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94-629: Other regular concerts began in London around this time: the subscription concerts established by Johann Christian Bach and Carl Friedrich Abel , which ran from 1764 to 1782, and the Concerts of Antient Music , which began in 1776. The prestigious Hanover Square Rooms, accommodating about 900 people, opened in 1775 with a concert given by Bach and Abel. The committee directing the Professional Concerts included Wilhelm Cramer , leader of

188-577: A shopping arcade , called the Royal Opera Arcade, which has survived fires and renovations and still exists. It runs along the rear of the theatre. Between 1818 and 1820 the British premieres of Gioachino Rossini 's operas Il barbiere di Siviglia , Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra , L'italiana in Algeri , La Cenerentola and Tancredi took place in the theatre. In 1797 Taylor

282-595: A General Opera Trust Deed was signed by the parties. The general management of the theatre was to be entrusted to a committee of noblemen, appointed by the Prince of Wales , who would then appoint a general manager. Funds would be disbursed from the profits to compensate the creditors of both the King's Theatre and the Pantheon. The committee never met, and management devolved to Taylor. The first public performance of opera in

376-416: A dissatisfied audience who charged the stage and destroyed the fittings, as the company ran for their lives. The theatre burnt down on 17 June 1789 during evening rehearsals, and the dancers fled the building as beams fell on the stage. The fire had been deliberately set on the roof, and Gallini offered a reward of £300 for capture of the culprit. With the theatre destroyed, each group laid its own plans for

470-621: A landmark case, Bach v Longman , which established that (in English law ) copyright law applied to musical scores. Even before then, Bach demanded a proper credibility for his compositions almost at the same time upon his arrival to London in 1762. He was granted an exclusive right to publish his music for 14 years. By the late 1770s, both his popularity and finances were in decline. By the time of Bach's death on New Year's Day 1782, he had become so indebted (in part due to his steward embezzling his money), that Queen Charlotte stepped in to cover

564-400: A large mausoleum or a place for funeral dirges, than a theatre, are removed. The expense of the improvements was not matched by the box office receipts, and the partnership dissolved; Sheridan took a mortgage on the theatre of £12,000 from the banker Henry Hoare to buy out his partner. One member of the company, Giovanni Gallini , had made his début at the theatre in 1753 and had risen to

658-448: A loss to the musical world!" J.C. Bach had an immense influence on Mozart. In fact, Mozart’s partiality to wind instruments in his early symphonies were influenced by Bach. As J.C. Bach believed that wind instruments should be carriers of their own melodic material and not just act as doubled instruments, Mozart followed suit. J.C. Bach’s influence on Mozart was so grand that the theme of the slow movement of Mozart’s Concerto K414 contains

752-503: A platform to feature their works on a public stage. Because these concerts required a subscription, they cultivated a regular audience as the audience members prepaid for that season's concert series. Furthermore, the Bach-Abel concerts allowed the middle class greater access to live classical music. Previously, live music performances were limited to private, aristocratic settings; however, these subscription concerts were made available to

846-482: A reference to the overture of Bach’s opera, La calamita de cuori . J.C. Bach is responsible for the development of a distinct Classical musical form known as Sinfonia concertante . This genre emerged as a musical form from the Baroque concerto grosso . Sinfonia concertante influenced many of Bach’s contemporaries, like Mozart and Haydn, and provided a framework for further compositions. The Bach-Abel concerts were

940-574: A replacement. Gallini obtained a licence from the Lord Chamberlain to perform opera at the nearby Little Theatre , and he entered into a partnership with R. B. O'Reilly to obtain land in Leicester Fields for a new building, which would require another licence. The two quarrelled, and each planned to wrest control of the venture from the other. The authorities refused to grant either of them a patent for Leicester Fields, but O'Reilly

1034-481: A series of concerts, in association with the impresario Johann Peter Salomon , on his second visit to London in 1794–95. For this second London season he conducted the last six of his 104 symphonies. The final three were premiered at the concert room of the King's Theatre. During the performance of one of them, No. 102 , a chandelier fell from the ceiling and crashed into the auditorium below. There were no serious injuries, and there were shouts of "miracle, miracle" from

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1128-468: A series of more than twenty-five of his original operas, continuing until 1739. Handel was a partner in the management with Heidegger from 1729 to 1734, and he contributed incidental music for the theatre, including that for a revival of Ben Jonson 's The Alchemist , opening on 14 January 1710. On the accession of George I in 1714 the theatre was renamed the King's Theatre (and remained so named during

