Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Connections

Connections Author name Excerpt
Performance of text Mary Russell Mitford
MRM 's Julian (a five-act verse tragedy) had the first of its eight performances at Covent Garden .
Mudge, Bradford Keyes, editor. Dictionary of Literary Biography 116. Gale Research, 1992.
116: 194
Stephen, Sir Leslie, and Sidney Lee, editors. The Dictionary of National Biography. Smith, Elder, 1908–2025, 22 vols. plus supplements.
Performance of text Robert Browning
RB 's tragedy in blank verse entitled Strafford was first performed at Covent Garden ; it was published the same year.
Irvine, William, and Park Honan. The Book, the Ring, and the Poet: A Biography of Robert Browning. McGraw-Hill, 1974.
74-5
The Concise Dictionary of National Biography: From Earliest Times to 1985. Oxford University Press, 1995, 3 vols.
Performance of text Mary Russell Mitford
MRM 's five-act verse tragedy Foscari had the first of its fifteen performances at Covent Garden .
Stephen, Sir Leslie, and Sidney Lee, editors. The Dictionary of National Biography. Smith, Elder, 1908–2025, 22 vols. plus supplements.
Performance of text E. M. Forster
Billy Budd, Benjamin Britten 's opera based on Herman Melville 's novel, with libretto by EMF and Eric Crozier , opened at the Royal Opera House , Covent Garden, London.
Drabble, Margaret, and Jenny Stringer, editors. The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. Oxford University Press, 1987.
216
Kirkpatrick, Brownlee Jean. A Bibliography of E. M. Forster. Clarendon, 1985.
60
Performance of text Anne Burke
A play was put on at Covent Garden entitled The Ward of the Castle and ascribed to Miss Burke. Several sources ascribe this to AB , but she was a married woman, and would...
Performance of text Caroline Norton
CN tried a new genre with a play, The Gypsy Father, which opened on this date at Covent Garden Theatre ; it was not a success with the audience and seems not to have been printed.
Chedzoy, Alan. A Scandalous Woman: The Story of Caroline Norton. Allison and Busby, 1995.
78
Performance of text Hannah Cowley
HC had her first great hit when her comedy The Belle's Stratagem opened at Covent Garden .
The London Stage 1660-1800. Southern Illinois University Press, 1960–1968, 5 vols.
5: 319
Performance of text Hannah Cowley
Another comedy by HC , The World as it Goes; or, A Party at Montpelier, opened at Covent Garden .
The London Stage 1660-1800. Southern Illinois University Press, 1960–1968, 5 vols.
5: 411
Performance of text Oscar Wilde
The first performance was heard at Covent Garden of the English opera written by Richard Strauss to the text of OW 's Salome.
Tydeman, William, and Steven Price. Wilde—Salome. Cambridge University Press, 1996.
185
Performance of text Hannah Cowley
HC 's comedy Which Is the Man? opened belatedly at Covent Garden .
The London Stage 1660-1800. Southern Illinois University Press, 1960–1968, 5 vols.
5: 496
Performance of text Charlotte Smith
CS 's only extant play, the comedy What Is She?, opened anonymously at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden .
Mann, David D. et al. Women Playwrights in England, Ireland and Scotland, 1660-1823. Indiana University Press, 1996.
400
Fletcher, Loraine. Charlotte Smith: A Critical Biography. Macmillan, 1998.
289
Publishing Emma Robinson
About the time she published her first novel, ER also composed a three-act play entitled Richelieu in Love.
The duc de Richelieu , churchman and statesman,Cardinal and French Prime Minister, had had areputation as...
Publishing Sophia Lee
SL had the idea for it while in debtors' prison with her father . Contemporary rumour said she had written it to get him out of prison; but at that time she apparently made no...
Publishing Hannah Cowley
It was badly presented, by two of the cast in particular.
Escott, Angela, and Isobel Grundy. Email about supposed quarrel between Hannah Cowley and Hannah More to Isobel Grundy. 24 Oct. 2002.
It had been completed by 1777, but rejected by Thomas Harris of Covent Garden , who then produced Hannah More 's Percy instead. Tragedy...
Publishing Isabel Hill
Through his connections, Benson Hill had the play presented to Covent Garden Theatre . Though the management chose not to produce the play, they provided IH with a long letter full of encouragement and constructive...

Timeline

Late 1939-1944: For the duration of the second World War,...

