Royal Opera House
Dates: 1858 - present
Official website: http://www.roh.org.uk
What's On: http://www.roh.org.uk/events
Backstage Tour
Take a tour of the Royal Opera House
Exhibits from this venue in the Backstage Heritage Collection
Links to information about equipment at Royal Opera House over the years
- Lightboard (Strand)
- C-AE - System C-AE (Strand)
- Sitralux B40 (Siemens)
- Image (Arri)
Documents
Audience in the foyer of the Royal Opera House
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From Jack Croxford Collection
Audience in the foyer of the Royal Opera House
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From Jack Croxford Collection
C396 Lightboard - Royal Opera House
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From Strand Slide Archive
C397 Lightboard - Royal Opera House
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From Strand Slide Archive
C398 Lightboard - Royal Opera House
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From Strand Slide Archive
Fitup - Royal Opera House 1930s
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From Jack Croxford Collection
Opening Night Audience at Royal Opera House
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From Jack Croxford Collection
Production Desk at the Royal Opera House
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From Jack Croxford Collection
M219 Covent Garden Opera Control (1908)
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From Strand Slide Archive
Dimmer Room at the ROH with Mansell clutch controller and bracket handle board- (1937)
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From Jack Croxford Collection
Lighting Control ROH date approx (1937)
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From Jack Croxford Collection
Wardrobe Ladies at the Royal Opera House (1937)
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From Jack Croxford Collection
LSI: The Royal Opera House in a new light (June 2026)
[External Website]
From Lighting & Sound International
Mentions of Royal Opera House in indexed documents
Equipment
From The Stage Guide, 1971
Electrics: Strand board in FOH control room. Dimmers - 240 (238 x 5kW and 2 x 10kW): 14 presets; groups - 40 memories.
Circuits - FOH 44; Flies 20; Stage dips 40; and 4 patch
Socket type - 15A BESA and 30A Reyrolle
Patching system: all battens and cycs; 28 FOH side spots and outlets, 40 on grid, 8 on bridges, 4 on stage.
Total capacity available - 1200A on 3 phases.
Special effects supply - 480A on 3 phases and 900A on 1 phase, and 2 x 3 phase supplies at 100A per phase.
Follow spots - 4 Xenon in dome
Footlights installed and cannot be covered.
Sound: Console in basement. Amplifiers: 6 x 100W, 4 x 50W, 3 tape decks, 1 turntable.
Mic sockets - 40 (Reslo), 16 live inputs.
Loudspeaker sockets - 40 (including 2 in dome)
Seen on Film
Parts of the exterior of the building, as it was in 1948, can be seen in The Red Shoes, including Mart Street, which defined the edge of the Opera House at that point, before Covent Garden redevelopments removed it. The Bow Street (public) and Floral Street (stage door) entrances are shown clearly. More details.
Automated Stage
Information about the phenomenal automation system at the Royal Opera House by Stage Technologies: http://www.stagetech.com/royal-opera-house
Changeover from afternoon rehearsals to evening show: