First look at Royal Opera House’s spectacular renovations

The Royal Opera House has today opened the doors to its transformed new home, following an extensive three-year construction project.

With inviting new entrances, extended foyers and a new café, bar and restaurant, together with a programme of ticketed and free daytime events for people of all ages, the Royal Opera House is now, for the first time since works began, open to the public every day from 10am.

At the heart of this project is a brand new Linbury Theatre, the West End’s newest and most intimate theatre, which provides an additional world-class stage for The Royal Ballet, The Royal Opera and a host of internationally celebrated artists and partners.

The Linbury Theatre’s inaugural season will showcase an astonishing range of work, from an 18th-century rarity to 21st-century world premieres – including Gavin Higgins’s new opera The Monstrous Child, based on Francesca Simon’s novel of the same name.

Directors and choreographers participating in the line-up include Ivo van Hove, Aletta Collins, Adele Thomas, Wayne McGregor and Timothy Sheader, with co-producers and visiting artists including Alessandra Ferri, National Dance Company Wales, Introdans, Cas Public, Ballet Black, Yorke Dance Project, Lost Dog, London Handel Festival, Isango Ensemble and Muziektheater Transparant. Full details of the season can be found at the (new!) Royal Opera House website.

The project, designed by award-winning architects Stanton Williams, unites 19th-century grandeur with 21st-century elegance. The new bar and restaurant provide delicious food and drink in beautifully designed spaces, and are open to both performance goers and other members of the public.

The final construction cost is estimated at £50.7m, with all of the funds raised from philanthropy.

The elegant, newly-created spaces will be brought alive with a year-round daytime programme of events, ranging from workshops demonstrating the magic of backstage theatre crafts to guest artist performances and immersive events. The venue also features new front-of-house displays, showcasing stunning costumes which chart famous episodes in the history of The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera.

More information can be found on the Royal Opera House website.