnews/131FABFA8FD9D898%26f%3Dbasic |date=20 March 2021 }}, ''The Independent'', 11 October 1993</ref> as was Richard Eyre's 1994 staging of ''La traviata'', conducted by Solti and propelling Angela Gheorghiu to stardom.<ref>Canning, Hugh. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:LSTB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0F929D1FD6A7E761&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "Triumph of the spirit – Opera"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102238/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/user/login?destination=document-view%3Fp%3DAWNB%26docref%3Dnews/0F929D1FD6A7E761%26f%3Dbasic |date=20 March 2021 }}, ''The Sunday Times'', 4 December 1994</ref>

For some time, purely musical considerations were overshadowed by practical and managerial crises at the Royal Opera House. Sir John Tooley retired as general director in 1988, and his post was given to the television executive Jeremy Isaacs. Tooley later forsook his customary reticence and pronounced the Isaacs period a disaster, citing poor management that failed to control inflated manning levels – with a consequent steep rise in costs and ticket prices.<ref name=fay>Fay, Stephen. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:TND1&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=132051AB1A2FE738&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "Book review: Torn curtain – Never Mind the Moon by Jeremy Isaacs"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102245/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/user/login?destination=document-view%3Fp%3DAWNB%26docref%3Dnews/132051AB1A2FE738%26f%3Dbasic |date=20 March 2021 }}, ''The Independent on Sunday'', 21 November 1999</ref> The uneasy relations between Isaacs and his colleagues, notably Haitink, were also damaging.<ref name=fay/> Tooley concluded that under Isaacs "Covent Garden had become a place of corporate entertainment, no longer a theatre primarily for opera and ballet lovers".<ref name=fay/> Isaacs was widely blamed for the poor public relations arising from the 1996 BBC television series ''The House'', in which cameras were permitted to film the day-to-day backstage life of the opera and ballet companies and the running of the theatre.{{refn|Rodney Milnes outlined some of the episodes caught on camera: "the chief commissionaire's revelation of what goes on in the boxes is especially intriguing … A horse falls through the set of ''Katya Kabanova'' … Sackings are agreed while Carmen is stabbed on stage. A black family from south London attending a Hamlyn week reduced-price performance is spectacularly misdirected to cheap gallery slips by toffee-nosed ushers … corporate entertainment rampant, with sponsors boasting of the house's exclusivity and blithely unconcerned at the use of public money to make it so".<ref>Milnes Rodney. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:LTIB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0F92493AC1865367&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA Will the Garden ever bloom again?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102248/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/user/login?destination=document-view%3Fp%3DAWNB%26docref%3Dnews/0F92493AC1865367%26f%3Dbasic |date=20 March 2021 }} ''The Times'', 10 January 1996</ref>|group= n}} ''The Daily Telegraph'' commented, "For years, the Opera House was a byword for mismanagement and chaos. Its innermost workings were exposed to public ridicule by the BBC fly-on-the-wall series ''The House''".<ref>Thomas, David. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:DSTC&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=104D6E7A2B016008&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "All's well in Tony's house – Where chaos and darkness once reigned, all now seems sweetness and light – and profit".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102254/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/user/login?destination=document-view%3Fp%3DAWNB%26docref%3Dnews/104D6E7A2B016008%26f%3Dbasic |date=20 March 2021 }} ''The Daily Telegraph'', 29 August 2004</ref>

In 1995, The Royal Opera announced a "Verdi Festival", of which the driving force was the company's leading Verdian, Sir Edward Downes, by now returned from Australia.<ref>Canning, Hugh. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:LSTB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0F929FA2C9DD9566&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "A force to be reckoned with"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102252/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/user/login?destination=document-view%3Fp%3DAWNB%26docref%3Dnews/0F929FA2C9DD9566%26f%3Dbasic |date=20 March 2021 }}, ''The Sunday Times'', 7 May 1995</ref> The aim was to present all Verdi's operas, either on stage or in concert performance, between 1995 and the centenary of Verdi's death, 2001.<ref>McKee, Victoria. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:TND1&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=131FED6077369520&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "Viva Verdi: a tale of two festivals"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102317/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/user/login?destination=document-view%3Fp%3DAWNB%26docref%3Dnews/131FED6077369520%26f%3Dbasic |date=20 March 2021 }}, ''The Independent'', 9 June 1995</ref> Those operas substantially rewritten by the composer in his long career, such as ''Simon Boccanegra'', were given in both their original and revised versions.<ref>Seckerson, Edward. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:TND1&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=131FED68AE648E70&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "Opera – Simon Boccanegra"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102315/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/user/login?destination=document-view%3Fp%3DAWNB%26docref%3Dnews/131FED68AE648E70%26f%3Dbasic |date=20 March 2021 }}, ''The Independent'', 6 July 1995</ref> The festival did not manage to stage a complete Verdi cycle; the closure of the opera house disrupted many plans, but as ''The Guardian'' put it, "Downes still managed to introduce, either under his own baton or that of others, most of the major works and many of the minor ones by the Italian master."<ref>Blyth, Alan and David Nice. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:GRDC&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=1297B0AA3B4EE838&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "Obituary: Sir Edward Downes: Leading conductor of Verdi at Covent Garden, and a stalwart champion of Prokofiev "] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102244/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/user/login?destination=document-view%3Fp%3DAWNB%26docref%3Dnews/1297B0AA3B4EE838%26f%3Dbasic |date=20 March 2021 }}, ''The Guardian'', 15 July 2009</ref>