1222-457: A series of public concerts that eventually gave way to the development of modern day concert series. The concerts where created in collaboration with his friend and German virtuoso viola da gamba player, Carl Friedrich Abel. These concerts first started at Abel's residence but an increase in popularity led to these concerts being held at larger venues. They featured new works, by Bach and Abel, but also newer musical artists, such as Haydn, giving them

1316-515: A series of trusts and benefices. After the fire the Vanbrugh family's long association with the theatre was terminated, and all their leases were surrendered by 1792. Taylor completed a new theatre on the site in 1791. According to the theatre historians Mander and Mitchenson : "it was at the time the largest theatre in England; it was generally regarded as one of the most resplendent theatres in

1410-411: A site subsequently used for the building of Scotland Yard . All the fittings of the theatre had been removed, including the seats, carpets and even the wallpaper. £6,000 was spent on fitting out the theatre, and on 28 April 1877 it returned to theatrical use with a revival of Bellini's opera Norma . The London premiere of Bizet 's Carmen was given at the theatre on 22 June 1878, and the house hosted

1504-527: A style inspired by the French Renaissance . The theatre has a Corinthian colonnade at the first floor, rising to the second, forming a loggia in front of the circle foyer. This is above a canopy over the main ground floor entrances. The theatre lies on an east–west axis. The stage at the western end was 49 feet (14.9 m) deep and 69.5 feet (21.2 m) wide, reputedly the first British stage to be flat, rather than raked. The interior of

1598-475: Is all that survives of the second theatre and is one of the earliest examples of a London arcade. The current theatre opened on 28 April 1897. Tree built the theatre with profits from his tremendous success at the Haymarket Theatre, and he owned, managed and lived in the theatre from its construction until his death in 1917. For his personal use, he had a banqueting hall and living room installed in

1692-422: Is widely regarded as having a strong influence on the young Mozart, with scholars such as Téodor de Wyzewa and Georges de Saint-Foix describing him as "The only true teacher of Mozart". Mozart arranged three sonatas from Bach's Op. 5 into keyboard concertos , and in later life Mozart "often acknowledged the artistic debt he owed" to Johann Christian. Upon hearing of Bach's death in 1782, Mozart commented, "What

1786-520: The Carl Rosa Opera Company in seasons from 1879 to 1882. Haverly's United Mastodon Minstrels played a season in 1880; a dramatisation of Uncle Tom's Cabin was seen in 1882; and the first complete performances in England of Richard Wagner 's Der Ring des Nibelungen were given at Her Majesty's in 1882. The tetralogy was presented twice: the first cycle was well attended, the second less so. The Musical Times congratulated

1880-553: The Hanover Square Rooms . This was London's premier concert venue in the heart of fashionable Mayfair . The surrounding Georgian homes offered a well-to-do clientele for his performances. One of London's primary literary circles, which included Jane Timbury , Robert Gunnell Esq., Lord Beauchamp, and the Duchess of Buccleuch , was acquainted with Bach, and members were regular attendees at his events. In 1777, he won

1974-559: The King's Theatre , including Orione on 19 February 1763. In 1764 or 1765, the castrato Giusto Fernando Tenducci , who became a close friend, created the title role in his opera Adriano in Siria at King's. That established his reputation in England, and he became music master to Queen Charlotte . In 1766, Bach met soprano Cecilia Grassi (1746-1791), who was eleven years his junior, and married her shortly thereafter. They had no offspring. J. C. Bach performed symphonies and concertos at

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2068-512: The Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre , managed by Thomas Betterton . The company did not prosper at that theatre, and in 1703 the dramatist and architect John Vanbrugh acquired a former stable yard, at a cost of £2,000, for the construction of a new theatre in the Haymarket. He was joined in the enterprise by his principal associate and manager William Congreve and Betterton's company. To build

2162-585: The Theatre Royal, Covent Garden ; the law allowing only the patent companies to perform straight plays had been repealed in 1843, and although opera continued to be an important part of the repertoire at Her Majesty's, a wider range of productions was now possible. Lind's retirement from opera in 1849 was a blow to Lumley, but the appearance of the Cuban singer Donna Maria Martinez at the theatre in July 1850

2256-474: The British premieres of La forza del destino , Médée , Faust , Orpheus in the Underworld and The Merry Wives of Windsor , and promoted such singers as Mario , Giulia Grisi, De Murska , Thérèse Tietjens , Antonio Giuglini , Charles Santley and Christine Nilsson . On the night of 6 December 1867 the theatre was destroyed by fire, thought to have been caused by an overheated stove. Only

