Навчальний посібник для студентів ос «Бакалавр» галузі знань 03 «Гуманітарні науки»

203 
later,Handel's first season of operas began. Many of his operas 
and oratorios were specifically written for Covent Garden and had their 
premieres there. 
The current building is the third theatre on the site following disastrous 
fires in 1808 and 1856. The façade, foyer, and auditoriumdate from 1858, but 
almost every other element of the present complex dates from an extensive 
reconstruction in the 1990s. The Royal Opera House seats 2,256 people and 
consists of four tiers of boxes and balconies and the amphitheatre gallery. 
Theproscenium is 12.20 m wide and 14.80 m high. The main auditorium is a 
Grade 1 listed building as noted by Theatres Trust.
The foundation of the 
Theatre Royal, Covent Garden
lies in 
the letters patent awarded by Charles II to Sir William Davenant in 1660, 
allowing Davenant to operate one of only two patent theatre companies 
(
The Duke's Company
) in London. The letters patent remained in the 
possession of the Opera House until shortly after the First World War, when 
the document was sold to an American university library. 
n 1728, John Rich, actor-manager of the Duke's Company at Lincoln's Inn 
Fields Theatre, commissioned 
The Beggar's Opera
 from John Gay. The 
success of this venture provided him with the capital to build the Theatre 
Royal (designed by Edward Shepherd) at the site of an ancient convent 
garden, part of which had been developed by Inigo Jones in the 1630s with a 
piazza and church. In addition, a Royal Charter had created a fruit and 
vegetable market in the area, a market which survived in that location until 
1974. At its opening on 7 December 1732, Rich was carried by his actors in 
processional triumph into the theatre for its opening production of William 
Congreve's
The Way of the World
.
During the first hundred years or so of its history, the theatre was 
primarily a playhouse, with the 
Letters Patent
granted by Charles II giving 

Covent Garden and Theatre Royal, Drury Lane exclusive rights to present 
spoken drama in London. Despite the frequent interchangeability between the 
Covent Garden and Drury Lane companies, competition was intense, often 
presenting the same plays at the same time. Rich introduced pantomime to the 
repertoire, himself performing (under the stage name 
John Lun
, as Harlequin) 
and a tradition of seasonal pantomime continued at the modern theatre, until 
1939.
In 1734, Covent Garden presented its first ballet, 
Pygmalion
. Marie 
Sallé discarded tradition and her corset and danced in diaphanous robes.
George Frideric Handel was named musical director of the company, at 
Lincoln's Inn Fields, in 1719, but his first season of opera, at Covent garden, 
was not presented until 1734. His first opera was 
Il pastor fido
 followed 
by 
Ariodante
 (1735), the première of 
Alcina
, and
Atalanta
 the following year. 
There was a royal performance of 
Messiah
 in 1743, which was a success and 
began a tradition of Lentenoratorio performances. From 1735 until his death 
in 1759 he gave regular seasons there, and many of his operas and oratorios 
were written for Covent Garden or had their first London performances there. 
He bequeathed his organ to John Rich, and it was placed in a prominent 
position on the stage, but was among many valuable items lost in a fire that 
destroyed the theatre on 20 September 1808. In 1792
the architect Henry 
Holland rebuilt the auditorium, within the existing shell of the building but 
deeper and wider than the old auditorium, thus increasing capacity. 
Rebuilding began in December 1808, and the second Theatre Royal, 
Covent Garden (designed by Robert Smirke) opened on 18 September 1809 
with a performance of 
Macbeth
 followed by a musical entertainment 
called 
The Quaker
. The actor-manager John Philip Kemble, raised seat prices 
to help recoup the cost of rebuilding and the cost of an increased ground rent 
introduced by the landowner, the Duke of Bedford, but the move was so 
unpopular that audiences disrupted performances by beating sticks, hissing, 

205 
booing and dancing. The 
Old Price Riots
 lasted over two months, and the 
management was finally forced to accede to the audience's demands.
During this time, entertainments were varied; opera and ballet were 
presented, but not exclusively. Kemble engaged a variety of acts, including 
the child performer 
Master Betty
; the great clown Joseph Grimaldi made his 
name at Covent Garden. Many famous actors of the day appeared at the 
theatre, including the tragediennes Sarah Siddons and Eliza O'Neill, 
the Shakespearean actors William Charles Macready, Edmund Kean and his 
son Charles. On 25 March 1833 Edmund Kean collapsed on stage while 
playing Othello, and died two months later.
In 1806, the pantomime clown Joseph Grimaldi (
The Garrick of 
Clowns
) had performed his greatest success in 
Harlequin and Mother Goose; 
or the Golden Egg
 at Covent Garden, and this was subsequently revived, at 
the new theatre. Grimaldi was an innovator: his performance as 
Joey 
introduced the clown to the world, building on the existing role 
of Harlequin derived from the 
Commedia dell'arte
. His father had been ballet-
master at Drury Lane, and his physical comedy, his ability to invent 
visual tricks and buffoonery, and his ability to poke fun at the audience were 
extraordinary.
Early pantomimes were performed as mimes accompanied by music, 
but as Music hall became popular, Grimaldi introduced the pantomime 
dame to the theatre and was responsible for the tradition of audience singing. 
By 1821 dance and clowning had taken such a physical toll on Grimaldi that 
he could barely walk, and he retired from the theatre.
By 1828, he was 
penniless, and Covent Garden held a benefit concert for him. 
In 1817, bare flame gaslight had replaced the former candles and oil 
lamps that lighted the Covent Garden stage.
This was an improvement, but in 
1837 Macready employed limelight in the theatre for the first time, during a 

performance of a pantomime, 
Peeping Tom of Coventry
. Limelight used a 
block of quicklime heated by an oxygen and hydrogen flame. This allowed 
the use of spotlights to highlight performers on the stage.
The Theatres Act 1843 broke the patent theatres' monopoly of drama. 
At that time Her Majesty's Theatre in the Haymarket was the main centre of 
ballet and opera but after a dispute with the management in 1846 Michael 
Costa, conductor at Her Majesty's, transferred his allegiance to Covent 
Garden, bringing most of the company with him. The auditorium was 
completely remodelled and the theatre reopened as the 

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