The most disruptive event of the decade for both the opera and the ballet companies was the closure of the Royal Opera House between 1997 and 1999 for major rebuilding. ''The Independent on Sunday'' asserted that Isaacs "hopelessly mismanaged the closure of the Opera House during its redevelopment".<ref name=fay/> Isaacs, the paper states, turned down the chance of a temporary move to the Lyceum Theatre almost next door to the opera house, pinning his hopes on a proposed new temporary building on London's South Bank.<ref name=fay/> That scheme was refused planning permission, leaving the opera and ballet companies homeless. Isaacs resigned in December 1996, nine months before the expiry of his contract.<ref name=fay/> Haitink, dismayed by events, threatened to leave, but was persuaded to stay and keep the opera company going in a series of temporary homes in London theatres and concert halls.<ref name=bh/> A semi-staged ''Ring'' cycle at the Royal Albert Hall gained superlative reviews and won many new admirers for Haitink and the company, whose members included Tomlinson, Anne Evans and Hildegard Behrens.{{refn| In the arts pages of the ''Financial Times'', Andrew Clark wrote, "It played to the highest number of people that Wagner's tetralogy has probably ever witnessed at a single sitting. Tickets were sold out weeks in advance, with 20 per cent costing a mere £7.50 for each of the four evenings. The set, a narrow promontory in front of the orchestra, must have been the cheapest in Ring history. The all-black costumes can't have cost much either – and yet the performances pulsated with human drama".<ref>Clark, Andrew. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:FINB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=113B8B2413374020&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "A back-to-basics ' Ring'"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102243/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/user/login?destination=document-view%3Fp%3DAWNB%26docref%3Dnews/113B8B2413374020%26f%3Dbasic |date=20 March 2021 }}, ''Financial Times'', 6 October 1998</ref>|group= n}}

After Isaacs left, there was a period of managerial instability, with three chief executives in three years. Isaacs's successor, Genista McIntosh, resigned in May 1997 after five months, citing ill-health.<ref>Lebrecht, pp. 417–419</ref> Her post was filled by Mary Allen, who moved into the job from the Arts Council. Allen's selection did not comply with the council's rules for such appointments, and following a critical House of Commons Select committee report on the management of the opera house<ref>[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmselect/cmcumeds/199i/cu0111.htm/ "Report on funding and management at the Royal Opera House"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102240/https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmselect/cmcumeds/199i/cu0111.htm/ |date=20 March 2021 }}, Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport, 1998</ref> she resigned in March 1998, as did the entire board of the opera house, including the chairman, Lord Chadlington.<ref>Williams, Alexandra. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:TND1&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=132048ACEEC35428&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "Arts: Ex-chairman damns Opera House report"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102240/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/user/login?destination=document-view%3Fp%3DAWNB%26docref%3Dnews/132048ACEEC35428%26f%3Dbasic |date=20 March 2021 }}, ''The Independent'', 12 December 1997</ref> A new board appointed Michael Kaiser as general director in September 1998. He oversaw the restoration of the two companies' finances and the re-opening of the opera house. He was widely regarded as a success, and there was some surprise when he left in June 2000 after less than two years to run the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.<ref>[http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:ESTC&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0F2AC0D896793C8A&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "Kaiser the rescuer takes off for Kennedy"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102246/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/user/login?destination=document-view%3Fp%3DAWNB%26docref%3Dnews/0F2AC0D896793C8A%26f%3Dbasic |date=20 March 2021 }}, ''London Evening Standard'', 13 December 2000</ref>