2350-404: The British public. Under Laporte singers such as Giulia Grisi , Pauline Viardot , Giovanni Battista Rubini , Luigi Lablache and Mario made their London stage débuts at the theatre. Among the musical directors of this period was Nicolas Bochsa , the celebrated and eccentric French harpist. He was appointed in 1827 and remained for six years at this position. When Queen Victoria ascended

2444-597: The Crown Estate) desired the entire block on which the theatre stood to be rebuilt, except for the Royal Arcade, where the lease did not expire until 1912. Problems were encountered in obtaining all the buildings and in financing the scheme, but the theatre and surrounding buildings were demolished in 1892. When the demolition of the building was about to begin The Times commented: It is not fitting to dwell on

2538-417: The Professional Concerts "were allowed to be of the most perfect and gratifying kind, the band being composed of performers of the first talent in the kingdom, and the company of the most elegant description." Johann Peter Salomon had been excluded from the Professional Concerts, and set up his own concerts in 1791, continuing until 1795. He brought Joseph Haydn to London to appear there. The directors of

2632-460: The Professional Concerts, unable to make Haydn break his engagements with Salomon, invited his pupil Ignaz Pleyel to conduct concerts, hoping that rivalry between them would induce Haydn to perform at the concerts. This did not succeed, Haydn and Pleyel remaining on friendly terms. At Pleyel's first appearance in February 1792, which included a symphony he had written for the occasion, Haydn was in

2726-494: The Queen's Theatre continued, and Swiny fled abroad to escape his creditors. John James Heidegger took over the management of the theatre and, from 1719, began to extend the stage through arches into the houses to the south of the theatre. A "Royal Academy of Music" was formed by subscription from wealthy sponsors, including the Prince of Wales , to support Handel's productions at the theatre. Under this sponsorship Handel conducted

2820-511: The accession of Edward VII in 1901. In 1952 the theatre again became Her Majesty's on the accession of Elizabeth II . Following the accession of Charles III in 2022 the name reverted to His Majesty's. There have been four theatres on the site, at the junction of the Haymarket and Charles II Street in the West End of London . The first opened as the Queen's Theatre on 9 April 1705. In

2914-508: The actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree for the erection of the theatre at an estimated cost of £55,000. Provisional plans were submitted in March 1896 and approved in February 1897; meanwhile, on 16 July 1896 the foundation stone of the new theatre was laid. The theatre opened in April 1897. Phipps died the following month; the theatre was his last work. After the death of Queen Victoria in 1901,

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3008-528: The actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree , who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) at the theatre. In the early decades of the 20th century Tree produced spectacular productions of Shakespeare and other classical works, and the theatre hosted premieres by such playwrights as Bernard Shaw , J. M. Synge and, later, Noël Coward and J. B. Priestley . Since the First World War

3102-553: The audience fittings as lavish but the facilities for playing poor. Vanbrugh and Congreve received Queen Anne 's authority to form a Company of Comedians on 14 December 1704, and the theatre opened as the Queen's Theatre in April 1705 with imported Italian singers in Gli amori d'Ergasto ( The Loves of Ergasto ), a pastoral opera by Jakob Greber , with an epilogue by Congreve. This was the first opera sung in Italian in London. Later in

3196-439: The audience part of the house, and made a great variety of alterations, part of which are calculated for the rendering the theatre more light, elegant and pleasant, and part for the ease and convenience of the company. The sides of the frontispiece are decorated with two figures painted by Gainsborough , which are remarkably picturesque and beautiful; the heavy columns which gave the house so gloomy an aspect that it rather resembled

3290-484: The audience. With the departure of the Drury Lane company in 1794 the theatre returned to opera, hosting the first London performances of Mozart 's La clemenza di Tito in 1806, Così fan tutte and The Magic Flute in 1811, and Don Giovanni in 1816. Between 1816 and 1818, John Nash and George Repton made alterations to the façade and increased the capacity of the auditorium to 2,500. They also added

3384-774: The audience. The Professional Concerts, suffering from the popularity of Salomon's concerts, ended in 1793. Johann Christian Bach Johann Christian Bach (5 September 1735 – 1 January 1782) was a German composer of the Classical era , the youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach . He received his early musical training from his father, and later from his half-brother, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach in Berlin. After his time in Berlin he made his way to Italy to study with famous Padre Martini in Bologna. While in Italy, J.C. Bach