Building item

Late 1939-1944

For the duration of the second World War, Covent Garden was converted into a dance hall; no opera, ballet or theatrical performances took place there.
Drogheda, Charles Garrett Ponsonby Moore, Earl of et al. The Covent Garden Album: 250 Years of Theatre, Opera, and Ballet. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1981.
126
Nettel, Reginald. The Orchestra in England: A Social History. Jonathan Cape, 1956.
247

20 February 1946: The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London,...

Building item

20 February 1946

The Royal Opera House , Covent Garden, London, had its grand reopening after wartime closure. Margot Fonteyn performed with the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet in The Sleeping Beauty.
Palmer, Alan, and Veronica Palmer. The Chronology of British History. Century, 1992.
396
Dane, Clemence. London Has a Garden. Michael Joseph, 1964.
151-2

24 April 1946: The Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet company,...

Building item

24 April 1946

The Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet company, with principal ballerinas Moira Shearer , Margot Fonteyn , and Pamela May , performed Symphonic Variations at Covent Garden .
Palmer, Alan, and Veronica Palmer. The Chronology of British History. Century, 1992.
396

1949: Richard Strauss's opera Salome, to words...

Building item

1949

Richard Strauss 's opera Salome, to words by Oscar Wilde , was performed at Covent Garden, produced by Peter Brook with sets by Salvador Dali .
Drogheda, Charles Garrett Ponsonby Moore, Earl of et al. The Covent Garden Album: 250 Years of Theatre, Opera, and Ballet. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1981.
136
Harewood, George Henry Hubert Lascelles, Earl of, editor. Kobbé’s Complete Opera Book. 10th ed., Bodley Head, 1987.
806-7

26 April 1951: Composer Ralph Vaughan Williams's opera Pilgrim's...

Building item

26 April 1951

Composer Ralph Vaughan Williams 's opera Pilgrim's Progress was first performed, at Covent Garden in London.
Palmer, Alan, and Veronica Palmer. The Chronology of British History. Century, 1992.
404

8 November 1952: Maria Callas made her London debut at Covent...

Building item

8 November 1952

Maria Callas made her London debut at Covent Garden in Giuseppe Bellini 's opera Norma.
Palmer, Alan, and Veronica Palmer. The Chronology of British History. Century, 1992.
404
Drogheda, Charles Garrett Ponsonby Moore, Earl of et al. The Covent Garden Album: 250 Years of Theatre, Opera, and Ballet. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1981.
142

6 February 1953: Singer Kathleen Ferrier collapsed during...

Building item

6 February 1953

Singer Kathleen Ferrier collapsed during Gluck 's opera Orfeo at Covent Garden ; she never sang again, but died of cancer later this year.
Drogheda, Charles Garrett Ponsonby Moore, Earl of et al. The Covent Garden Album: 250 Years of Theatre, Opera, and Ballet. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1981.
141
Stevenson, John, 1946 -. British Society, 1914-45. Penguin, 1984.
409
Stephen, Sir Leslie, and Sidney Lee, editors. The Dictionary of National Biography. Smith, Elder, 1908–2025, 22 vols. plus supplements.

3 October 1956: The first Soviet ballet company to visit...

Building item

3 October 1956

The first Soviet ballet company to visit Britain, the Bolshoi , performed Romeo and Juliet at Covent Garden .
Palmer, Alan, and Veronica Palmer. The Chronology of British History. Century, 1992.
411

1 January 1957: The first three-act ballet score by a British...

Building item

1 January 1957

The first three-act ballet score by a British composer, Benjamin Britten 's The Prince of the Pagodas, was performed at Covent Garden.
Palmer, Alan, and Veronica Palmer. The Chronology of British History. Century, 1992.
413

10 June 1958: The Centenary Gala of the Royal Opera House...

Building item

10 June 1958

The Centenary Gala of the Royal Opera House took place in celebration of the opening (on 6 April 1847) of the third theatre on the Covent Garden site, the first designed for opera.
Drogheda, Charles Garrett Ponsonby Moore, Earl of et al. The Covent Garden Album: 250 Years of Theatre, Opera, and Ballet. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1981.
146

27 October 1958: The ballet Ondine, danced by Margot Fonteyn...

Building item

27 October 1958

The ballet Ondine, danced by Margot Fonteyn and choreographed by Frederick Ashton , was performed at Covent Garden.
Palmer, Alan, and Veronica Palmer. The Chronology of British History. Century, 1992.
414

17 February 1959: Australian soprano Joan Sutherland sang Lucia...

Building item

17 February 1959

Australian soprano Joan Sutherland sang Lucia in the Franco Zeffirelli version of the opera Lucia di Lammermoor at Covent Garden.
Drogheda, Charles Garrett Ponsonby Moore, Earl of et al. The Covent Garden Album: 250 Years of Theatre, Opera, and Ballet. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1981.
149

12 March 1963: Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn danced...

Building item

12 March 1963

Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn danced together for the first time at the Royal Opera House , Covent Garden, in Marguerite and Armand by Sir Frederick Ashton .
Dane, Clemence. London Has a Garden. Michael Joseph, 1964.
150

1988: The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, appointed...

Building item

1988

The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden , appointed its first woman conductor, Sian Edwards .
“Women’s History Timeline”. BBC: Radio 4: Woman’s Hour.

4 December 1999: The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, re-opened...

Building item

4 December 1999

The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden , re-opened after a three-year reconstruction (begun well before the final performance in the old house in July 1997).
“AbouttheHouse: History”. Royal Opera House.

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