The last operatic music to be heard in the old house had been the finale of ''Falstaff'', conducted by Solti with the singers led by Bryn Terfel, in a joint opera and ballet farewell gala in July 1997.{{refn|Solti, Davis and Haitink all conducted at this gala. The Verdi was the penultimate item on the programme. The gala closed with Darcey Bussell dancing on a bare stage, surrounded by both companies, as the Lilac Fairy symbolically putting the house to sleep at the end of Act I of ''The Sleeping Beauty''.<ref>Whitworth, Damian and Dalya Alberge. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:LTIB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0F924C5B0ED30ABA&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "Opera buffs round off gala night with a takeaway"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102246/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/user/login?destination=document-view%3Fp%3DAWNB%26docref%3Dnews/0F924C5B0ED30ABA%26f%3Dbasic |date=20 March 2021 }}, ''The Times'', 15 July 1997</ref>|group= n}} When the house reopened in December 1999, magnificently restored, ''Falstaff'' was the opera given on the opening night, conducted by Haitink, once more with Terfel in the title role.<ref>Canning, Hugh. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:LSTB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0F92A69DC0828718&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "Back in business"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102247/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/user/login?destination=document-view%3Fp%3DAWNB%26docref%3Dnews/0F92A69DC0828718%26f%3Dbasic |date=20 March 2021 }}, ''The Sunday Times'', 12 December 1999</ref>{{refn|The original plan had been to open with György Ligeti's ''Le Grand Macabre'', but the necessary stage machinery was not ready in time, and the slightly-delayed season began with ''Falstaff''.<ref>Alberge, Dalya. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:LTIB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0F92998B9F12B3D0&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "Royal Opera opens with dark farce"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102253/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/user/login?destination=document-view%3Fp%3DAWNB%26docref%3Dnews/0F92998B9F12B3D0%26f%3Dbasic |date=20 March 2021 }}, ''The Times'', 24 November 1999</ref>|group= n}}

===2002 to date=== [[File:Antonio Pappano.JPG|thumb|left|alt=picture of elderly man to the left presenting a younger man to the right with an award|Antonio Pappano (right), music director since 2002, with the Italian president Giorgio Napolitano]] Following years of disruption and conflict, stability was restored to the opera house and its two companies after the appointment in May 2001 of a new chief executive, Tony Hall, formerly a senior executive at the BBC. The following year Antonio Pappano succeeded Haitink as music director of The Royal Opera. Following the redevelopment, a second, smaller auditorium, the Linbury Studio Theatre has been made available for small-scale productions by The Royal Opera and The Royal Ballet, for visiting companies, and for work produced in the ROH2 programme, which supports new work and developing artists.<ref>[http://www.roh.org.uk/roh2/operadevelopment.aspx "Opera development"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005013825/http://www.roh.org.uk/roh2/operadevelopment.aspx |date=5 October 2011 }}, Royal Opera House. Retrieved 27 August 2011</ref> The Royal Opera encourages young singers at the start of their careers with the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme; participants are salaried members of the company and receive daily coaching in all aspects of opera.<ref>[http://www.roh.org.uk/about/jette-parker-young-artists-programme "Jette Parker Young Artists Programme"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130112211456/http://www.roh.org.uk/about/jette-parker-young-artists-programme |date=12 January 2013 }}, Royal Opera House. Retrieved 19 December 2012</ref>

In addition to the standard works of the operatic repertoire, The Royal Opera has presented many less well known pieces since 2002, including Cilea's ''Adriana Lecouvreur'', Massenet's ''Cendrillon'', Prokofiev's ''The Gambler'', Rimsky-Korsakov's ''The Tsar's Bride'', Rossini's ''Il turco in Italia'', Steffani's ''Niobe'', and Tchaikovsky's ''The Tsarina's Slippers''.<ref>[http://www.roh.org.uk/discover/opera/index.aspx "Recently on stage"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091007032111/http://www.roh.org.uk/discover/opera/index.aspx |date=7 October 2009 }}, Royal Opera House. Retrieved 28 August 2011</ref> Among the composers whose works were premiered were Thomas Adès,<ref>[http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/SearchResults.aspx?yearfrom=2002&person=Ades&searchtype=workprodperf&company=The%20Royal%20Opera&genre=Opera&yearto=2011 "The Tempest"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003143659/http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/SearchResults.aspx?yearfrom=2002&person=Ades&searchtype=workprodperf&company=The%20Royal%20Opera&genre=Opera&yearto=2011 |date=3 October 2011 }}, Royal Opera House Collections Online. Retrieved 28 August 2011</ref> Harrison Birtwistle,<ref>[http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/work.aspx?work=13851&row=2&genre=Opera&searchtype=work&company=The%20Royal%20Opera&yearfrom=2002&yearto=2011&page=1 "The Minotaur"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003143744/http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/work.aspx?work=13851&row=2&genre=Opera&searchtype=work&company=The%20Royal%20Opera&yearfrom=2002&yearto=2011&page=1 |date=3 October 2011 }}, Royal Opera House Collections Online. Retrieved 28 August 2011</ref> Lorin Maazel,<ref>[http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/work.aspx?work=1130&row=0&genre=Opera&searchtype=workprodperf&yearfrom=2002&yearto=2011 "1984"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330060319/http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/work.aspx?work=1130&row=0&genre=Opera&searchtype=workprodperf&yearfrom=2002&yearto=2011 |date=30 March 2012 }}, Royal Opera House Collections Online. Retrieved 28 August 2011</ref> and Nicholas Maw.<ref>[http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/work.aspx?work=354&row=0&genre=Opera&person=Maw&searchtype=workprodperf&company=The%20Royal%20Opera&yearfrom=2002&yearto=2011 "Sophie's Choice"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330060330/http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/work.aspx?work=354&row=0&genre=Opera&person=Maw&searchtype=workprodperf&company=The%20Royal%20Opera&yearfrom=2002&yearto=2011 |date=30 March 2012 }}, Royal Opera House Collections Online. Retrieved 28 August 2011</ref>