3478-657: The authorities enforced that provision. The actors moved to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and Queen's Theatre concentrated on opera. Some performances of plays at Queen's were licensed in 1709 by the Lord Chamberlain, and the theatre's acoustics were altered to better support drama. After 1709, however, the theatre was devoted to Italian opera and was sometimes referred to as the Haymarket Opera House. The young George Frideric Handel made his English début with his opera Rinaldo , on 24 February 1711 at

3572-602: The bare walls of the theatre remained, and most of the adjacent shops in Pall Mall, and the Clergy Club hotel in Charles Street (now called Charles II Street), suffered damage of varying severity. After the destruction of the theatre Mapleson took his company to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. A third building was constructed in 1868 at a cost of £50,000, within the shell of the old theatre, for Lord Dudley . It

3666-529: The best planned theatres in London. The building was Grade II* listed in January 1970. The adjacent hotel was severely damaged by bombing in the Second World War and was demolished in 1957–58, replaced by the new High Commission for New Zealand (New Zealand House) , completed in 1963 (now, like the theatre, a Grade II listed building). The 200-year-old Royal Opera Arcade, built by Nash and Repton,

3760-516: The box receipts taken by Novosielski, rather than given to Gallini to run the house. Money continued to be squandered on endless litigation or was misappropriated. Gallini tried to keep the theatre going, but he was forced to employ amateur performers. The World described a performance: "... the Dance, if such it can be called was like the movements of heavy Cavalry. It was hissed very abundantly". On another occasion Gallini had to defend himself against

3854-427: The composer or the artists, but this was not known to the London press and public, who blamed Rossini. Ebers engaged Giuditta Pasta for the 1825 season, but he became involved in lawsuits which, combined with a large increase in the rent of the theatre, forced him into bankruptcy, after which he returned to his bookselling business. In 1828 Ebers was succeeded as theatre manager by Pierre François Laporte, who held

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3948-468: The composer. It received its world premiere on 22 July 1847, with the Swedish diva Jenny Lind in the star role of Amalia. The British premieres of two more Verdi operas, I due Foscari and Attila , followed in 1847–48. Lind's success was so great that it became known as "Lind mania", but other performers felt neglected, and disputes continued. In 1847 Costa finally transferred his opera company to

4042-432: The construction of Blenheim Palace , his management of the theatre became increasingly chaotic, showing "numerous signs of confusion, inefficiency, missed opportunities, and bad judgement". In May 1707, experiencing mounting losses and running costs, he sold a fourteen-year lease on the theatre to Owen Swiny and gave up active management of the theatre. The theatre was not licensed to present non-musical plays, and in 1708

4136-403: The decay of a fine institution, and it is better to recall the magnificent series of operas from Rinaldo to Der Ring des Nibelungen which have been presented for the first time in England at the house in the Haymarket during its 180 years of active existence. Plans were commissioned from the architect Charles J. Phipps for a theatre and a hotel. In February 1896 an agreement was reached with

4230-416: The expenses of the estate and provided a life pension for Bach's widow. He was buried in the graveyard of St. Pancras Old Church , London. The works of J. C. Bach are given 'W' numbers, from Ernest Warburton's Thematic catalog of his works (New York City: Garland Publishing , 1999). Bach's compositions include eleven operas, as well as chamber music, orchestral music and compositions for keyboard. In

4324-477: The following three years. Ebers sublet the theatre to Giambattista Benelli in 1824, and Rossini was invited to conduct, remaining for a five-month season, with his wife Isabella Colbran performing. Two more of his operas, Zelmira and Semiramide , received their British premieres during the season, but there was public complaint about Rossini's failure to provide a new opera, as promised. Benelli had defaulted on his contract and absconded without paying either

4418-525: The fourth volume of Charles Burney 's General History of Music there is an account of J. C. Bach's career. There are two others named Johann Christian Bach in the Bach family tree, but neither was a composer. In 1764, Bach met with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , who was aged eight at the time and was in London during the Mozart family grand tour . Bach then spent five months teaching Mozart in composition. Bach

4512-403: The history of the ballet than those years when [Perrot] was ballet-master at Her Majesty's Theatre". Among the ballets he staged were Ondine, ou La Naïade (1843), La Esmeralda (1844), and Catarina, ou La Fille du Bandit (1846), as well as the celebrated divertissement Pas de Quatre (1845). Other ballet masters created works for the ballet of Her Majesty's throughout the period of

