FIVE MORE PLACES TO EXPLORE

1 Old Vic Theatre

LAMBETH, SOUTH LONDON

Where opera reached the public

In 1880 social reformer Emma Cons reopened the Old Vic as a temperance music hall, staging scenes from operas every Thursday night. Under Cons and her niece Lilian Baylis, the site’s opera provision gradually expanded into full-scale productions. Baylis later founded the Sadler Wells opera company that would eventually evolve into the English National Opera company.

oldvictheatre.com

2 Her Majesty’s Theatre

HAYMARKET, LONDON

Where 18th-century opera thrived

Her Majesty’s Theatre (whose name changes with the monarch) is the second oldest such site in London that remains in use – the earliest being Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. The first of four theatres here was built by dramatist and architect John Vanbrugh and premiered more than 25 operas by Handel between 1711 and 1739. Today’s theatre has been the home to The Phantom of the Opera since 1986.

uk.thephantomoftheopera.com/her-majestys-theatre

3 Glyndebourne

LEWES, EAST SUSSEX

Where a festival of opera still runs

Glyndebourne’s first annual festival of opera opened in 1934, with its early years mainly focusing on works by Mozart. The original theatre seated 300 but has since been expanded to accommodate 850.

glyndebourne.com

4 25 Brook Street

MAYFAIR, LONDON

Where Handel made his home

Between 1711 and 1759, Handel wrote 27 operas for the London stage and came to dominate Italian opera in Britain. He moved into Brook Street in 1723 and died there in 1759. His house is open to visitors.

handelhendrix.org

5 Leeds Grand Theatre

LEEDS

Where opera in the north took off

The Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House, as it was originally named, opened in 1878 and became the home of Opera North a century later. The theatre offers behind the scenes tours.

leedsgrandtheatre.com