Productions in the first five years of Pappano's tenure ranged from Shostakovich's ''Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk'' (2004)<ref>[http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/production.aspx?production=3067&row=0 " Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330060407/http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/production.aspx?production=3067&row=0 |date=30 March 2012 }}, Royal Opera House Collections Online. Retrieved 30 August 2011</ref> to Stephen Sondheim's ''Sweeney Todd'' (2003) starring Thomas Allen and Felicity Palmer.<ref>[http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/performance.aspx?performance=4908&row=0 "Sweeney Todd"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330060418/http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/performance.aspx?performance=4908&row=0 |date=30 March 2012 }}, Royal Opera House Collections Online. Retrieved 30 August 2011</ref> Pappano's ''Ring'' cycle, begun in 2004 and staged as a complete tetralogy in 2007, was praised like Haitink's before it for its musical excellence; it was staged in a production described by Richard Morrison in ''The Times'' as "much derided for mixing the homely … the wacky and the cosmic".<ref>Morrison, Richard. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:LTIB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=11C0D036B9E64400&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "Ring of triumph for the ill-omened Norse gods"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102253/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/user/login?destination=document-view%3Fp%3DAWNB%26docref%3Dnews/11C0D036B9E64400%26f%3Dbasic |date=20 March 2021 }}, ''The Times'', 3 October 2007</ref> During Pappano's tenure, his predecessors Davis and Haitink have both returned as guests. Haitink conducted ''Parsifal'', with Tomlinson, Christopher Ventris and Petra Lang in 2007,<ref>[http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/performance.aspx?performance=13746&row=15&yearto=2011&person=Haitink&searchtype=performance&company=The%20Royal%20Opera&yearfrom=2002&page=0 "Parsifal"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330060426/http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/performance.aspx?performance=13746&row=15&yearto=2011&person=Haitink&searchtype=performance&company=The%20Royal%20Opera&yearfrom=2002&page=0 |date=30 March 2012 }}, Royal Opera House Collections Online. Retrieved 30 August 2011</ref> and Davis conducted four Mozart operas between 2002 and 2011, Richard Strauss's ''Ariadne auf Naxos'' in 2007 and Humperdinck's ''Hansel and Gretel'' in 2008.<ref>[http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/SearchResults.aspx?person=Colin%20Davis&searchtype=performance&company=The%20Royal%20Opera&yearfrom=2002&page=0 "Colin Davis"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330060437/http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/SearchResults.aspx?person=Colin%20Davis&searchtype=performance&company=The%20Royal%20Opera&yearfrom=2002&page=0 |date=30 March 2012 }}, Royal Opera House Collections Online. Retrieved 30 August 2011</ref> In 2007, Sir Simon Rattle conducted a new production of Debussy's ''Pelléas et Mélisande'' starring Simon Keenlyside, Angelika Kirchschlager and Gerald Finley.<ref>[http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/performance.aspx?performance=11267&row=0 " Pelléas et Mélisande – 11 May 2007"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330060454/http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/performance.aspx?performance=11267&row=0 |date=30 March 2012 }}, Royal Opera House Collections Online. Retrieved 30 August 2011</ref>

The company visited Japan in 2010, presenting a new production of ''Manon'' and the Eyre production of ''La traviata''. While the main company was abroad, a smaller company remained in London, presenting ''Niobe'', ''Così fan tutte'' and ''Don Pasquale'' at Covent Garden.<ref>Canning, Hugh. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:LSTB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=12E74351A94DE5F8&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "Raising the roof"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102303/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/user/login?destination=document-view%3Fp%3DAWNB%26docref%3Dnews/12E74351A94DE5F8%26f%3Dbasic |date=20 March 2021 }}, ''The Sunday Times'', 14 March 2010</ref>

In 2010, the Royal Opera House received a government subsidy of just over £27m,<ref>Arnott Sarah [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:TND1&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=1318EBD09E47B580&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "Taking high culture to the mass market"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102326/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/user/login?destination=document-view%3Fp%3DAWNB%26docref%3Dnews/1318EBD09E47B580%26f%3Dbasic |date=20 March 2021 }}, ''The Independent'', 12 August 2010</ref> compared with a subsidy of £15m in 1998.<ref name=at>Thorncroft, Antony. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:FINB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=113D72702AAEDD58&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "Scene must change swiftly at the beggar's opera"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102302/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/user/login?destination=document-view%3Fp%3DAWNB%26docref%3Dnews/113D72702AAEDD58%26f%3Dbasic |date=20 March 2021 }}, ''Financial Times'', 20 June 1998</ref> This sum was divided between the opera and ballet companies and the cost of running the building.<ref name=at/> Compared with opera houses in mainland Europe, Covent Garden's public subsidy has remained low as a percentage of its income – typically 43%, compared with 60% for its counterpart in Munich.<ref>Clark, Ross. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:DSTC&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0F2ADD81468D32D7&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "Access all arias: You can fly to Continental Europe and see an opera for less than the price of a ticket at Covent Garden"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102309/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/user/login?destination=document-view%3Fp%3DAWNB%26docref%3Dnews/0F2ADD81468D32D7%26f%3Dbasic |date=20 March 2021 }}, ''The Daily Telegraph'', 16 June 2001</ref>