4606-480: The impresario Angelo Neumann on his enterprise in staging the cycle, but regretfully predicted a substantial financial loss for the production. Sarah Bernhardt appeared at the theatre in La dame aux camelias in 1886. Mapleson returned in 1887 and 1889, but The Times observed that his repertoire comprised "works that had long ceased to attract a large public, the singers were exclusively of second-rate quality, and

4700-475: The late 17th century there were two patent theatre companies, who were the only performers permitted by law to stage plays without music. They had been brought together as the United Company at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane , built in 1663, but there were continual disagreements between the actors and their manager, Christopher Rich . In 1695 some of the actors broke away and set up a rival company at

4794-417: The lease for the theatre was transferred from James Brook to Thomas Harris , stage manager of the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, and to the playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan for £22,000. They paid for the remodelling of the interior by Robert Adam in the same year. In November 1778, The Morning Chronicle reported that Harris and Sheridan had: ... at a considerable expence, almost entirely new built

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4888-418: The management in 1842, introducing London audiences to Donizetti's late operas, Don Pasquale and La fille du régiment . Initially, relations were good between Lumley and Michael Costa , the principal conductor at Her Majesty's, but they later deteriorated. Verdi 's Ernani , and Nabucco , and I Lombardi received their British premieres in 1845–46, and Lumley commissioned I masnadieri from

4982-565: The massive, central, square French-style dome. The theatre opened with a dramatisation of Gilbert Parker 's The Seats of the Mighty . Adaptations of novels by Dickens , Tolstoy , and others formed a substantial part of the repertoire, along with classical works by Molière and others. Tree presented the world premiere of J. M. Synge 's The Tinker's Wedding , and the British premiere of Bernard Shaw 's Pygmalion , in which he starred with Mrs Patrick Campbell , in 1914. Above all, Tree

5076-417: The mid-19th century. From the early 1830s until the late 1840s the theatre was known for staging romantic ballet . The celebrated ballet master Jules Perrot began staging ballet at Her Majesty's in 1830. Lumley appointed him Premier Maître de Ballet (chief choreographer) to the theatre in 1842. The ballet historian Ivor Guest writes, "probably never before or since has there been a more brilliant period in

5170-406: The music for most of the new ballets presented at the theatre. Throughout the era of the romantic ballet the theatre presented performances by celebrated ballerinas , including Fanny Cerrito , Fanny Elssler , Lucile Grahn , Carlotta Grisi , Lola Montez and Marie Taglioni . From 1862 to 1867 the theatre was managed by J. H. Mapleson . He presented Italian, French and German opera, including

5264-440: The new house was on 26 January 1793, the dispute with the Lord Chamberlain over the licence having been settled. The King's Theatre became the home of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane company while its theatre was being rebuilt. From 1793 seven small houses at the east side of the theatre fronting on the Haymarket were demolished and replaced by a large concert room attached to the theatre. It was in this room that Joseph Haydn gave

5358-480: The new theatre was designed by the consulting architect, W. H. Romaine-Walker , in a style drawing on that of the Royal Opera of Versailles by Gabriel . The stalls and pit were entered at ground level, with two partly cantilevered tiers above accommodating dress and family circles on the first level, and upper circle, amphitheatre and gallery on the tier above. In all, there were 1,319 seats. Contemporary opinion

5452-481: The orchestra; William Dance , principal second violin; the cellist James Cervetto ; and the composer and violinist William Shield . The subscription was five guineas for twelve weekly concerts. Performers at the Professional Concerts included the tenor Samuel Harrison from about 1783, the oboist Friedrich Ramm in 1784, the pianist and singer Maria Theresia von Paradis in 1785, and the violinist George Bridgetower in 1790. William Thomas Parke wrote that in 1788

5546-427: The position (with a brief gap in 1831–1833) until his death in 1841. Two of Rossini's Paris operas ( Le comte Ory and Le siège de Corinthe ) had their British premieres at the theatre during this period, and Laporte was also the first to introduce the operas of Vincenzo Bellini ( La sonnambula , Norma and I puritani ) and Gaetano Donizetti ( Anna Bolena , Lucia di Lammermoor and Lucrezia Borgia ) to

5640-399: The position of dancing master, gaining an international reputation. He had tried to buy Harris's share but had been rebuffed. He now purchased the mortgage. Sheridan quickly became bankrupt after placing the financial affairs of the theatre in the hands of William Taylor, a lawyer. The next few years saw a struggle for control of the theatre and Taylor bought Sheridan's interest in 1781. In 1782

5734-406: The possession of a Taylor supporter. The scene was set for a further war of attrition between the lessees, but at this point O'Reilly's first season at the Pantheon failed miserably, and he fled to Paris to avoid his creditors. By 1720 Vanbrugh's direct connection with the theatre had been terminated, but the leases and rents had been transferred to both his own family and that of his wife's through

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5828-479: The romantic ballet, most notably Paul Taglioni (son of Filippo Taglioni ), who staged ballets including Coralia, ou Le Chevalier inconstant (1847) and Electra (1849, the first production of a ballet to make use of electric lighting). The Italian composer Cesare Pugni was appointed "Composer of the Ballet Music" to the theatre in 1843, a position created for him by Lumley. Between 1843 and 1850 he wrote

5922-498: The season Vanbrugh presented a comedy, The Confederacy , in which Thomas Doggett , later known for Doggett's Coat and Badge , scored one of his greatest successes, but overall, the season was a failure. The theatre proved too large for actors' voices to carry across the auditorium: according to a contemporary account, "the convenience of a good theatre has been sacrificed to exhibit a triumphal piece of architecture ... not one word can be distinctly heard". Another obstacle to success

6016-487: The site was established in 1705 by the architect and playwright John Vanbrugh as the Queen's Theatre. Legitimate drama unaccompanied by music was prohibited by law in all but the two London patent theatres , and the theatre quickly became an opera house . Between 1711 and 1739 more than 25 operas by George Frideric Handel premiered here. The theatre burnt down in 1789, and a new theatre was completed in 1791. Some of Joseph Haydn 's series of concerts in London took place at

6110-417: The splendour of London; but the unlucky fragment is fated to stand as a foil to the vile and absurd edifice of brick pieced to it, which I have not patience to describe. The Lord Chamberlain, a supporter of O'Reilly, refused a performing licence to Taylor. The theatre opened on 26 March 1791 with a private performance of song and dance entertainment, but it was not allowed to open to the public. The new theatre

6204-407: The standard of performance was extremely low". Mander and Mitchenson comment that in 1889 the house was even the scene of a boxing tournament. Over Christmas seasons pantomimes were staged; after one such – Cinderella , starring Minnie Palmer – the theatre closed in 1890. Its owners were insolvent and the courts ordered the sale of the building and its contents. One of the last things seen in

6298-489: The succession of male monarchs who occupied the throne until 1837). The two patent theatres remained the only ones permitted to perform dramas unaccompanied by music in London, and lacking letters patent , the theatre remained associated with opera. In 1762 Johann Christian Bach travelled to London to premiere three operas at the theatre, including Orione on 19 February 1763. This established his reputation in England, and he became music master to Queen Charlotte . In 1778

6392-488: The theatre in the 1790s. In the early 19th century the theatre was home to an opera company (which moved to the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden , in 1847) presenting the first London performances of Mozart 's La clemenza di Tito , Così fan tutte and Don Giovanni . It also hosted the ballet of Her Majesty's Theatre in the mid-19th century, before returning to opera with the London premieres of such works as Bizet 's Carmen and Wagner 's Ring cycle . A third building

6486-706: The theatre or other creditors, seeking only to enrich themselves, and in August 1785 the Lord Chamberlain took over the running of the enterprise, in the interests of the creditors. Gallini, meanwhile, had become manager. In 1788 the Lord Chancellor observed "that there appeared in all the proceedings respecting this business, a wish of distressing the property, and that it would probably be consumed in that very court to which ... [the interested parties] seemed to apply for relief". Performances suffered, with

6580-413: The theatre seated 1,890, and for plays, with the orchestra pit removed, 2,500. As a result of a dispute over the rent between Dudley and Mapleson, and a decline in the popularity of ballet, the theatre remained dark until 1874, when it was sold to a Revivalist Christian movement. Mapleson returned to Her Majesty's in 1877 and 1878, after a disastrous attempt to build a 2,000-seat National Opera House on

6674-399: The theatre was remodelled by Michael Novosielski, formerly a scene painter at the theatre. In May 1783 Taylor was arrested by his creditors, and a forced sale ensued, at which Harris purchased the lease and much of the effects. Further legal action transferred the interests in the theatre to a board of trustees, including Novosielski. The trustees acted with a flagrant disregard for the needs of

6768-498: The theatre's name reverted to His Majesty's Theatre. The theatre was designed as a symmetrical pair with the Carlton Hotel and restaurant on the adjacent site. The frontage formed three parts, each of nine bays. The hotel occupied two parts, the theatre one, and the two buildings were unified by a cornice above the ground floor. The buildings rose to four storeys, with attic floors above, surmounted by large squared domes in