In the latter part of the 2000s, The Royal Opera gave an average of 150 performances each season, lasting from September to July, of about 20 operas, nearly half of which were new productions.<ref>[http://www.roh.org.uk/about/the-royal-opera/history "History"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102253/https://www.roh.org.uk/about/the-royal-opera/history |date=20 March 2021 }}, Royal Opera House. Retrieved 17 December 2012</ref> Productions in the 2011–12 season included a new opera (''Miss Fortune'') by Judith Weir,<ref>Clements, Andrew. [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/mar/13/miss-fortune-review "Miss Fortune"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102236/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/mar/13/miss-fortune-review |date=20 March 2021 }}, ''The Guardian'', 13 March 2012</ref> and the first performances of ''The Trojans'' at Covent Garden since 1990, conducted by Pappano, and starring Bryan Hymel, Eva-Maria Westbroek and Anna Caterina Antonacci.<ref>Clements, Andrew. [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/jun/26/les-troyens-royal-opera-house-review?INTCMP=SRCH "Les Troyens – Review"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102257/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/jun/26/les-troyens-royal-opera-house-review?INTCMP=SRCH |date=20 March 2021 }}, ''The Guardian'', 26 June 2012</ref> From the start of the 2011–12 season Kasper Holten became Director of The Royal Opera,<ref>Service, Tom. [https://www.theguardian.com/music/tomserviceblog/2011/mar/18/kasper-holten-royal-opera-house-director "Royal Opera House Director"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102316/https://www.theguardian.com/music/tomserviceblog/2011/mar/18/kasper-holten-royal-opera-house-director |date=20 March 2021 }}, ''The Guardian'', 18 March 2011</ref> joined by John Fulljames as Associate Director of Opera.<ref>Woolman, Natalie. [https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/john-fulljames-to-take-up-new-royal-opera-post/ "John Fulljames to take up new Royal Opera post"], ''The Stage'', 10 June 2011</ref> At the end of the 2011–12 season ROH2, the contemporary arm of the Royal Opera House, was closed.<ref>Merrifield, Nicola. [https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/closure-of-roh2-will-not-limit-new-work-says-director-kevin-ohare/ "Closure of ROH2 'will not limit new work' says director Kevin O'Hare"], ''The Stage'', 13 September 2012]</ref> Responsibility for contemporary programming was split between the Studio programmes of The Royal Opera and The Royal Ballet.<ref>[http://www.roh.org.uk/about/roh2 ROH2] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102247/https://roh-production.global.ssl.fastly.net/v2/css/b9b9ad2.css?v=1.56.1 |date=20 March 2021 }}, Royal Opera House. Retrieved 12 December 2014</ref>

Since the start of the 2012–13 season, The Royal Opera has continued to mount around 20 productions and around seven new productions each season. The 2012–13 season opened with a revival of ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'', directed by Keith Warner; new productions that season included ''Robert le diable'', directed by Laurent Pelly,<ref>[http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/robert-le-diable-by-laurent-pelly "''Robert le diable'' by Laurent Pelly"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130119005052/http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/robert-le-diable-by-laurent-pelly |date=19 January 2013 }}, Royal Opera House. Retrieved 12 December 2014</ref> ''Eugene Onegin'', directed by Holten,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20121025002013/http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/eugene-onegin-by-kasper-holten "''Eugene Onegin''"], Royal Opera House. Retrieved 12 December 2014</ref> ''La donna del lago'', directed by Fulljames,<ref>[http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/la-donna-del-lago-by-john-fulljames "''La donna del lago''"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810001015/http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/la-donna-del-lago-by-john-fulljames |date=10 August 2016 }}, Royal Opera House. Retrieved 12 December 2014</ref> and the UK premiere of ''Written on Skin'', composed by George Benjamin and directed by Katie Mitchell.<ref>[http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/written-on-skin-by-katie-mitchell "''Written on Skin''"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130312152435/http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/written-on-skin-by-katie-mitchell |date=12 March 2013 }}, Royal Opera House. Retrieved 12 December 2014</ref> Productions by the Studio Programme included the world premiere of David Bruce's ''The Firework-Maker's Daughter'' (inspired by Philip Pullman's novel of the same name), directed by Fulljames,<ref>[http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/the-firework-makers-daughter-by-john-fulljames "''The Firework-Maker's Daughter''"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105010238/http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/the-firework-makers-daughter-by-john-fulljames |date=5 November 2014 }}, Royal Opera House. Retrieved 12 December 2014</ref> and the UK stage premiere of Gerald Barry's ''The Importance of Being Earnest'', directed by Ramin Gray.<ref>[http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/the-importance-of-being-earnest-by-ramin-gray "''The Importance of Being Earnest''"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160726223618/http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/the-importance-of-being-earnest-by-ramin-gray |date=26 July 2016 }}, Royal Opera House. Retrieved 12 December 2014</ref>

New productions in the 2013–14 season included ''Les vêpres siciliennes'', directed by Stefan Herheim,<ref>[http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/les-vepres-siciliennes-by-stefan-herheim "''Les Vêpres siciliennes''"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131108104042/http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/les-vepres-siciliennes-by-stefan-herheim |date=8 November 2013 }}, Royal Opera House. Retrieved 12 December 2014</ref> ''Parsifal'', directed by Stephen Langridge,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130603160840/http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/parsifal-by-stephen-langridge "''Parsifal''"], Royal Opera House. Retrieved 12 December 2014</ref> ''Don Giovanni'', directed by Holten,<ref>[http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/don-giovanni-by-kasper-holten "''Don Giovanni''"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102240/https://www.roh.org.uk/error/500 |date=20 March 2021 }}, Royal Opera House. Retrieved 12 December 2014</ref> ''Die Frau ohne Schatten'', directed by Claus Guth,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130603163905/http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/die-frau-ohne-schatten-by-claus-guth "''Die Frau ohne Schatten''"], Royal Opera House. Retrieved 12 December 2014</ref> and ''Manon Lescaut'', directed by Jonathan Kent,<ref>[http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/manon-lescaut-by-jonathan-kent "''Manon Lescaut''"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170503134247/http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/manon-lescaut-by-jonathan-kent |date=3 May 2017 }}, Royal Opera House. Retrieved 12 December 2014</ref> and in the Studio Programme the world premiere of Luke Bedford's ''Through His Teeth'',<ref>[http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/through-his-teeth-by-bijan-sheibani "''Through His Teeth''"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141115021256/http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/through-his-teeth-by-bijan-sheibani |date=15 November 2014 }}, Royal Opera House. Retrieved 12 December 2014</ref> and the London premiere of Luca Francesconi's ''Quartett'' (directed by Fulljames).<ref>[http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/quartett-by-john-fulljames "''Quartett''"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213014625/http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/quartett-by-john-fulljames |date=13 December 2014 }}, Royal Opera House. Retrieved 12 December 2014</ref> This season also saw the first production of a three-year collaboration between The Royal Opera and Welsh National Opera, staging ''Moses und Aron'' in 2014, Richard Ayre's ''Peter Pan'' in 2015 and a new commission in 2016 to celebrate WNO's 70th anniversary.<ref>[http://www.wno.org.uk/news/welsh-national-opera-announces-london-residency-royal-opera-house "Welsh National Opera announces London residency at the Royal Opera House"], Welsh National Opera. Retrieved 12 December 2014</ref> Other events this season included The Royal Opera's first collaboration with Shakespeare's Globe, Holten directing ''L'Ormindo'' in the newly opened Sam Wanamaker Playhouse.<ref>Ashley, Tim [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/mar/26/ormindo-francesco-cavalli-opera-wanamaker-playhouse-review, "An exquisite evening"], ''The Guardian'' review, 26 March 2014</ref> In ''The Guardian'', Tim Ashley wrote, "A more exquisite evening would be hard to imagine"; Dominic Dromgoole, director of the playhouse expressed the hope that the partnership with the Royal Opera would become an annual fixture.<ref>Ashley Tim. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:EGLL&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=14CCFABDA62AB4C8&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "''L'Ormindo'' by Francesco Cavalli"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102303/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/user/login?destination=document-view%3Fp%3DAWNB%26docref%3Dnews/14CCFABDA62AB4C8%26f%3Dbasic |date=20 March 2021 }}, ''The Guardian'', 27 March 2014, p. 38; and Battle, Laura. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:FINB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=14CDE52012DE71C0&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "Cavalli by candle light"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102303/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/user/login?destination=document-view%3Fp%3DAWNB%26docref%3Dnews/14CDE52012DE71C0%26f%3Dbasic |date=20 March 2021 }}, ''Financial Times'', 29 March 2014, p. 11</ref> The production was revived in February 2015.<ref>Jeal, Erica. [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/feb/04/l-ormindo-review-sam-wanamaker-playhouse-london-royal-opera "''L'Ormindo'' review – a ravishing candlelit revival"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320102249/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/feb/04/l-ormindo-review-sam-wanamaker-playhouse-london-royal-opera |date=20 March 2021 }}, ''The Guardian'', 4 February 2015, p. 34</ref>