6862-645: The theatre, Vanbrugh raised the money by subscription, possibly among members of the Kit-Cat Club . According to Colley Cibber : To recover them [Betterton's company], therefore, to their due Estimation, a new Project was form'd of building them a stately theatre in the Hay-Market, by Sir John Vanbrugh, for which he raised a Subscription of thirty Persons of Quality, at one hundred Pounds each, in Consideration whereof every Subscriber, for his own Life,

6956-571: The theatre, featuring the two leading castrato singers of the era, Nicolo Grimaldi and Valentino Urbani . This was the first Italian opera composed specifically for the London stage. The work was well received, achieving a run, substantial for the time, of fifteen performances. Handel immediately became the most popular composer in London, but he left soon after the close of the opera season in June 1711 to take up an appointment in Hanover . Losses at

7050-509: The third theatre was another season by Bernhardt, in which she appeared as Joan of Arc in a play by Jules Barbier, and as Marguerite in a revival of La dame aux camelias . With the rapid advances in theatre technology made since the 1860s, the third theatre quickly became outmoded, and the sub-lease of the theatre, still held by the Dudley family, was due to expire in 1891. The Commissioners of Woods, Forests and Land Revenues (forerunners of

7144-531: The throne in 1837 the name of the theatre was changed to Her Majesty's Italian Opera House. In the same year Samuel Phelps made his London début as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice at the theatre, also playing in other Shakespearean plays there. In 1863 Robert Browning 's Colombe's Birthday played at the theatre. The Morning Post described it as "a delicate wreath of poetic flowers", too subtle for theatregoers accustomed to coarser offerings, and it

7238-659: The wide stage has made the theatre suitable for large-scale musical productions, and His Majesty's has accordingly specialised in hosting musicals . It has been home to record-setting musical theatre runs such as the First World War hit Chu Chin Chow and Andrew Lloyd Webber 's The Phantom of the Opera , which has run at His Majesty's since 1986, except during the COVID-19 pandemic theatre closures . The first theatre on

7332-475: The wider public, allowing middle class people to engage in the arts and society. The Bach-Abel concerts decreased in popularity and ended due to changing musical tastes and Bach's death. Notes Her Majesty%27s Theatre His Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated in the Haymarket in the City of Westminster , London. The building, designed by Charles J. Phipps , was constructed in 1897 for

7426-590: The work, as originally planned; the audiences were enthusiastic, and there was tumultuous applause for the composer, librettist, stars, conductor and impresario. Mander and Mitchenson describe 1851 as "the last season of operatic prosperity for Her Majesty's". The orchestra seceded to Covent Garden in 1852 and the theatre closed until 1856, when a fire shut down its rival. After the reopening of Her Majesty's Lumley presented two more British premieres of Verdi operas: La traviata in 1856 and Luisa Miller in 1858. Ballet played an important part at Her Majesty's in

7520-466: The world". Novosielski had again been chosen as architect for the theatre on an enlarged site; the building was described by Malcolm in 1807 as fronted by a stone basement in rustic work, with the commencement of a very superb building of the Doric order, consisting of three pillars, two windows, an entablature, pediment, and balustrade. This, if it had been continued, would have contributed considerably to

7614-508: Was appointed as an organist at Milan Cathedral in 1760. During his time in Italy, he converted from Lutheranism to Catholicism , supposedly due to political reasons. He devoted most of his time composing church music, including music for a Requiem Mass and a Te Deum and Latin Mass settings. His first major work was a Mass, which received an excellent performance and acclaim in 1757. In 1762, Bach travelled to London to première three operas at

7708-581: Was appointed as an organist at the Milan Cathedral . In 1762 he became a composer to the King’s Theatre in London where he wrote a number of successful Italian operas and became known as "The English Bach". He is responsible for the development of the sinfonia concertante form. He became one of the most influential figures of the classical period, influencing compositional styles of prolific musicians like Haydn and Mozart . Johann Christian Bach

7802-590: Was born to Johann Sebastian and Anna Magdalena Bach in 1735 in Leipzig , Germany. His father, Johann Sebastian Bach , instructed him in his early musical training. After his father's death, he moved to Berlin to pursue his studies with his half-brother Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach , who was twenty-one years his senior and, at the time, was considered to be the most musically gifted of Bach's sons. In 1754 he moved to Italy to study with Padre Martini in Bologna . He