In March 2021, the ROH announced simultaneously the latest extension of Pappano's contract as its music director until the 2023-2024 season, and the scheduled conclusion of Pappano's tenure as ROH music director at the close of the 2023-2024 season.<ref>{{cite press release | url=https://www.roh.org.uk/news/the-royal-opera-house-confirms-antonio-pappano-as-music-director-until-202324-season | title=The Royal Opera House confirms Antonio Pappano as Music Director until 2023/24 Season | publisher=The Royal Opera | date=2021-03-30 | access-date=2021-03-30}}</ref>

Jakub Hrůša first guest-conducted at the ROH in February 2018, in a production of ''Carmen''.<ref>{{cite news | title=Carmen review – Bizet meets Busby Berkeley | url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/feb/07/carmen-review-royal-opera-house-london-bizet-meets-busby-berkeley | work=The Guardian | author=Tim Ashley | date=2018-02-07 | access-date=2022-10-24}}</ref> He returned to the ROH in April 2022 to conduct a production of ''Lohengrin''.<ref>{{cite news | title=Lohengrin review – powerful and prescient production strips Wagner's opera of its romance | url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/apr/20/lohengrin-review-wagner-david-alden-peter-relton-royal-opera-house | work=The Guardian | author=Martin Kettle | date=2022-04-20 | access-date=2022-10-24}}</ref> In October 2022, the ROH announced the appointment of Hrůša as its next music director, effective in September 2025.<ref>{{cite press release | url=https://www.roh.org.uk/news/royal-opera-house-appoints-jakub-hrusa-as-music-director | title=Royal Opera House appoints Jakub Hrůša as Music Director | publisher=Royal Opera House | date=17 October 2022 | accessdate=2022-10-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=Jakub Hrusa Set to Lead Royal Opera House | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/18/arts/music/jakub-hrusa-royal-opera-house.html | work=The New York Times | author=Alex Marshall | date=2022-10-18 | access-date=2022-10-18}}</ref> He took the title of music director designate with immediate effect. Hrůša and Pappano are scheduled to share responsibilities in the 2024-2025 transition season.<ref name="Tilden">{{cite news | title=Royal Opera House announces Jakub Hrůša as its new music director | url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/oct/18/royal-opera-house-announces-jakub-hrusa-as-its-new-music-director | work=The Guardian | author=Imogen Tilden | date=2022-10-18 | access-date=2022-10-18}}</ref>

From July to August 2024, ''Symphonic Horizons'' by Professor Brian Cox was performed at the ROH.<ref name="cox_symphony">{{cite web |title=Professor Brian Cox at the Royal Opera House ~ Covent Garden, London |url=https://www.alternativeclassical.co.uk/concerts-calendar/brian-cox-royal-opera-house |website=alternative classical |access-date=9 March 2025}}</ref>

On February 11, 2025, the ROH premiered "Festen," a new opera composed by Mark-Anthony Turnage with a libretto by Lee Hall, nominated for Best New Opera Production at the Laurence Olivier Awards.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Marshall |first=Alex |date=2025-02-10 |title=In ‘Festen,’ a Nightmare Birthday Becomes an Opera |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/10/arts/music/festen-opera-mark-anthony-turnage.html |access-date=2025-03-07 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==Managerial and musical heads, 1946 to date==

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |- !Royal Opera House Chief executive !! Opera company Music Director !! Director of Opera !! Notes and references |- | rowspan="7" | 1946–1970 David Webster | 1946–1951 Karl Rankl | rowspan="3" | ''none'' | style="text-align: left;" | 1946–1980 Chief executive titled "General Administrator" |- | ''none'' | – |- | 1955–1958 Rafael Kubelík | – |- | rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | ''none'' | 1959–1960 Lord Harewood | style="text-align: left;" | Harewood's title was "Controller of Opera Planning" |- | rowspan="2" | 1960–1962 Bernard Keeffe | style="text-align: left;" | Keeffe's title was "Controller of Opera Planning" |- | rowspan="3" | 1961–1971 Georg Solti | – |- | rowspan="2" | 1962–1971 Joan Ingpen | style="text-align: left;" | Ingpen's title was "Controller of Opera Planning" |- | rowspan="5" | 1970–1988 John Tooley | style="text-align: left;" | From 1980, Tooley's title was "General Director" |- | rowspan="3" | 1971–1986 Colin Davis | ''none'' | – |- | 1973–1981 Helga Schmidt | style="text-align: left;" | Schmidt's title was first "Head of Opera Planning" then "Artistic Administrator" |- | 1983–1987 Peter Katona | style="text-align: left;" | Katona's title was "Artistic Administrator" He is currently "Director of Casting" |- | rowspan="8" | 1987–2002 Bernard Haitink | rowspan="2" | 1987–1993 Paul Findlay | style="text-align: left;" | Since the 1980s, the title "Music Director" has been adopted in place of "Musical Director" Findlay's title was "Opera Director" |- | rowspan="2" | 1988–1996 Jeremy Isaacs | style="text-align: left;" | Isaac's title was "General Director" |- | rowspan="3" | 1993–1998 Nicholas Payne | style="text-align: left;" | Payne's title was "Opera Director" |- | January – May 1997 Genista McIntosh | style="text-align: left;" | McIntosh's title was "Chief executive" |- | September 1997 – March 1998 Mary Allen | style="text-align: left;" | Allen's title was "Chief executive" |- | September 1998 – June 2000 Michael Kaiser | ''none'' | style="text-align: left;" | Kaiser's title was "Chief executive" |- | ''none'' | rowspan="3" | 2000–2011 Elaine Padmore | style="text-align: left;" | Padmore's title was "Director of Opera" |- | rowspan="3" | May 2001 – 2013 Tony Hall | style="text-align: left;" | Hall's title was "Chief executive"<ref>[http://www.roh.org.uk/about/tony-hall "Tony Hall"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130131104450/http://www.roh.org.uk/about/tony-hall |date=31 January 2013 }}, Royal Opera House. Retrieved 17 December 2012</ref> |- | rowspan="5" | 2002–2024 Antonio Pappano | – |- | rowspan="2" | 2011–2017 Kasper Holten | style="text-align: left;" | Holten's title was "Director of Opera" |- | rowspan="4" | 2013–present Alex Beard | style="text-align: left;" | Beard's title is "Chief executive" |- | rowspan="3" | 2017–present Oliver Mears | style="text-align: left;" | Mears's title is "Director of Opera" |- | rowspan="2" | |- |2025–present Jakub Hrůša |}

==References== ===Notes=== {{Reflist|group=n|colwidth=30em}}

===Footnotes=== {{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

===Sources=== * {{cite book|last1=Boursnell|first1=Clive|last2=Thubron|first2=Colin|year=1982|title=The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden|location=London|publisher=Hamish Hamilton|isbn=0-241-10891-8}} * {{cite book|last= Donaldson |first= Frances|author-link=Frances Donaldson, Baroness Donaldson of Kingsbridge |year= 1988|title= The Royal Opera House in the Twentieth Century |location= London|publisher= Weidenfeld & Nicolson |isbn= 0-297-79178-8}} * {{cite book|last1=Drogheda|first1=Lord|author1-link=Charles Moore, 11th Earl of Drogheda|first2=Ken|last2=Dowson|first3=Andrew|last3=Wheatcroft|year=1981|title=The Covent Garden Album|location=London|publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul|isbn=0-7100-0880-5}} * {{cite book|last=Gilbert|first=Susie|author2=Jay Shir|year=2003|title=A Tale of Four Houses – Opera at Covent Garden, La Scala, Vienna and the Met Since 1945|location=London|publisher=Harper Collins|isbn=0-00-255820-3}} * {{cite book|last1=Goodman|first1=Lord|author1-link=Arnold Goodman, Baron Goodman|author2=Lord Harewood|author2-link=George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood|year=1969|title=A Report on Opera and Ballet in the United Kingdom, 1966��69|location=London|publisher=Arts Council of Great Britain|oclc= 81272}} * {{cite book |last=Haltrecht |first=Montague|author-link=Montague Haltrecht|year=1975 |title=The Quiet Showman – Sir David Webster and the Royal Opera House |location=London |publisher=Collins |isbn=0-00-211163-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/quietshowmansird00halt }} * {{cite book | last=Jefferson | first=Alan | title=Sir Thomas Beecham – A Centenary Tribute | location=London | publisher=Macdonald and Jane's | year=1979| isbn=0-354-04205-X}} * {{cite book|last=Lebrecht|first=Norman|author-link=Norman Lebrecht|year=2000|title=Covent Garden: The Untold Story: Dispatches from the English Culture War, 1945–2000|location=London|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=0-684-85143-1}} * {{cite book|last=Rosenthal|first=Harold|author-link=Harold Rosenthal|year=1958|title=Two Centuries of Opera at Covent Garden|location=London|publisher=Putnam|oclc=185327768}}

==Further reading== * {{cite book|last= Allen |first= Mary|author-link=Mary Allen (arts administrator)|year= 1998|title= A House Divided – The Diary of a Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House|location= London |publisher= Simon & Schuster |isbn= 0-684-85865-7|ref=none}} * {{cite book|last=Isaacs |first=Jeremy|author-link=Jeremy Isaacs|year= 1999|title= Never Mind the Moon|location= London |publisher= Bantam |isbn= 0-593-04355-3|ref=none}} * {{cite book|last= Mosse |first= Kate|author-link=Kate Mosse|year=1995 |title= The House – Inside the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden|location= London |publisher= BBC Books |isbn= 0-563-37088-2|ref=none}} * {{cite book|last= Tooley |first= John|author-link=John Tooley|year= 1999|title= In House – Covent Garden, 50 Years of Opera and Ballet|location= London |publisher= Faber and Faber |isbn= 0-571-19415-X|ref=none}}

==External links== * {{official|https://www.roh.org.uk/about/the-royal-opera}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Opera, The}} Category:Royal Opera House Category:Covent Garden Category:Musical groups established in 1946 Category:Opera companies in London