7896-486: Was constructed in 1868. The theatre's capacity is 1,216 seats, and the building was Grade II* listed by English Heritage in 1970. LW Theatres has owned the building since 2000. The land beneath it is on a long-term lease from the Crown Estate . The name of the theatre changes with the gender of the monarch. Throughout the reign of Queen Victoria it was called Her Majesty's Theatre, changing to His Majesty's on

7990-569: Was critical of the project. Edwin Sachs wrote in his 1897 guide to theatres, "The treatment is considered to be in the French Renaissance style and stone has been used throughout. The detail cannot, however, be termed satisfactory, nor does the exterior architecturally express the purpose of the building." Later opinion of the theatre has been more favourable: English Heritage describes the building as both Phipps's finest work and one of

8084-426: Was designed by Charles Lee and Sons and their partner, William Pain, and built by George Trollope and Sons . The designers had taken over John Nash's practice on his retirement. The new theatre was designed to be less susceptible to fire, with brick firewalls, iron roof trusses and Dennett's patent gypsum -cement floors. The auditorium had four tiers, with a stage large enough for the greatest spectaculars. For opera,

8178-708: Was elected as member of Parliament for Leominster , a position that gave him immunity from his creditors. When that parliament dissolved in 1802 he fled to France. Later he returned, and was member of Parliament for Barnstaple from 1806 to 1812 while continuing his association with the theatre. John Ebers , a bookseller, took over the management of the theatre in 1821, and seven more London premieres of Rossini operas ( La gazza ladra , Il turco in Italia , Mosè in Egitto , Otello , La donna del lago , Matilde di Shabran and Ricciardo e Zoraide ) took place there in

8272-487: Was granted a licence for four years to present opera at the Oxford Street Pantheon (which burned to the ground in 1792). Meanwhile, Taylor reached an agreement with the creditors of the King's Theatre and attempted to buy the remainder of the lease from Edward Vanbrugh, but this was now promised to O'Reilly. A further complication arose as the theatre needed to expand into adjacent land that now came into

8366-416: Was heavily indebted and spanned separate plots of land that were leased to Taylor by four different owners on differing terms. As a later manager of the theatre wrote, "In the history of property, there has probably been no parallel instance wherein the legal labyrinth has been so difficult to thread." Meetings were held at Carlton House and Bedford House attempting to reconcile the parties. On 24 August 1792

8460-719: Was known for his Shakespeare productions. His longest-running of these was Henry VIII , which had a record-breaking run of 254 consecutive performances from September 1910 to April 1911. His biographer B. A. Kachur writes: Most of the Shakespeare revivals at Her Majesty's enjoyed equally unprecedented runs. Tree succeeded in popularizing Shakespeare with his audiences because he staged the plays in ways that appealed to spectators' taste for elaborate spectacle and realistic scenery and scenic effects. His Majesty's no longer specialised in opera, but there were occasional operatic presentations in its early years, including seasons given by

8554-476: Was not a success. In 1841 disputes arose over Laporte's decision to replace the baritone Antonio Tamburini with a new singer, Colletti. The audience stormed the stage, and the performers formed "a revolutionary conspiracy". A London newspaper described the incident as "one of the most disgraceful scenes that ever occurred within the walls of any theatre". Laporte died suddenly, and Benjamin Lumley took over

8648-699: Was that in the early 18th century the new theatre was too far from the homes of its potential patrons. Cibber commented that the City , the Inns of Court , and the middle part of the town, from which much of the clientele of theatres came, were not within easy walking distance, and for those in the cheaper seats, "Coach hire is often too hard a Tax upon the Pit and the Gallery". Congreve departed and Vanbrugh bought out his other partners. As he became progressively more involved in

8742-468: Was the subject of much attention from the press. She was dubbed "the Black Malibran " and was "vehemently applauded and encouraged", but she did not prove a sustained draw, and the highlight of the 1850 season was the premiere of Halévy's Shakespearean opera La Tempesta . The critics were moderately impressed by the music, though there was some regret that Mendelssohn had not lived to compose

8836-439: Was to be admitted to whatever Entertainments should be publickly perform'd there, without farther Payment for his Entrance. The land for the theatre was held on a lease renewable in 1740; the freeholder was, and remains, the Crown Estate . Building was delayed by the necessity of acquiring the street frontage, and a three-bay entrance led to a brick shell 130 feet (39.6 m) long and 60 feet (18.3 m) wide. Cibber described

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